{"id":734201,"date":"2021-02-16T18:24:06","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T00:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=734201"},"modified":"2021-02-16T18:24:06","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T00:24:06","slug":"9-reasons-why-church-revitalization-is-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/9-reasons-why-church-revitalization-is-hard\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Reasons Why Church Revitalization is Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s tough work to lead a church in revitalization. In fact, it\u2019s hard enough that some leaders aren\u2019t cut out to do it. Knowing, though, why it\u2019s hard can help us press on through the tough moments. Here are some reasons why revitalization is difficult:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The process usually starts years after the church has been in decline.<\/b> That is, leaders are trying to turn around a ship that\u2019s been floating aimlessly in the wrong direction for a long time. The ship might even seem to be sinking already.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. The issues are often numerous, and they can be overwhelming.<\/b> At a minimum, the vast number of issues to address makes it difficult to know where to begin. Hopelessness can quickly take control of a revitalization leader.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Many leaders in revitalization settings have little training in this task.<\/b> They\u2019re serving where the Lord has placed them, but they struggle to develop strategies and plans for revitalization. That\u2019s one of the reasons <\/span>Church Answers<\/span><\/a> exists, in fact: \u201cto help churches move from flatlined to flourishing through coaching, online courses, daily content, and much more.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Many of the remaining attendees have often lost their energy.<\/b> They themselves need personal revitalization, and church revitalization won\u2019t happen without it. Leading weary people is never easy.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Some of the leaders think they\u2019ve \u201ctried everything already.\u201d<\/b> No matter what ideas you bring up, they remember when they tried something similar and failed. Even if that attempt took place decades ago, they still remember it.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Congregations often want revitalization, but without change.<\/b> They want to see increased numbers and dollars \u2013 so they talk the language of revitalization \u2013 but they don\u2019t want anything to change in the process.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Revitalization leaders tend to lead from a hopeful vision with a sense of urgency\u2014but the process usually takes a long time.<\/b> The leader sees seemingly obvious needs and necessary solutions, but it takes time to help the congregation see the same things. Patience is important.<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Sometimes, the same lay leaders who led the church into plateau and decline in the first place are still in positions of influence.<\/b> Change likely means they would lose some of their power\u2014and they didn\u2019t bargain for that when they started talking about revitalization.<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Leaders often have a big-picture vision of what revitalization looks like, and they miss the little changes and growth the Lord produces in their church.<\/b> Seeing just glimpses of what God\u2019s doing among our congregation ought to encourage us to press on \u2013 but we sometimes overlook those glimpses.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What reasons would you add to this list?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s tough work to lead a church in revitalization. In fact, it\u2019s hard enough that some leaders aren\u2019t cut out to do it. Knowing, though, why it\u2019s hard can help us press on through the tough moments. Here are some reasons why revitalization is difficult.","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":734202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"0","publish_post_category":"1","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[176],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-734201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-revitalize"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n9 Reasons Why Church Revitalization is Hard | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s tough work to lead a church in revitalization. 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