Resources to Revitalize Your Congregation
Some things to keep in mind when browsing our resources below…
- Remember that Revitalization is a deeply spiritual process. Pray often that God’s will be done in your congregation and ask specifically for help in revitalization. “Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find!”
- Consider working with our coaches, Beverly & George Thompson. They offer hands-on help to congregations in discovering who they are, who their neighbors are and what God is calling them to do. They won’t tell you the answers, but will guide the congregation in discovering God’s calling for themselves. (Learn more here)
- Know your context – God needs YOUR church to reach certain people who would otherwise not be reached. How is your congregation relevant to neighboring people who typically do not go to church?
- Eat the meat, throw away the bones. Enjoy the resources that make sense to you and work. Ignore the techniques that do not fit your context. Change and alter things to make them work for you.
- Use the forums tab to comment on YOUR “A Ha” moments from these resources or other books and let us know what is working in YOUR congregation.
- Try focusing on some of these areas:
1) Hospitality: make your church truly welcoming and visitor-friendly (signage, greeter training, etc…)
2) Sharing your faith with others
3) Community Engagement: help folks make a difference in their community
- Discern God’s new vision for your congregation
- Find ways to build bridges / open doors to groups of people outside your church’s walls
Chris Walker says to focus on:
1) Hospitality
2) Evangelism
3) Community Engagement
Click the links below from Chris Walker (speaker at our 2012 Revitalization Retreat). He recommends churches do at least 2 of these successfully:
Presbytery’s CCRT Tips (Great for Pastors)
Owen Carriker puts the wisdom of the Committee on Revitalization into a one document. A great read and starting place, especially to help give you an overview of the various pieces of the puzzle for how to revitalize a congregation.
“HOW TO” Papers (AMAZING)
How to attract first time visitors, how to shrink your inactive list, how to assimilate new members and guests, how to increase Sunday School Attendance. Download, read, print and share these well-thought-out “nuggets” of best practices with your Session and congregation.
Share Your Faith – Presbyterian Style!
Engage is a new resource from the Office of Evangelism, that helps every Presbyterian learn ways to share their faith with others. Talk to Kaye Bledsoe to check out a copy from the Presbytery’s Resource Library or read online.
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Tom Bandy, from CCRT Retreat 2013Check out some of the free documents from Tom’s website.
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