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Jarrett Stephens, teaching pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, spoke about church revitalization to a packed room as part of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s Bible Conference, Nov. 10. The topic of revitalization, he said, is fitting for the time, as research shows a large percentage of churches are declining, and fitting for the diverse group, as both thriving and floundering churches have a role in revitalization.
Dying churches, Stephens explained, have a duty to the Lord and the lost to look for ways to revive or renew so as to further the kingdom. Healthy churches have a similar duty to look around to find those declining churches, to reach out and to help them revive and renew, so as to further the kingdom.
The mission of the declining church is the same as the mission of the thriving church, Stephens said. The mission is to bring the lost to Christ, to advance the Kingdom and to penetrate darkness.
Pointing to Matthew 16:18, Stephens reminded the men and women that Jesus said the church is to take an offensive approach in fighting against the “gates of hell.”
“When we you are driving [through] your community, and you see that church that’s not doing so well, does it break your heart that they’re no longer on the offensive? That they’re no longer storming the gates of hell?” Stephens asked. “To be effective, we have to stay on mission.”
In addition to maintaining a focus on the mission, Stephens said, churches—both growing and dying—must also consider the responsibility associated with the Lord’s churches.
It’s a stewardship issue, Stephens explained. Using the illustration of the wins and losses seen in college football games over the weekend, Stephens reminded the crowd that those games were “won and lost on missed opportunities.”
“When it comes to the church of Jesus Christ, this is more serious than a little college football game,” he said. “We can’t afford to lose opportunities. There’s an opportunity tonight [in] you hearing our convention say, ‘We want to help you. We have churches that want to come alongside of you.’”
Thriving churches, too, have a responsibility in the matter, Stephens said, explaining that his own church believes God allows them to have interns and pastors not to help and expand Prestonwood but so that ministers can be sent out to help other churches.
Church revitalization scores a win for everyone, he said, but it also takes a full team of major players—both the churches who need help and hope and the churches who can reach out to offer it. When that happens, he said, referencing the five “wins” described in the Leadership Network’s book Better Together, struggling churches win and strong churches win. Local communities win and the body of Christ wins. The kingdom, he said, wins.
