Issuu

THE

CHURCH

Febuary March 2018 Vol 4 Issue 2

Revitalizer

“The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.” ~ Tom Cheyney

ENOVATE R National Church Revitalization Conference

Speakers Include: Tom Cheyney Ron Smith Jason Britt Terry Rials Jim Grant Paul Smith Jennifer Bennett Chuck Lawless Walter Jackson Jason Britt Bill Hegedus Drew Cheyney Chris Irving Steve Smith Jason Cooper Rob Myers David Lema

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November 6-8, 2018 Orlando, FL (FBC Winter Park)

17 60

National Church Revitalization Speakers 2

Church Revitalization Workshops

Main Sessions By Revitalization Practitioners

Pre-Conference

Intensive Subjects

Breakout Session Opportunities

Special Group Rates Available

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Revitalizer FEATURES

Feb/Mar | Vol 4, No 2

RENOVATE

The Church Revitalizer Subscribe to our weekly blog post focused around the revitalization of Churches in North America.

RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Conference

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Subscribe to our weekly podcast focused around the revitalization of Churches in North America. To subscribe go to: renovateconference.org/resources

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Revitalization Podcast

Courage: Practice Makes Perfect! By Chris Irving

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The Best Book I Ever Read On Revitalization

Practices for 32 Best Church Revitalization

By Joel R. Breidenbaugh

Revitalization Game Changers By Steve Smith

Facebook:

By Greg Kappas

The Best Practices for Church Revitalization and Renewal By Chad McCarthy

and Renewal

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Ten Best Practices in Church Revitalization Efforts By Tom Cheyney

The First Best Practice: Reality Checks

Cross Generational Children’s Ministry By Bill Hegedus

When Ministry Hurts

The Only Numbers You Should Be Counting in Student Ministry By Drew Cheyney

THE LEADERSHIP LINK… Dream Big!

Where Are You? By Tracy W. Jaggers

Best Practices: Take Personal Retreats with God

Three Church Revitalization Myths (And 3 Best Practices to Overcome Them)

Repurposing with Purpose - What We Can Learn from Southwest Airlines

50 Small Groups to the Max Leaders- Finding Them and Keeping Them By Fred Boone

Church Music Renewal (again!)

Don’t Put Off Evangelism: Reach Your Entire City By Mark Weible

Living in Two Worlds By Jim Grant

Reaching Generation X By Kenneth Priest

When People Leave: The Private Pain of The Small Church Pastor

Health for the Harvest By Steve Sells

By Bill Tenny-Brittian By Ron Smith

By Michael Atherton

By Terry Rials

By Darwin Meighan

By Tim Kaufman

“The only magazine dedicated to Church Revitalization.”

revitalizer

LIBRARY

Rob Hurtgen is the Pastor of First Baptist Church Chillicothe, Missouri. He holds an M.Div from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree in Church Revitalization from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has been married to Shawn since 1995, and they have five children.

By Bob Whitesel

By Karl Vaters

The Church Revitalizer Book Reviewer: Rob Hurtgen • •

Mike McKinley’, Church Planting is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-Up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things (CrossWay, 2010). Harry Reeder III with David Swavely, From Embers to Flame: How God Can Revitalize Your Church (P&R Publishing, 2008). 5

The Ten Best Practices in Church Revitalization Efforts Today’s young ministers should seek to develop knowledge and Biblical training from experienced leaders in church revitalization so when they are deployed into the work of ministry, they will know how to lead a church that must rise from its deathbed vigil to grow spiritually and numerically once again. Take the time and make the time to get the proper training before you move forward in church revitalization! It is vital that you prepare the laity for the work of church revitalization as well as yourself. Communicate early and often with the church how the revitalization process will take place and how it will be implemented. Every church interested in revitalization must have a commitment to a process of revitalization! If you are the church revitalization leader and you are not committed to the time necessary to achieve church revitalization and health, then perhaps another member of your church should lead the process. Revitalization requires a minimal investment of 1000 days. Every church begins its revitalization at a different place simply because every church is at a different place. Your process will look different than mine. Everything that must be done in revitalization can not be done in two hours on a Sunday. One thing I noticed was a clear difference between revitaliztion pastors who are effective and pastors who are efficient. What is the efficient pastor? What is the effective pastor? Efficiency becomes the master of the routine. It is the everyday schedule that we preach, prepare for

