In 1907 a group of fifteen believers gathered and constituted the Park Baptist Church. The church was to serve the people of the area surrounding Highland Park Mill. Park experienced the blessing of faithful pastors and a growing church body, reaching its numerical height of 600 members with 500 in Sunday School in the 1950s and 60s. The community revolved around the church. Fast forward 50 years and the church had dwindled to about 60 people in worship with one family with children under the age of ten. Church consultants arrived only to encourage the church to close its doors and pass on the facilities to a younger church that was equipped to reach the diverse community that had grown around the building. What happened to a once thriving gospel-centered, biblicallly faithful church that was a beacon of light to its community?
The story of Park Baptist Church could be told over and over again regarding churches across the landscape of North America. The details may change, but the results are the same. Once thriving churches have slowly dwindled nearing the point of death. Whether it is the result of moral failure in leadership, bitter dissension over music or a lethargic complacency in evangelism, many American churches are dying. How does one breathe new life into a dying church? How does one bring church revitalization? What is the strategy of new pastors of old churches? Should a church reorganize their leadership, change their worship style or close their doors and give away their building? Should a pastor preach expositional or topically? There are many questions to answer during a church revitalization, so it is necessary to have a philosophy of revitalization that can guide the process of change while laboring for the good of the church, the salvation of sinners and the glory of God. Pastors must work hard to cultivate a Christ honoring culture. A church that needs to be revitalized must focus on cultivating four specific aspects in the life of the church.
Culture of the Word
America continues to grow more and more secular. And as the culture surrounding the church has become secularized, the church’s distinct identity is in danger of being swallowed up in conformity to the world’s principles and values. The first foundational principle of church revitalization is a Word-centered approach to ministry. Everything a church does should be formed and shaped by the Word of God. The life of the church should be centered on the Word of God. As a pastor, the first priority is to faithfully exegete and exposit God’s Word to God’s people. The main task of a pastor is the preaching and teaching of God’s Word (Acts 6:1-7, 2 Tim 3:16-4:5, 1 Tim 4:11-16 and Acts 20:17-38). If this is a pastor’s primary task, then it would also be necessary to strive to present myself as one approved, rightly dividing the Word of God. Pastors are gifts to the church to equip them for the work of the ministry.
People are equipped and competent for every good work through the Word of God. A pastor labors in his study doing careful historical and grammatical exegesis of the Word so that the Word would be proclaimed to present everyone mature in Christ (Col 1:28-29). Practically, this means that a pastor must make the study of God’s Word a priority with his time. A large percentage of a pastor’s time must be given strictly to reading and studying and thinking through the Bible. There will be many activities and events that will pull at a pastor’s time, but he must make the best use of his time, for the days are evil (Col 4:4, Eph. 5:16). He must avoid godless conversations and people who are devoted to myths, so to keep the pure Word of God before his eyes (1 Tim 1:3).
The pastor should view preaching as one way to shepherd God’s people. Preaching should aim to consistently form the people of God around the word of God. To this end, the most effective way to accomplish this is through expository preaching. The aim of expository preaching is to make the main message of the text the main message of the sermon. As pastors exposit the Bible they will be able to teach their people how to read the Bible. In addition to teaching them how to read all the various types of scripture, they also will be able to avoid preaching on only their passions and will be unable to avoid difficult topics. Expository, verse by verse, book by book preaching will be the most effective long term strategy to care for God’s church.
The ministry of the Word must not be constrained only to the pulpit, but in every aspect of the discipleship of God’s people. There should be regular times of one-on-one or small group discipleship where the pastor is systematically teaching the Word to others. Jesus and Paul consistently poured their lives into a small band of people so that they could train others. Discipling in the Word means teaching passages in light of the redemptive story of the Bible and also teaching the historical and grammatical approach to the text. This does not happen only during set times, but it should be woven into one’s daily life as a father disciples his son. Again, if this is primary, then the pastor must make the equipping of others the primary goal of his ministry. He does not neglect the other needs of the sheep, but he must prioritize the important so he will not be overcome by the urgent.
There are many people who want pastors to be incredibly practical in their preaching, while others desire pastors to preach with depth. A pastor should avoid falling on either end of the spectrum. The Bible is relevant for every area of life even if the Bible does not speak comprehensively about each subject. If the Bible is the church’s final authority, and if the Bible declares that God has given us everything necessary for life and godliness to be equipped for every good work, then we must help our congregations dig for gold in the text.
