Bi-vocational pastors are heroes, and the content for this week’s episode comes from Church Answers member—and bi-vocational pastor—Terry Cheek. We are grateful to him for sharing his story of leading a church revitalization as a bi-vocational pastor. These five tips are invaluable.
Episode Highlights:
- By preaching the full counsel of God, you teach your people to love the full counsel of God.
- There will always be selfish church members. Don’t let them get you down.
- Pastors: preach the Word, be obedient to Christ, and let the Spirit work in your church.
- We often overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in 10 years.
- Only eternity is going to show the total fruit of our labor.
The tips on leading a revitalization effort as a bi-vocational pastor that we cover are:
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Equip those willing to be equipped and don’t stress out on those who aren’t willing.
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Consider preaching through books of the Bible.
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Don’t stress out on the majority of people who don’t grasp your time limitations.
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Don’t stress out that most of the members want to be served instead of serving. You will never please everyone.
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Accept incremental progress as monumental progress.
Resources mentioned in this episode include:
- ChurchAnswers.com
- RevitalizeBundle.com
- ChurchReplanters.com
- Replanter Assessment
- Find more resources at the Revitalize & Replant page at ThomRainer.com
Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to explore resources for replanting and revitalization in your own church, visit ChurchReplanters.com.
Submit Your Question:
Do you have a question about church revitalization or replanting for us to use on the podcast? Visit the podcast page to submit your question. If we use it on the show, you’ll get a copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Reclaiming Glory.
