{"id":748817,"date":"2021-06-28T02:00:49","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T07:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?p=748817"},"modified":"2021-06-27T18:57:54","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T23:57:54","slug":"should-your-church-be-revitalized-or-replanted-a-post-covid-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/should-your-church-be-revitalized-or-replanted-a-post-covid-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Your Church Be Revitalized or Replanted? A Post-COVID Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"

Very few church leaders and members are opposed to their churches being revitalized.<\/span><\/p>\n

After all, revitalization is the process of your church getting reinvigorated. Revitalization literally means \u201clife again.\u201d It sounds pretty basic.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is that many church leaders and members really don\u2019t want substantive changes with their revitalization. For them, revitalization is a process of tweaking and making small adjustments. Add a program or ministry here and there. But don\u2019t change our church!<\/span><\/p>\n

Hear me clearly: That type of revitalization will not work. Indeed, it is not revitalization at all. It is a superficial move with no lasting results.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the post-COVID world we are entering, I see the need for many churches to replant instead of revitalizing. Let\u2019s look at the difference between the two.<\/span><\/p>\n

Definitions<\/b><\/p>\n

Revitalization <\/span><\/i>is the process of a church making substantive changes to move to greater health. <\/span>Replanting <\/span><\/i>involves closing the present church and starting a new church in its place.<\/span><\/p>\n

The challenge is that many churches think they are in the process of revitalization, but they are not close to making the substantive changes they need to make. There is resistance to those changes. More often than not, the resistance comes from the church members. But it can come from church leaders as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a hard reality for many of those churches today. On their present path, they will close the doors. Perhaps many of the members do not see it coming, but this trend is growing in the post-COVID world. The trend began before the pandemic, but it has been accelerated and exacerbated as a result of the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is Involved in Replanting?<\/b><\/p>\n

While no two replants are identical, most of them have common characteristics. Here are a few of them:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n