Craig Carlisle knows firsthand the challenges of leading a church in a revitalization effort.
As the pastor of 12th Street Baptist Church, Gadsden, Carlisle led the church to purchase an empty Kmart store building in 2009 and to relocate from 12th Street in Gadsden to the Rainbow City area several miles away.
Carlisle grew up in 12th Street Baptist, then in 2008, the Etowah Baptist Association church called him as pastor. Carlisle knew then he faced a challenge. The community around the church had changed and the historic 111-year-old church was in decline.
“I didn’t come back to 12th Street (Baptist) to bury it. We had to face the truth that in 10 years there would not be a 12th Street Baptist Church,” Carlisle said.
Today 12th Street Baptist meets at the newly renovated location. Attendance is up significantly. The church is successfully reaching out and has a long-range plan for additional refurbishing of the Kmart store turned renewed church.
Carlisle’s experience with 12th Street Baptist, the relocation and the revitalization the church has seen recently led him and the church staff to plan a conference that would help other pastors of churches in need of moving out of decline. They called the conference REVITALIZE.
Support and assistance
The event was held Jan. 25–27 at 12th Street Baptist’s new location. The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions provided promotional support and LifeWay Christian Resources provided assistance as well.
Malachi O’Brien, associate pastor of prayer and church revitalization at First Baptist Church, Raytown, Mo., opened the conference in prayer.
“Most of our churches are at a point where we need not just prayer, but desperate prayer,” O’Brien said. “Because so many of our Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches are either plateaued or declining something has … to happen. That process begins with prevailing prayer.”
Across America, 340,000 churches are in need of revitalization and 7 out of 10 SBC churches are either plateaued or in decline, according to LifeWay Research.
Micah Fries, vice president of LifeWay Research, said, “A majority of evangelical churches in the United States are declining and nominal Christianity in America is in fast decline. A minority of these churches is in freefall and most will not be revitalized. But the majority of declining churches can be turned around.”
Fries urged pastors and other church leaders of declining churches to make honest assessments. “Too many churches are comfortable in their decline,” he said. Fries noted that LifeWay Research has a “Transformational Church Assessment Tool” that provides a church with the ability to assess the health of the congregation, celebrate areas of strength and address areas of concern.
Chuck Lawless, professor of evangelism and missions at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., told conference participants, “In almost every declining or plateaued church is a lost focus on the Great Commission. And the plateau or decline is not the problem, but a symptom of the reasons for the decline. Churches must address these issues.”
Lawless also is dean of graduate studies at Southeastern Seminary and serves as global theological education consultant for the International Mission Board.
Lawless believes that church leaders in declining churches must lean on God. “Ask God to break you over the condition of your church,” Lawless said.
Matt Rogers, pastor of the The Church at Cherrydale in Greenville, S.C., shared with conference participants: “Getting off the plateau is messy, it’s hard and it’s costly.”
Thom S. Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, also spoke at the conference.
Carlisle urged pastors of churches in need of revitalization to stay the course. “Have courage. Don’t allow obstacles to intimidate you or sweep you off course.”
Charles Dowdy, pastor of Stowers Hill Baptist Church, Attalla, also in Etowah Association, attended the REVITALIZE conference. He said, “I appreciated the emphasis on prayer and seeking God’s direction for our churches. This conference will help me to stay faithful and not to focus so much on problems and obstacles.”
Mark Bishop, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church, Radcliffe, Ky., and former Army Ranger and chaplain, said after REVITALIZE, “I am leaving this conference committed to being faithful to the little things that make a big difference in a church.”
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