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A Hail Mary Approach to Restarting a Dying Church
by Bill Easum Revolutionary Restart – Tips for churches that need a restart.
By Bill Easum
The average church in the U.S. is under a hundred in worship. Churches with less than 50 people in worship make up 40% of all churches in the U.S. The average age in these churches with less than 50 people in worship is over 65. Add to that less than 2% of these churches are growing and you have a formula for major disaster over the next fifteen years for 40% of all the churches in the U.S.
If there is to be any hope for the vast majority of these churches radical action must be undertaken within the next few years or most of them will go out of existence. So, I am suggesting a “Hail Mary Strategy” for these churches. You get the image. It’s the last five seconds of the football game; your team is down by six points; and you are on your own 45 yard line. Only a touchdown will allow you to win the game. So you call the play and launch the ball as high and as far as you can hoping beyond hope the ball will come to rest in the arms of your receiver somewhere over the goal line.
So the question is this – “Will the leaders of your church wake up to the fact that the church is in serious trouble and the only way to move it from survival to thriving is by starting over?”
Starting over means the following based on the “Hail Mary Strategy.”
- Find a way to have a full time pastor/planter who will commit for three years . I know you can’t afford this at the moment but you must find a way or you will continue to decline. A part time pastor does not have the time to do all that is necessary to restart a church.
- Suspend all of the present ways/policies/hidden agendas/system stories regarding decision making and day to day running the church and allow the pastor and a launch team to give direction to the church during the three years. This also means disbanding all of the existing committees and the Administrative Council.
- Do away with the present mission statement and come up with one that a six year old can remember as well as short enough to be written on a t-shirt.
- Allow the pastor to bring together and disciple/equip a re-launch team of a seven people and give them full authority to make all of the decisions for the next three years. These people need to have four faith characteristics: one, a renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church; two, a servant’s heart; three a deep compassion for the lost; and four, a more focused prayer effort.
- The pastor should be personally responsible for spending 80% of his or her time in the community, dreaming up ways to reach the unchurched, and responding to the visitors to worship. I’ve never seen a church this size grow without the pastor being the direct cause of the growth. Just think how it would change the church if the pastor personally brought in fifty new members over the next eighteen months?
- Begin an indigenous worship service designed specifically for people 25-50 which means lively music and tons of visuals.
- The pastor must find a musician who believes in the mission and is willing to give his or her time to developing the music and musicians for this service. I know you don’t have a clue how to do this but you get what you look for and if part of the 80% of the time the pastor is spending on the unchurched is devoted to finding this person the pastor will find them. These people are out there waiting to be asked to play in worship rather in the bar scene.
- Send out six off-the-wall direct mail pieces to all the households with five miles of the church announcing the start of the new worship service. These mail out pieces will focus on two things- a new service and a new sermon series designed to catch the imagination of the people under 50 years of age. It must not look churchy.
- Develop one or two signature ministries. Churches with less than 300 in worship can only do one or two key ministries. I suggest one of these be a children’s ministry fashioned after Promise Land from Willow Creek. You will not be able to afford to purchase it, but you can easily put your own program together once you understand the basics.
- Keep the present worship service in tack for the present members. These folks have kept the church open all these years and need to be honored for their commitment. What I am suggesting in no way diminishes their past or future contributions to the God’s Kingdom.
- Have a capital fund drive to raise enough money to accomplish the above. One of the roles of the present members will be to “pray and pay” for what needs to be done to reach young adults for Christ and cause your church to thrive once again. With a solid plan in place you can probably borrow more from your bank. This should be more than enough money to do what is necessary. Now you see why I call this a “Hail Mary” strategy. But it works if you have the right planter/restart/pastor.
The one thing you know for sure; if you keep doing what you’ve been doing you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting. Surely you’re not satisfied with that. So roll the dice; spend everything you have; and see what happens. If it doesn’t work, it just means you’ll close the doors a few years sooner and with a lot less grief.
