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Ernie Long

Planting new Churches vs helping existing Churches

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1050 **7/18/16 9:04 am**

When a church gets a little age on it and its numbers begin to tumble the answer is, "close it down and start a new one" Why?

I know those who are proponents of planting churches say we need new churches or those who are looking to pastor are told to "Start a church", but what if those young men and women who are chomping at the bit to pastor were to partner with a church that could use some young blood in it and help restore that church?

They would be gaining experience PLUS helping a church that might believe it has seen its best days and now are just waiting for the other shoe to fall.

There are churches in every state that are experiencing some form of stagnation with those Pastors asking God to send them help. How hard would it be for each State office, who knows which church in their state needs this type of help, would contact those Pastors and these young people and put them together for a while.

What if the state or even one of the large churches in that state would hold a meeting with those pastors and ask if they would be willing to allow someone to come in and PARTNER with them for a while.

Not every "OLD Pastor" is afraid that a young person will steal their church, I think Cleveland might be surprised that something like this might work.

Maybe instead of closing established churches and starting new ones, which if it doesn't have the right backing and person to see it through will close within a year of opening, we could help make stronger existing churches, which could start new churches with the person who partner with that old pastor.

Just a thought...

Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24283 **7/18/16 12:12 pm**

You do have a valid point here Earnie. What you propose ccould/can work if the location shows promise it's self. My point is there are areas of the country where this theory will not work due to economics. Once thriving farm communities in the west and midwest are dying due to conglomerate farms and machines. WE attend many small churches in Florida and other states where the jobs have left. The only ones left are Mom & Dad, GRandpas and Grandmas.

The sheperd (in those cases) is honestly a care taker. A loving pastor who is there to comfort and bury.

Now in my hometown area of GAston County, NC that is not the case. The jobs have left, but the villages (small towns) have become a bedroom for Charlotte and Gastonia. A struggling church there (and like places) just might make it, but if the pastor himself is not a 'fit' all the help in the world will not rescue the church. JMO
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revuriah

Golf Cart Mafia Underboss Posts: 3682 **7/18/16 1:16 pm**

Those are good ideas, ones that I think are worthy of exploration. But allow me to share a little bit as one who has been in this exact situation before.

I pastored my first church in the small town of Dover, Florida. The church has been in existence for many decades, and he's going back to the early 1950s. Unfortunately overtime, The demographics of that community began to shift. By the time I arrived, there were only a few elderly English-speaking people in that community. That little town is a big farming community, in the commodity is strawberries. The vast majority of the people living there were Mexican, and they spoke no English.

Before we ended up getting appointed elsewhere, and after having done all we could to try to bring this church back around, we are seriously begun thinking that maybe we should rent the building out to a Spanish-speaking church, take those proceeds from the rent, and begin a new work in an area that was really beginning to whom. However, it was not long after that that we were going to the Chicago area.

If I had to do it again, I would do just that. That particular situation was different, but sometimes, you run into churches that have people that simply are not interested in change. You're not interested really and growth, unless that growth is more of what they like. In our case, people wanted growth, but they didn't want to make any kind of changes, they wanted a 1960s style church of God church, in 2012.

There are so many differing factors.
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Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24283 **7/18/16 4:13 pm**

revuriah

Golf Cart Mafia Underboss Posts: 3682 **7/18/16 5:35 pm**

For the record, our last few months there, we did rent out building out for Sunday PM to a Spanish-speaking plant. They were independent. When we moved, the Spanish church seriously grew, and eventually became COG. Still there and thriving.
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Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24283 **7/18/16 7:22 pm**

Ernie Long

Might not be the best time for this thread

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1050 **7/19/16 4:56 am**

due to the GA going on this week, but... I will continue to unashamedly bump it to keep it on the front page.

I believe it is an idea that will work... maybe not everywhere, but I believe it would in most places.

I don't know if it is still being done, but when I went through the CAMS program, we were sent for one Sunday to a "Large" CoG and another Sunday to a "small" Cog and I believe we give a lot of people the false idea that "small" churches stayed small due to their area, the people are satisfied with what they have, or in some way it is the Pastor's fault the church isn't growing.

I was on staff at World Harvest Church in the Pastoral Care Dept. (wished I had stayed), so I know some of how a "Large" church operates. The large CoG my wife and I were sent too had 150 in attendance and the Pastor acted as if he had 150,000 in attendance. He didn't give us any of his time and hardly acknowledge we were there. Sad thing is, it was the same at the small church, only the small church had 15 in attendance. The only thing I took from either pastor was I didn't want to be like them.

I have met Pastors in the CoG that are growing the Kingdom through their churches and I believe they are willing to help other Pastors. I have met young people with a call on their lives who also could help Pastors, but I believe are being given the impression not to get involved with a struggling church, because there is nothing for them to gain from it.

Ernie Long

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1050 **7/21/16 8:04 am**

Ernie Long

Just saw on Facebook

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1050 **7/25/16 9:47 am**

that there is a new "push" to plant new churches.

I'm hoping to get some discussion on what I am suggesting whether it will or won't work.

Maybe if someone in Cleveland sees this it might be a path for a new department to open and give someone a job to oversee it.

I appreciate those who have commented so far.

brotherjames

Ernie,

Acts-celerater Posts: 935 **7/25/16 11:18 am**

In the AG we have a church revitalization/transformative program called the Acts2 Journey. Here is a link so you can see for yourself. http://acts2journey.com/

Watch this longer video version which lays out the program here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yNdYgwT8g0

there is a cost to the program but well worth it. If you are interested, check out the resources section and the books give you all the information to do it yourself at a much lower cost of course but without the input from the consultants all of whom are former pastors and leaders in the AG. No reason the CoG couldn't do the same. One of the newest efforts that is occurring in the AG is that successful churches are helping struggling churches by having them come under their supervision and juristiction and then infusing finances, talent and vision in to the struggling church. Sometimes the pastor remains often not, depends on the situation. But, the the church grows and transforms - essentially a new church. THis works very well. Anyway, there are programs like this Acts 2 journey out there. What I like about this is, that it is AG/Pentecostal in foundation. Essentially using the pattern of the book of Acts as the model to regrow/grow a church. Take a look.

Ernie Long

Re: Ernie,

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1050 **7/26/16 5:54 am**

Clint Wills

Planting vs. REplanting

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 5161 **7/26/16 8:41 am**

Last week at GA there was some discussion about planting and revitalizing. I firmly believe that revitalizing churches is good and necessary. However, we don't have a formal plan for that - and a formal plan would be pretty difficult to create and enforce.
Giving money to church plants is pretty cut and dry. A new church is a really KNOWN thing. The day my son was born made a bigger difference in my life than any of his birthdays since then. Something new is always very obvious to see.
Revitalizing churches gets a lot more nebulous. Where is the line between revitalizing and simply putting a church on welfare? Should our TOT be in the habit of replacing heaters, lights, roofs, and things of that nature?
If we can give money to an existing church with some of the same stipulations we can with planting, then lets do it!!
As far as telling young men to move their families, that's got to be a God thing. I recently moved my family from Oregon to Florida. I couldn't get much further from my parents (my kids grandparents) than this. But we did it because we know that God is in it!! If God isn't in it, then it won't last anyway.