The Bible is relevant for all areas of life, but it is only through a faithful study of God’s Word that pastors will be able to help their people see the manifold wisdom displayed in the pages of Scripture. For example, people need to see that the Bible does speak with wisdom about how one should interact with the digital age. The writers of the Bible could never have imagined the power and the dangers of the internet. Although the Bible may not appear to address topics such as social media, through a careful analysis of the biblical text one can create a biblical theology of social media. With a biblical theology of social media, one can show the importance of communication and the value of speaking positive words to our neighbors (Proverbs 18:21). One can teach how God values thoughtful communication because we are going to be judged by God for every idle word we speak (Matthew 12:36). We need to exercise restraint and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). People need to see that the Bible is relevant to every area of life so that they will be trained to discover how to apply God’s truth to every area of life.
Culture of Love
The church is a family. The goal of the church is to display manifest the wisdom of God to the watching world in the power of the gospel of the Son. The church should be a community of love. The love for the people should govern how and when leaders make changes. Many members of a dying church are often forgotten and/or bypassed when the pastor comes into revitalize the church. There focus immediately turns outward. While an outward focus is essential to revitalization pastors must care for those within community of faith. True community begins with the assembly of the saints.
Love is the distinguishing mark of a Christian. If a person does not love, then they do not know God. The Apostle John writes, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8). Love is the undeniable mark of the Christian faith. Therefore, love should be the undeniable mark of the Church.
Christianity had a bad reputation in the first century. The Jews were constantly bringing rumors before the Romans that Christians were stirring up trouble and causing dissension in society. Paul wanted Christians to strive to be at peace and lead a quiet life so they would be able to draw more attention to the gospel (1 Thess. 4:9-10). Christians are called to engage in our society and live as good citizens so that we give a good witness to the world.
The love displayed towards one another in the local church gives credibility to the gospel and displays God’s wisdom to the world. Jesus says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35) The mark of the church is to be one of love. The radical and sacrificial love towards the family of faith is the greatest witness to the world of gospel. Paul writes to the Ephesians that his mission was, “to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” The church displays the manifold wisdom of God to the world in their love for one another. The church should give a glimpse to the world of what the consummated kingdom of God will be like at the Lord’s return.
A church will be revitalized when a spirit of love grows among the body. Love for one another summarizes all the “one anothers” in the New Testament. The church will pray for one another and bear one another’s burdens if they are filled with love. The church will be hospitable to one another and forgive one another when they are filled with love. And as the church lives as a kingdom community filled with the supernatural love of the Spirit of God, the world will take notice and want to hear the message of the gospel. Pastors must lead in cultivating love in the church by modeling a Christ-like love for the people (John 13:34-45, 1 Peter 5:2-3).
Culture of Mission
The church exists for the glory of God. The church exists to worship. We are called to give the world a taste of what life will be like in heaven when all of God’s people will gather around the throne and sing, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and blessing! To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” Our mission is to expand the worship of God. So the question is how do we bring others to worship this great God? Jesus gives us the answer with the last words of his earthly life. Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for there is no other name under heaven which man can enter the kingdom of God. No one can worship God unless they come through Jesus Christ, for there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself up for us.
The most well-known missional charge was given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19-20, commonly known as the Great Commission, but there are other commissions that we see in the Bible that are just as important. In the original writing of the Bible, there were not titles given to sections of Scripture, but rather they have been inserted over time. We call this commission the Great Commission because these are words that Jesus has chosen to leave with his disciples. We see a similar charge in the end of Luke’s gospel, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” And in the beginning of the book of Acts, right before he was ascended into heaven, Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” The church must go and tell people about Jesus so that others will worship him as Lord and Savior. In a sentence, we are to make disciples of Jesus through the ministry of the Word, sacrificial love for the church and compassion towards the lost.
Jesus was sent into the world to proclaim the message of repentance and forgiveness and so to the church was sent into the world with the same message (Luke 24:47). The ministry of the Word is essential to bring sinners to faith in Christ. Sinners must hear and believe the message of the gospel to be saved. Therefore, the church must guard the primacy of the Word ministry. This does not mean that the church is not called to serve the lost in other ways. Jesus said that the church is to show compassion on the lost, but the primary way to show compassion on the lost is to send laborers to them with the gospel (Matthew 9:35-39). The primary way the church shows compassion to the lost is by sharing the message of the good news of the kingdom. The only way to grow the kingdom is to invite people into worship of the King. The church should be strategic in its ministry in how they serve their neighbors, the city, and the poor so that they will give credibility to the message by how they live. The church is not showing true compassion for the lost if they only care for their physical needs without giving them the bread of Life (John 6:50-51). The true mercy ministry of the church is to share the message of mercy. As Jesus’s miracles validated his ministry of proclamation, our good works should validate our ministry of proclamation. Our good works serve to gain a hearing for our message so that the sinners can be invited to choose to follow Jesus.
