Church Revitalization: Turning around one degree at a time
I grew up on a boat. Most weekends during the summer, my family would travel 45 miles to the Mississippi River, where we would launch our boat and spend the days fishing and skiing. In fact, long before I could drive a car, I learned to pilot a boat, and along with that came many lessons. One of the first and most important of these lessons was that a boat does not turn on a dime. In fact, there are many things which affect how sharply a boat can turn, including its length and mass, speed, applied thrust, and even the current. Whether or not you were pulling a skier, the length of the rope, and other traffic also affected things. Regardless of these factors, though, one thing is certain: a boat does not make significant course changes all at once. No, they happen one degree at a time.
In the world of church revitalization, this is true as well. Of course, there are those churches which require only a minor course correction to spark revival. These are the type that denominational authorities love to showcase because they are quick and yield immediate quantifiable results. For congregations that have been in serious decline, however, it is important to remember that turning a church around happens one degree at a time.
Revitalization happens one decision at a time.
In church revitalization, though, each degree represents a decision. For instance, one of the first decisions our church made in our turnaround process was to apply a fresh coat of paint to key areas of our facility. Thus, we painted the foyer, replacing a dingy yellow with a fresh, clean white, and a few months later, we painted the sanctuary as well. We bought a gas trimmer so that we could more easily trim the grass around the building and uncovered a window that had been painted over on the inside, creating a grievous eyesore for passersby. We made the decisions to be more proactive about engaging the schools in our community and to become involved in the neighborhood association. We decided to launch a free sale to help people who cannot afford a lot and a community Easter egg hunt to meet a need we saw (i.e., kids need candy and duck erasers).
None of these decisions (or any of the myriad other decisions made along the way) alone sparked immediate revitalization in our congregation, but each shifted our trajectory slightly. And when combined over time, they resulted in a profound shift in culture, which has, in turn, resulted in a renewed passion for Jesus and effectiveness in ministry. Indeed, as Daniel Im observed in his book, No Silver Bullets, “The only way change happens – significant, long-lasting, macro-level change – is through a series of small decisions, steps, or micro-shifts, that are put into action and completed one at a time.”
Revitalization starts small.
Notice, though, the emphasis Im places on the size of these individual decisions. He describes them as “small,” “steps” (rather than “leaps”), and “micro-shifts.” Indeed, you will notice that none of the decisions our church has made throughout our turnaround process has been terribly profound. Some of this was necessitated by available resources. For instance, we painted the foyer, followed months later by the sanctuary, because we did not have enough money to paint both spaces at once. Buying a gas trimmer was an investment of $150, compared to thousands of dollars for landscaping. Our involvement with the schools truly started with a walk across the street to introduce myself, but it has developed into a daily presence at three different schools, and regular contact with a fourth. Our involvement with the neighborhood association started with a letter of support for renewal within our community. The free sale evolved from an annual rummage sale held to raise money for some ministry or need to an annual giveaway to, this year, four planned events which will each serve several hundred families! And the egg hunt, which stemmed from our connection to the community, grew from nothing to 5,000 eggs, to 10,000+ eggs.
Consider it the principle of low-hanging fruit. When I was a kid, my friend and I would pick apples from the tree in his back yard so that our moms and grandmas could make apple pies, applesauce, etc. We would always start on the ground, picking the apples we could reach, because they were easy. As the picking progressed, though, we would inevitably climb the tree, higher and higher, until we filled our wagon with fresh, red apples. So also, church revitalization generally starts with the easy decisions that can be made quickly and easily. This breaks things loose and builds both momentum and faith so that more significant things can be tackled. Which, in turn, builds both momentum and faith so that more significant things can be tackled. Which, in turn, builds…
St. Paul, I believe, understood the importance of this principle. In Philippians 4:6-7, he exhorted, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” The objective is to not worry about anything, but that it a big leap for most people! Instead, the apostle encourages people to go to God in prayer with every little thing, being careful to thank him for every success, every step, along the way. This process of entrusting God with little things, then giving thanks when he provides, encourages us to entrust him with bigger things.
So also, a boat turns around one degree at a time. Over one mile’s distance, a course change of only one degree will result in the boat arriving less than 100 feet from where it would have otherwise. That is not a huge difference. Yet, even one small change over time adds up. For example, if a boat headed from New York to London turned just one degree to starboard (i.e., right), it would run into France. If that same boat turned about 45 degrees, it would be in Africa, and at 90 degrees, it would end up in South America. Each degree in that arc shifts the boat’s destination by only 30 over the 3,500-mile journey, but a bunch of small changes together eventually makes a world of a difference!
Revitalization requires a hand on the tiller.
One other thing that I learned from piloting a boat is that, if you really want to turn, then you must keep your hand on the tiller. The tiller is the arm which extends from the motor or the rudder, allowing the pilot to steer. If the pilot releases the tiller, though, the boat will generally straighten and proceed more or less on the line it was on when the pilot let go. In other words, if you release the tiller before the boat the turnaround is completed, it will never turn all the way around.
The same is true in church revitalization. Revitalizing leaders cannot start the turn and then expect the church to continue and complete it on its own. No, they must continue pressing into the turn, making deliberate decision after deliberate decision to keep the congregation turning toward health and effectiveness. In 18 years of leading a revitalizing church, I have seen this truth demonstrated in my own ministry and others’. Whenever I have been distracted by other things or complacent enough to let things go for a time, our turnaround stalls.
The importance of this is accentuated in churches where not everything is working correctly. Just as a boat with a bent or broken propellor may veer wildly from straight, a church with some problem may veer wildly from effective as soon as leader lets go. And since most churches needing revitalization are broken in some way, you can probably count on bad things happening without a firm hand on the tiller.
What does this mean, practically speaking? I think keeping a hand on the tiller of the church means three things: First, keep reinforcing the mission and vision of the church. That is, remember which way the church is supposed to be going and keep directing people’s attention in that direction. Second, use victories as springboards into challenges. Celebrate the positive changes and progress made, and use that celebration as a catalyst for further change and improvement. Finally, make adjustments as needed. Just as a pilot must account for internal factors such as a broken propellor and external factors such as wind and waves, the revitalizing leader must adjust according to conditions both within and without the congregation. Are people bucking the change? Perhaps it is necessary to slow the turn a bit. Did something happen in the community? Perhaps it is necessary to rethink your strategy altogether.
More often than not, church revitalization is neither quick nor simple. Congregations rarely surge to lasting health and effectiveness as the result of a single decision or change. Rather, churches turn around one degree, one decision, at a time. More often than not, they must start small, proceeding at each stage only to the next higher fruit. And they need someone to keep applying pressure all the way through the turn.