By Kevin Minchey
Church revitalization team leader, Tennessee Baptist Mission Board
As we move forward in 2021 it is the desire of the Church Revitalization Team to encourage pastors and their congregations to not be discouraged.
II Chronicles 5:17 says “as for you, be strong and do not give up. Your work will be rewarded.” 2020 felt like a good year to give up. If you are reading this, you are more than likely one of those who decided to not give up but to persevere. God’s Word promises that He will reward our work.
The Church Revitalization Team has consulted with hundreds of churches in Tennessee and beyond during the past few years and one of the things we have found is there may be some preparation before we can begin to do the work God desires to reward.
Minchey
Pastors tend to have a “get it done” mentality. That mentality leads them to always be looking for what we need to be “doing.” The Church Revitalization team has discovered a missing component in revitalization efforts can be the spiritual foundation upon which all the “doing” will be built upon.
Revitalization, revival, and evangelistic effectiveness are all spiritual byproducts of a church aligned with the will of God and His Word. It is often easy to overlook the necessity of establishing a spiritual foundation for any good work we seek to build.
Claude King has a heart for church renewal and revival. His most recent published work is entitled Return to Me: God’s Plea and Promise to His Church.
In Return to Me, Claude deals with six major areas churches need to examine within themselves to see if they need to repent and return to the Lord. The study is based upon the invitation and promise from God found in Malachi 3:7 “Return to Me, and I will return to you.”
The front cover of the book “Return to Me” written by Claude King.
The TBMB Church Revitalization Team has partnered with Claude King and LifeWay to offer this resource to any pastor seeking to lead his church to a higher level of effectiveness and greater vitality. Through your faithful Cooperative Program giving, we are able to offer this resource in limited quantites to pastors at no cost.
Inside this special TBMB branded copy of Return to Me you will also find a letter from our executive director Randy C. Davis and a 15-page overview of the TBMB Church Revitalization Process to overcoming obstacles to congregational vitality. We recommend Return to Me in conjunction with another “no cost to you” resource — Praying with Jesus: 40 Days toward Church Revitalization.
If you are interested in receiving this resource, you can contact Vickie Clemons at vsclemons@tnbaptist.org. Vickie can also connect you with the closest Church Revitalization Team member in your area. Finally, we suggest you reach out to your Director of Missions and let him know of your desire to work towards revitalization in 2021. Working together, we believe the Lord will reward our work as we seek to see no less than 500 TBC churches experience undeniable revitalization between now and 2024! B&R
