How To Know If Your Church Should Be Adopted by Another Church – Part 3: First Steps Toward Church Adoption

In the past, a severely struggling church typically only had one option: the church had to close. Now we know that many churches are being successfully adopted or acquired by another church. In this three-part series, Thom and Mark examine and discuss the process and accompanying issues of a church adoption. In this third episode, they look at the first steps a church should take if it is seriously considering being adopted.

• Always have a season of prayer.

• Make certain everyone clearly knows the likely outcome.

• Find the right “parent” church.

• Move into a mode of complete servanthood to make the adoption successful and fruitful.

Resources:

• Listen to Part 1: “How To Know If Your Church Should Be Adopted by Another Church – The Often Tough and Unspoken Issues in a Church Adoption”

• Listen to Part 2: “How To Know If Your Church Should Be Adopted by Another Church – Why Potential Church Closures Are Becoming More Common”

• North American Mission Board Church Replanters

• “Anatomy of a Revived Church” by Thom S. Rainer

• “Autopsy of a Deceased Church” by Thom S. Rainer

• Church Adoption for Southern Baptist Churches

• “Experiencing God (Updated Edition)” by Henry T. Blackaby

• North American Mission Board Evangelism Resources

• “An Interview with Keith Getty: The Queen of England, a New Album, the Resurgence of Hymnody in the Church, and a Few Funny Thoughts (Part 1)”

• “An Interview with Keith Getty: The Queen of England, a New Album, the Resurgence of Hymnody in the Church, and a Few Funny Thoughts (Part 2)”

• Collaborate with ministry leaders around the world! Join us at Church Answers Gold

Episode Sponsor:

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.