Bethany Fosdyck If you want to revitalize your church, start by telling a better story!
The stories we tell to ourselves about ourselves are powerful. These stories do more than describe reality, they help create reality.
Church A and Church B
Church A has sixty regular attendees and an annual budget of $175,000. Ten years ago, this church had 200 regular attendees and double the annual budget. The story they tell themselves about themselves is that they are dying. That is a reasonable story because, by all appearances, they are.
Church B has sixty regular attendees and an annual budget of $175,000. Ten years ago, they were a dream in the mind of a seminary student and a few of his friends. One year ago, that same student, now graduated, planted a church with five others. The story they tell themselves about themselves is that they are growing. That is a reasonable story because, by all appearances, they are.
Both churches have the same number of people and the same budget. Which church is more likely to produce health and growth going forward?
I’d bet on Church B every time.
Why? Church B tells a better story to themselves about themselves. That makes all the difference in the world.
What if Church A told a better story?
I believe that the starting point to revitalizing your congregation is telling a better story to yourself about yourself. That story contains some key plot elements.
- God is for you, not against you!
- God is with you, not absent!
- God has given you all you need to be what God has called and created you to be!
- God is always and forever drawing people into relationship.
- Those people need to hear the gospel – perhaps from you.
- God is always and forever leading his new people into relationship with his existing people.
- As his existing people, you can welcome his new people into the church.
The Potential in Revitalization
Many people have given up on churches like Church A. They conclude that the momentum is going the wrong direction. They throw their energy and resources towards church planting.
Don’t get me wrong, I love church plants. There is a place for church planting. As an Anabaptist, I’m all for planting new Anabaptist churches where none currently exist.
However, I do not see church planting as an alternative to revitalization. The reality is, there are already resources – both people and financial – in existing congregations that simply need to tell themselves a better story about themselves.
What would happen if Church A started telling themselves the same story about themselves that Church B was telling? Do you think it would make a difference?
I do.
I believe that a core group of persons in a declining congregation can actually tell, and believe, a better story that can lead to growth. I believe that Church A can begin to think of themselves as a new work! I believe that when they do so, the past loses its grip on the present and new life can emerge?
It takes courage. It takes leadership. It takes perseverance. It can be done.
I believe that because I trust that God is at work in the world and invites us to participate in the world God is making.
Thank you, Michael! I have often thought about this phenomenon. My home congregation closed when they got to the number of people that some congregations are thrilled to have! But when 20 people gather in a sanctuary that was built to hold 200, it is discouraging. So another thing declining congregations need to do is to think outside the box. First Mennonite in Wadsworth (OH) recently took out all of the pews in the back of their sanctuary and put round tables and chairs there instead. They report that it has improved how they feel about things!
I agree, Janeen. The shifting landscape for churches in America means we will have to do things in ways that we haven’t before. Some of those ways will challenge our most basic assumptions. Is a building even necessary if having such a building no longer makes sense or supports the mission of the congregation? That’s a hard sell for many congregations who have centered their church lives around a building. Yet, many of our churches have buildings that no longer support their mission and draw a lot of resources.