“The big question is: What principles from comeback churches could guide pastors and churches down the path of revitalization?” he noted.
It was a question Matthew Perry, pastor of Boone’s Creek Baptist Church near Lexington, was eager to have answered. He has served the 222-year-old congregation since 2003. He noted that following a boom in the 1950s and ’60s which saw the church grow to around 400 members, it declined steadily over the next few decades. Currently, the church is “growing slightly, but we’re just a little lax in reaching the community we’re in,” Perry acknowledged.
“Change is painful”
And knowing the community is crucial to making a comeback, Stetzer noted. He pointed out those churches that are either stagnant or in decline need to reexamine their community outreach strategies in order to experience revitalization. But, he added, “Most churches don’t want to be revitalized. They want to do the same thing, but for it to actually work.”
“Change is required, but change is painful,” Stetzer admitted.
Part of that change, he said, is to become a missional church and “live like missionaries.”
Perry agreed.
“If we’re not out there trying to do that then we’re a stereotypical Baptist church,” he said. “I don’t want to turn into a club. I want to actually turn into a place that’s salt and light making a visible difference in the community.”
Perry said that Boone’s Creek’s focus in recent months has become more outward than inward. A door-to-door campaign Easter weekend saw copies of the New Testament given to nearly every home within a one-mile radius of the church. He also noted that many of the participants were doing community outreach for the first time.
“Looking different from the world is not our goal,” Stetzer pointed out, adding that the biblical command to churches is “to look similar and live differently.”
In order for a church to “stage a comeback,” Stetzer explained, “the congregation has … to be part of the turnaround.” But not everyone needs to agree on everything.
“The people have to be a part, but that does not mean they have to be unanimous,” he added.
However, when compiling the research for the “Comeback Churches” book, Stetzer said the research team came across an obvious parallel among all of the churches: “Leadership really matters.”
“Comeback leaders took the initiative for change,” he said.
Norm Brock, pastor of South Fork Baptist Church in Hodgenville, knows first hand the importance of leadership and a congregation involved in a turnaround. In fact, the 225-year-old congregation was one of the churches surveyed for the book.
Brock came to South Fork in July of 2002, ready to lead a congregation which was in “crisis mode.”
“The church had to absolutely depend on God to keep things going,” he noted, adding that several interim preachers helped lead South Fork through a tough stretch until Brock was called as pastor. By that time, the church was eager for leadership.
“They were ready for a pastor,” Brock recalled. The church had “a desire to really make an impact in the community.”
With only 120 people in worship and 90 in Sunday school, the new pastor set an attendance goal during his first sermon and “we’ve never looked back,” Brock declared.
These days, the church averages 360 in worship and 210 in Sunday school. On Easter, 710 people gathered for worship, the “most people who have ever worshipped together here at South Fork,” Brock said.
While South Fork is a glowing example of a comeback church, Stetzer pointed out that these types of churches are out of the ordinary. However, once a congregation recognizes that change is necessary, it takes three principal “faith factors” to spark revitalization: A renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church; a renewed attitude for servanthood; and a more strategic prayer effort.
“At the end of the day,” Stetzer noted, “we have to be known as people who live like Jesus … showing a transformed life of Christ.”
Western Recorder issue date: April 1, 2008
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