Bill Easum
Bill Easum is the founder and senior consultant for 21st Century Strategies and is one of the most highly respected church consultants and Christian futurists in North America. He has been a pioneer in helping churches grow on behalf of the Kingdom, with 35 yearsof pastoral ministry in three churches and two denominations. During his 24 years at Colonial Hills Church in San Antonio, the church grew from a restart of 35 in worship to over 1,100 in worship (1993 when he left the local pastorate). Bill is a graduate of Baylor University, B.A., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.D., and Perkins School of Theology, S.T.M. He is the author of twelve books, the most recent, “A Second Resurrection.”
http://churchconsultations.com/
I always encourage churches to think “outside the box” and allow God to put new dreams and vision in their hearts in order to do something supernatural and exciting. After reading this article by Bill, there is no doubt that he’s certainly is suggesting that inside the box is slow death for a church. I’m curious what your opinion is about his idea of “restarting” a church. One thing for sure is that it’s taking a chance, but honestly it’s a lot better idea then letting a church die. OK…ready for your thoughts.
Andy
John Greene
/ July 14, 2010I admire your desire to think this through. However, I have noticed that as a whole, Christianity is far too “pastor-centric.” The pastor serves an important role to be certain, but he is not the salvation of the body. Many pastors teach their opinion or philosophical psychology rather than accurate knowledge from the Bible. Without the active involvement of all disciples within the body, the kind of ministry described is not much more than a “dog and pony show,” nor will it ever be. Teams are a great way to jump start an effort, but after that, the body must be brought into the process of evangelizing and supporting each other out of brotherhood and love. This caring support is rare because it has been largely forgotten in many places. Teams are, by their nature, exclusionary, which cannot serve the long-term needs of the body. The other item that the “church” needs to get out of the way is the idea of entertaining the flock. We didn’t have sharp visuals and corporately polished presentations until recently. Did we need them? The body of Christ needs relationship and active concern by each member. We need love. Each member of the body must make God’s Word their own, for that is how salvation is gained: one at a time, not as a group. We will all be ‘honored’ for our commitment by our God at the appropriate time. Otherwise, how are any of us are any better than the Pharisees that Jesus confronted? We must all be interested in seeking to inform and bring as many as possible to salvation while there is still time. Are any of us certain that we have another five years? I have heard with my own ears of at least one denomination that is planning a hundred-years ahead. We are promised nothing and time is of the essence. We have no guarantee of five years, much less a hundred. If we think so, we assume much. A large sector of Christianity is sleeping and will reap the reward based on God’s decision, rather than man’s. The sooner the body of Christ gets the real message of God and receives it in their hearts, the sooner all can and will participate; or leave and walk the other way. The decision for or against God and His Kingdom needs to be made. Hearts need to change. Lives need to heal. Is your meeting place a place of healing and brotherhood or a place of merchandising and marketing? Sitting and listening alone doesn’t bring salvation, nor does it truly prosper God’s people. It simply fills buildings.
Pastor Andy
/ July 14, 2010Thanks for your thoughts John and indeed they are good ones. I’m not so sure I agree that making changes are always a dog and pony show and certainly visual presentations can be extremely supportive to a sermon and biblical truth. I have used videos a few times that caused a major point that needed to bring about decisions that had been part of the sermon on a key passage of God’s word. In all fairness to Mr. Easum he is only making a point that some churches may need to restart and make a 180 from the way they are going which is boring the masses. From what I know about the author of our article he doesn’t at all count out biblical preaching and discipleship and commitment to Christ and His church.
You mentioned that much of the church is sleeping and that the body of Christ needs to get the real message of Christ…I completely agree and anything that stops short of that message is wasting its time…and any changes, presentations or music change then does become a dog and pony show. But maybe much of the church is sleeping because they are being bored to death with preachers that have lost their zeal and fights changes.
I have repeatedly said that, “the message is sacred and should never change, but methods often should”. By the way, I don’t always agree with everything I post, but I do like that it causes us to rethink what we do and why we do it.
Andy
Dale Golding
/ July 15, 2010Belvah and I are going through what Belle and you went through last year. Belvah had surgery for uterine cancer, plus a fluid filled tumor at the bottom of her abdomen, and is now faced with 5 months of chemo therapy. We value your prayers for her and for me. At 80 this is not the best news to get!