The church is called to invite sinners into the kingdom through repentance, but the goal is not to make mere decisions for Jesus. The goal is to make disciples of Jesus for the glory of God. The end goal is for people to be mature believers in Christ so the church teaches them to observe all that Jesus has commanded. This is the model that is in the New Testament. Acts 2:41, “So those who received his word were baptized… and they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and the fellowship.” 2 John 1:9, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” Timothy was told how the teaching is important for salvation in 1 Timothy 4:16, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” And again in 1 Timothy 6:3, “Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” Again and again, throughout Scripture, one sees the importance of the disciples being committed to the teaching and one sees them teaching, and the primary place God has instituted for this teaching is the local church.
The goal of teaching is not primarily about gaining knowledge, but loving Jesus Christ in obedience. The goal is to extend the worship of Jesus Christ. Christians show their worship of Jesus through their obedience. Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” This idea is bookended in Romans. In the beginning of Romans, Paul says that he has received through Jesus Christ, “grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations.” (Rom. 1:5) And in the end of Romans, he writes that the gospel has been disclosed and, “has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Rom. 16:26) The church is called to bring about the obedience of faith for obedience is an expression of love.
Church revitalization will not happen unless the church loves those who do not know Christ. There are various methods one can use to present the gospel. The church can develop partnership with local schools, homeless shelters, community organizations or civic groups, but in every method the goal is to share the gospel so people can repent and believe. In Luke, Jesus sends forth his disciples on mission with the simple message to find receptive people to hear and believe the gospel (Luke 9:4-6).
Culture of Spirit–Dependence
Whenever God gives a mission, he will give the means to complete that mission. As a church it is easy to give reasons why we cannot complete our mission to reach the world for Jesus Christ. Revitalization may not happen because we do not have enough time, we do not have enough energy, we do not have enough money. We do not need what we think we need, for what we need has already been given to us by God. Remember the promise of the Lord Jesus in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of earth.” Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive power through the Holy Spirit. As you read through the book of Acts, you do not see the disciples complain about what they do not have; for they had the Holy Spirit. In Acts 3, Peter and John were going to the temple at the hour of prayer and a lame man was begging for money at the gate. Peter fixed his attention at the man and said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he walked. Peter and John had the power of the Holy Spirit and we have that same power.
Prayer should be a regular part of the Christian life so much so that Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” Christians should always pray. This doesn’t mean we are only praying and never doing anything else, but rather it means we are always bringing our needs to God. God help me concentrate during this sermon, help me eat well today, strengthen me to serve my children, provide for our family’s daily needs, help my kids make good friends, heal my friend of cancer, save my grandfather, etc. Prayer is an act of humility. Every time we pray, we say to God, “I cannot do it alone. I need you.” In this way, prayer is refocusing our dependence upon God. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Prayer is one way God trains us in humility. We pray because we need mercy and grace. We pray because we are insufficient in ourselves. We pray because only God can do the impossible. We pray because our God who knows all told us to pray. Jesus wants us to take our eyes off of our light and momentary afflictions and to focus on the eternal weight of glory that awaits us on the return of the Son of Man. Prayer refocuses our hearts on heaven as we wait for the blessed hope of the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
Churches die for a reason. There may be moments in the life of the church that cause many believers to leave or fall away, but churches begin to move away from Jesus when they drift away from trusting in the Word, do not demonstrate God’s love, become complacent the mission and when they do not seek the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Church revitalization will happen when God’s people plant and water with the Word by the power of Spirit in the love of Christ living on mission to seek and to save those far from Christ. The what and how of revitalization will change depending on the context of the congregation (its history, its people, its town) and the community (its receptivity, lostness, worldview). Although the methods are important, they are secondary factors that must be filtered through a philosophy grounded in faithfulness to God’s Word, love for God’s people, dependence on the Holy Spirit and passion to participate in God’s mission.
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