Church Services Resources

Statistics indicate that over 80% of Christian churches in America are on plateau or in decline. In most instances, long before any numerical stag-nation, there was a systems plateau and before that, a plateau of the soul. The BCM/D offers resources and coaching that seeks to address this reality and assist churches so that they can get back on track with their kingdom mission.

Typically, this process begins with a church health assessment. A BCM/D Church Services consultant will be glad to meet with your church to discuss the kinds of assessments available to assist your church. This assessment process will help the BCM/D and the church to mutually determine what kind of assistance is most needed. Such assistance will look different depending upon the unique situation of each church fellowship. There are three distinct paths that a Church Services consultant may lead a church to consider:

A. Church Revitalization – There are many definitions of Church revitalization, but perhaps one of the clearest is, “Church Revitalization is the process of leading a dying church back to a healthy state. It is restoring the church’s purpose of glorifying God and re-establishing its mission to reach the lost in their community.” During 2021, the BCM/D will have a major emphasis on revitalization. We will host six monthly webinars dealing with various revitalization topics. Registration is found by clicking here. From August 29 – September 5, Dr. Kenneth Priest, Director of Convention Strategies for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, and one of the church’s thought leaders on the topic of revitalization, will be in Maryland and Delaware to be available for church consultations. Then, on October 1-2, we will host Renovate, a major church revitalization conference. In addition, our Church Services consultants are available to enter coaching and consulting relationships with pastors and churches to facilitate dialogue in an effort to lead toward revitalization. You can learn more about all these efforts by contacting the Church Services department of the BCM/D.

Find out more about the Church Revitalization Webinar Series

B. Church merger – “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a). At times, it makes sense for two struggling churches to join their efforts together. This could be a church plant merging with an existing church that owns a facility. Or it could be two existing churches coming together. The scenarios will be as unique as the situations themselves. A BCM/D Church Services consultant will help a church to explore whether such a merger would be a good option for a congregation. In such instances, it is important to have ongoing dialogue about the DNA of each church, the mission and vision of each group, and open discussions about what such a merger would look like.

C. Church Replant – Sometimes, it is just necessary to start over. For a variety of reasons, this can be true in a church as well. A church replant is the rescue, redemption, and restoration of a church at or near the point of death, by the power of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God and the good of the community. Working with the North American Mission Board, the BCM/D can help a church explore the possibility of seeing if it meets the criteria to become a replant.

In addition, the BCM/D offers a cohort approach to revitalization when enough pastors and leaders express a desire to form one. This cohort is known as Awaken. It is a 10-month, covenant journey, with a cohort of other BCM/D pastors and churches, that is action oriented. The process is roughly 5 months of content exploration and discovery followed by 5 months of coached implementation. Cohorts are regionally based and move around the convention from year to year. For more information about Awaken, please click the link to the left and/or contact Randy Millwood at rmillwood@bcmd.org.

The BCM/D also enjoys fruitful partnerships for revitalization. One is with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. As noted above, Dr. Kenneth Priest will be with us in 2021 to conduct a church consultation tour throughout our two-state convention. In addition, he has developed a “Church Life Expectancy Calculator,” which we have access to. Please use the link to the left to access this tool.

Finally, the BCM/D has a partnership with Thom Rainer’s Church Answers Network. Rainer is a trusted voice among the many speaking about church revitalization. His Church Answers Network has developed a mentor-led approach to revitalization. You can learn more about this approach by accessing the link to the left or contacting Mark Dooley at mdooley@bcmd.org.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you. Contact information for assistance in Church Revitalization is found to the left of this page.

Find out more about the Church Revitalization Webinar Series