next weeks sermons and recover on Monday, think about follow-up on Tuesday, prepare for tonight’s activities on Wednesday, work on production schedules on Thursday, and take a much needed day of rest on Friday, and start it all over again. Effectiveness becomes the master of visionary leadership and the ability to make the hard call that will move the church forward. It is doing the things that propel the church further towards growth, health, and vitality. Church revitalization is not about finding the magic pill or the sure to succeed program. It is more about discovering God’s vision for the church and practicing it. Revitalization of churches is often very much similar from one church to another and yet it is often very much different in many ways. Keep the effort bathed in prayer. Prepare yourself spiritually and then prepare your leaders spiritually. Then begin preparing your church spiritually! Seek out God’s guidance and power! Look for outside help, coaching, encouragement and the training you will need.

Ten Best Practices in Church Revitalization Efforts 1) A Commitment to the Revitalization Process – Revitalization must receive priority in the church calendar if it is going to be revitalized. Ministry does not stop, but it does mean that in order to allow church leadership to participate, the events surrounding revitalization are given high priority for the duration of the church revitalization process.

By Tom Cheyney

Church revitalization becomes a known and valued experience. It is a worthwhile investment for leaders and laity alike. Laity feel that their ideas and suggestions are being heard and actions are being carried out. 2) A Commitment to the Harvest – Revitalization challenges churches and leaders to health and effectiveness. Church Revitalizers are committed to making more and better disciples. A harvest commitment challenges the Church Revitalizer to examine his churches local community and discover its unique calling for ministry. Church Revitalizers challenge their people to prayerfully consider their role in the harvest. The challenge is one of labor. Jesus told His disciples to “pray that the Lord of the Harvest would send out laborers for the Harvest.” 3) A Commitment to Growth – Healthy things grow. Growth requires change. Change is an issue of obedience. Revitalization calls a Church Revitalizer to greater obedience and conformity to the will of God for the local church.

Obedience is a call to personal change. Those leading a local church towards revitalization bear the responsibility to lead the church to fulfill the mandates of scripture. The Great Commission (Matthew 28) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22) are foundational to the Church revitalization process. 4) A Commitment as a Church Revitalizer to – (Abiding) Reaffirmation of a commitment to align ones life and ministry with the authority of the scriptures. Renewed commitment to intercessory prayer and to spiritual appraisal of the issues and concepts surfaced in the reviContinued on pg 64

RENOVATE RESOURCES ALL YEAR LONG

If your church has plateaued, is in decline, or is not moving forward as quickly as you wish, the RENOVATE Church Revitalization Coaching Network is just what you are looking for. This Revitalization Coaching Network is designed to help you and your revitalization team develop a successful 18 month plan to increase church attendance, develop new people for ministry, impact community, solidify finances, become more missional, develop new ministries and deepen the making of disciples within your church renewal effort.

RenovateConference.org/coaching-network

Each and every week, the RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Podcast publishes a free audio training covering various aspects of church revitalization and renewal. Hosted by Tom Cheyney, each podcast features content for this week’s edition of his Church Revitalization and Renewal training. Included in this series of equipping tools are interviews with key Church Revitalizers and in-depth commentary and analysis from pastors, revitalization coaches, laity, and practitioners in the field of church revitalization and renewal. RenovateConference.org/podcast

Church Revitalization / Church Planting RenovateConference.org/bookstore

“A Revitalization Retreat in Every Issue” RenovateConference.org/magazine 11