Ep. 046 | Two Kinds of Struggling Churches

Most struggling churches assume they need the same kind of help. Terry Long says that assumption is one of the first things that has to go.

Terry serves as the Church Health and Revitalization Strategist for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. He joined the state convention in April 2020, holds a doctorate of ministry in church revitalization from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has spent two decades in vocational ministry. In this conversation with host Bart Blair, Terry walks through the framework NC Baptists uses to assess struggling churches, why revitalization and reconstruction require two completely different responses, and what pastors consistently get wrong when they come asking for help.

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS EPISODE

• Why NC Baptists developed a ten-question church assessment, and what it is actually designed to do

• The two categories struggling churches fall into: revitalization candidates and reconstruction candidates, and why treating them the same is a mistake

• What NC Baptists looks for when assessing a church: missional engagement, discipleship health, leadership development, and baptism trends

• Two real stories of NC Baptist churches that turned around, including a church of 30 senior adults that went from no pastor and no direction to 10 baptisms in a single Sunday

• Why revitalization has to start with the pastor before it can start with the church

• The statistic that stopped Terry cold early in his ministry: 92 percent of pastors have never been personally discipled

• Why the come-and-see model of church no longer works, and what has to replace it

• Why Terry believes the decline of cultural Christianity is not bad news for the church

A KEY QUOTE FROM THIS EPISODE

"I actually think this is a great thing. I know a Lord that said we're supposed to go and make disciples of all nations. I actually think this is the Lord refining his church to get back to do what we were supposed to do in the first place."

-- Terry Long

FOR THE PASTOR WHO IS LISTENING

If your church has been plateaued or declining for years and you are not sure whether you need a coach, a partner church, or something else entirely, this episode will help you figure out which kind of help actually fits your situation. Terry breaks down the difference in plain terms and gives you a framework for thinking clearly about where your church is and what it needs next.

And if you have been carrying the weight of a church that feels like it might be past the point of no return, the story of a 30-person church of senior adults who saw 10 baptisms six months into a turnaround process is worth hearing.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

• NC Baptists Church Revitalization: https://ncbaptist.org/ministries/church-revitalization

• North American Mission Board Replant: https://www.namb.net/church-replanting/

• Reclaiming Glory by Mark Clifton

• Embers to a Flame by Harry Reeder

• Church revitalization resources by Tom Chaney, Orlando Baptists

ABOUT REVITALIZE MY CHURCH

Revitalize My Church is hosted by Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant. We create practical, biblically grounded content for pastors and church leaders who are navigating decline, plateau, and the hard work of leading a church toward health. New episodes release on the first and fifteenth of each month.

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