Church Planting & Revitalization

Church Revitalization Pathways

Fostering

Resourcing – A partnership in which a stronger church sends missionary volunteers or resources to a declining church for some time to establish/strengthen a strategic ministry.

Residency – A partnership in which a stronger church or Association sends a trained revitalization ministry resident to pastor a declining/ plateaued church with the goal of revitalization.

Merger – A merger occurs when two or more churches decide to combine into one entity. This could be a new entity (consolidation) or an absorption (merger).

Change Coalition – A stronger church sends a trained church revitalization team to lead a declining/plateaued church back to health.

Adoption

Refresh+Relaunch – A stronger church provides oversight and leadership to a declining church. As the healthy church’s DNA is infused into the adopted church, it becomes stronger until it can be rereleased.

Multi-site – A stronger church adopts a declining church as a campus utilizing a campus pastor or simulcast sermons from the adopting church. The adopted church can remain a campus or be rereleased once it is self-sustainable.

Network – A church with a heart for revitalization adopts a declining church to rehabilitate the church and include it in a network of churches investing in other revitalization efforts.

Replant

Reinvestment – A church determines that the best path forward is to close. As a part of their closure, they would sell or donate their facilities to the Association with the expectations that the assets will be used to fund ministry efforts in a more viable community.

Replant – The remaining church decides to surrender control of their facilities/ministry over to a church planter(s) with a vision for ministry in their community. The remaining church members may decide to stay in one of the new congregations.

Restart – A church pauses its current ministry and invites a new leadership team to establish a new ministry paradigm, church polity, and identity before relaunching.

Legacy – A church decides to close/disband and leave its remaining assets to the association, hoping that the association can invest in a new work in the same community. The church’s legacy is continued through its sacrificial investment into the new church.

Revisioning

Relocation—A thriving church in a declining community decides to relocate to a different community.

Mother-Daughter – A mother church launches a daughter church on their campus which meets at different times and is targeted to reach a new demographic.

Strategic Focus – A church begins a strategic planning process in order to determine an effective future mission and vision.

Cross Cultural – A church determines to reach an underreached people group in their community with the goal of transitioning the church to that people group.

Pioneering – A church empowers the pastor and a core group to use resources and facilities to relaunch the church in a way that will reach a strategic demographic in the community.

Pastoral Transformation – A church empowers their pastor to be trained, coached, or equipped to more effectively lead the church to greater health.

For more information, please contact Dr. Josh Cook at joshc@bmbaonline.org.

RESOURCES

Take our Church Renewal Survey to discover how your church could benefit from church revitalization.

su.vc/bmbarenewal