I wanted to comment on the article on restarting a church. We need that kind of info put in place in the church we attend. We have no one on the horizon to implement such a strategy. With one of our leaders gone and me on indefinite leave, we are very thin at the top. We need the patience of Job, and the wisdom of Solomon, and the determination of Peter to get this church off dead center. Yours in the faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Dale
Pastor Andy
/ July 15, 2010God bless you Dale and know that we and hopefully the readers of this blog are now praying for you and your precious wife. In regards to your church…maybe if you asked your pastor to read some thoughts we have posted or even print this article and give it to him, perhaps it might spark his desire to move in the direction of change. Certainly a church doesn’t have to restart…but perhaps it does. But, we will never know as long as we keep doing the same things in the same ways that just don’t seem to work. Sometimes having pure doctrine, well intentions, good Bible studies and a nice building are not enough. Sometimes we need to meet people where they are and speak to the needs of their hearts with Christ’s life changing gospel in a relevant manner… and most churches that look and act the same way that they did 30 years ago are just not doing that.
Andy
Paul Schlieker
/ July 18, 2010I really enjoyed reading Bill Easum’s article on how to restart a dying church. The whole concept is very thought provoking. It made me think of an ER at a hospital. If you only have a little time before the patient dies, you can’t waste time. Drastic measures are required because a life is at stake.
Mr. Easum’s vast experience and wisdom came through in his “Hail Mary” suggestions. The need for strong, anointed leadership is obvious, especially if the church is on it’s last leg. The one thought that comes to my mind (that I don’t believe was emphasized in Mr. Easum’s list) is the role of small groups in restarting a dying church. I understand the desire to start a more “modern” church service, but in the end it is still adding yet another service. I wonder how the members of a declining church would respond of their leader earned their trust and then said something like this:
“I have a vision for our church that I think Jesus will lead and bless. I want us to become a church of small groups. We will always have our weekly services, but from this day on holding weekly services in our building will not be what we are known for. From now on I want the prevailing expression of our church will be small groups where people can connect, grow and resproduce. As your Pastor, I can’t lead every group. I need your help. I need you to join me and together we will ask Jesus to begin a movement in our community — a movement made up up small groups that share life, study the Scriptures and serve people. These groups will at different times and in numerous locations. We will meet every day of the week in every part of our community. Our church will be known as a church with unlimited meeting places. Our city will not have to go to church, because we will go tothem.”
Even contemporary services require little more than passive attendance. Small groups are part of the secret simply because they require active participation.
Pastor Andy
/ July 18, 2010I appreciate your input Paul and agree. My thought is how do you start a new service in addition to the existing service if you don’t have a foundation of people to attend it due to being so small and ill as a church?
I agree about the small group concept (of course with a huge emphasis on one to one discipling also) but again, it’s kind of difficult to do so until there is some growth and interest from people attending the new service that attracts them.
In your example of the pastor’s appeal to the congregation I would also ask the congregation to become missionaries and cross out of the comfort zone in order to change the style and type of service with the primary reason to reach new people. When the church grows… then… if they existing congregation wishes a traditional service like before then it can be an additional service.
Recently I suggested to a church that at one time was very traditional and had made the switch to a more modern service that became mostly a contemporary church…to now add a traditional, hymns only service to reach those that may be in the community that enjoyed “the way church used to be” as well as reward those that had put their preferences aside to reach a newer generation.
When asking people to step out of their comfort zone, it is best to challenge people to be part of something that will put them in the “missionary/evangelist” category.
Daniel
/ July 22, 2010The answer I believe it to change to a lay ministry. It will allow for more funds to be available. The work would be performed by the people for FREE. When they put their own efforts in to building the faith it will also strengthen their own. It spreads the load over the broader shoulders of the congregation and they can work together to ease the burdens. They will see by their own envolovement the great struggles and shortfalls that are ahead and will instinctively have a desire to help even more. In short, they will take ownership and stewardship. Why reley on the 80% time of one pastor when you could rely on 5-10% of 50 or even a 100 members, which would yield an eqivalant of 250-1000% of one person. Having a rotating speaker in the pulpit insures a new experience every week. Members will expand their comfort zones by speaking to the converted(presumably around 50 or more) on Sunday and then have a higher comfort level to be able to speak to the unchurched(presumably 1-4 at a time) during the week. I could go on and on with more ideas but this one is critical to be able to proceed to the rest.