1. Who is in Charge

The call for revitalization often begins with the first item that needs to be relinquished within the church and that is who is leading the revitalization effort! Most if not all, successful revitalization efforts are lead by a single solitary leader directing the cause. It might be the pastor who has heard from God and has been renewed or it might be a new leader whom God raises up to assist the church. Often churches get stuck with an array of leaders (both public and some private) all trying to do their thing and lead in the way they believe is necessary. As churches in need of renewal and revitalization begin to decline there will often become a little bit of a power struggle with long time members and those who are called (or think they are) to lead the effort. Who is going to be in charge of the renewal effort is a big deal and yet it is one of those initial things that can or could stall any real effort towards revitalization!

2. Change ($)

Perhaps the hardest area for the church in need of revitalization to relinquish is that of letting go of who runs the financial arenas of the church! This is because the continual decline of the church has lead to an extreme caution towards the use of money within the church. Those who have been there for a long time will often resent the use of finances on new ideas that have never been tried before! There has become a protective mindset of keeping what dwindling funds we have. People of habit in churches cannot see other things and this shows up often when a new idea that could help the church attract new prospects costs an amount that those “holding on” are unwilling to accept. When you the work of revitalization, you will encounter this aspect and how you deal with it will either allow the church to move towards renewal successfully or it will be hindered in anything it does. Some of this struggle in a historical review of the church might be one of those reasons why the church constantly struggled to do anything new in its ministry.