Traditional Church Revitalization
Part of the ministry resources on Church Leadership and Renewal.
Much of the material on church leadership and church health leaves the impression that in order for churches to remain vibrant in today’s culture, they must shift completely to contemporary models. In many situations, however, a more realistic and successful approach is for leaders of traditional, established churches to unapologetically affirm their special characteristics, and develop them to their highest degree of excellence. The following ministry resources address this approach, either directly or indirectly.
Church-Based Ministry Resources
- Robert D. Dale, Cultivating Perennial Churches: Your Guide to Long-Term Growth (TCP Leadership Series) — A study of churches that have grown and stayed vital for 25-30 years or more (includes both Evangelical and Mainline Protestant churches). While not all churches in this research were “traditional,” most were careful to maintain important aspects of their long-term identity.
- Stephen Chapin Garner and Jerry Thornell, Scattering Seeds: Cultivating Congregational Vitality – An honest, realistic, and inspiring narrative of how an “average” mainline denominational church experienced renewal, primarily through the deployment of congregational ministry teams that empowered people for mission.
- Thom Rainer and Charles Lawless, Eating the Elephant: Leading the Established Church to Growth, Revised and Updated – Probably the standard text on this approach, now in its second edition. Excellent.
- Gary L. McIntosh, There’s Hope for Your Church: First Steps to Restoring Health and Growth – A distillation of McIntosh’s four decades of consultations with over 1,000 churches on the universal principles and practices of church renewal.
- Mark Wingfield, Staying Alive: Why the Conventional Wisdom About Traditional Churches Is Wrong (TCP Leadership Series) – Researches 15 traditional churches that have have thrived.
Business-Based Ministry Resources
The research of Jim Collins, while not geared to churches, lays out the best practices of companies that have staying power, especially those that have the finesse to flourish and thrive through several cycles of turbulent market periods. These insights are instructive for established churches. Collins careful research refreshingly dispels myths and pinpoints exactly what it takes to remain strong over the long haul. His research is found in three volumes:
- First: Collins and Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
- Sequel: Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t
- Sequel: Collins, Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite Them All
Related Ministry Resources
Ministry Resources on Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal:
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal, Index
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – Theological Foundations, Ecclesiology
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – Philosophical Foundations – e.g. Church Growth, Missional, Emergent, and Other Missionally Responsive Trajectories
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – Practical Foundations, Church Dynamics and Research
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – Practical Foundations, Congregational Culture, Church Identity
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – Practical Foundations, Church Size, Size Transitions
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – Practical Foundations, Research and Case Studies on Effective Churches
- Church Leadership, Church Health and Renewal – Special Situations, Small Church Development
- Church Leadership and Church Health – Strategies for Renewal
Ministry Resources on Related Areas
- Church Administration
- Transition and Change in Church
- Conflict in Church
- Elders, Church Governance
- Evangelism
- Church Giving, Tithing, and Financial Stewardship
- Involvement, Spiritual Gifts for Ministry in Church
- Christian Leadership
- Managing Volunteers in Christian Ministry
- Church Staff, Ministry Teams
- Ministry Transitions, Interim Ministry
- Missional Perspectives, Intro
- Missional Strategies for Christian Ministry
- Pastoral Theology
- Social Ministry, Social Justice
- Spiritual Formation for Christian Ministry
- Theology of Mission and Ministry
See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Christian Ministry: