“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labour. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Church Growth Trust has always understood the benefit of working with other Christian organisations. From the moment of its foundation, it has been building up strong relationships to help with its vision of serving churches and helping Christ’s Kingdom grow. One such partnership is the Church Revitalisation Project in conjunction with Counties, Partnership and GLO. Set up six years ago, its goal is to put key workers and local churches together to support any congregations who are struggling to develop or move forward.
A brand new “Growing church – church revitalisation project” e-booklet is out now. Giles Arnold, Chief Executive at CGT and Chairman of the Revitalisation Operations Team, explains why it has been updated.
“Since we brought out the original booklet and launched the project, we have been privileged to work with a number of churches and to watch them grow and develop. Some people only think about “revitalisation” when it’s too late and they have already become too small and weak to be revitalised. They require resuscitation or resurrection! We have improved the booklet because we think it’s better to encourage churches to engage with the project at an earlier stage. We want to speak to them when they have problems but can still see a way through them. These issues are often elderly leaders, a dwindling and ageing congregation and a lack of younger members and leaders. If left unchecked, this will lead to the church having to close. When addressed through our Church Health Checks and mentoring inputs, that church can be taken on a whole new journey of revitalisation.”
Giles emphasises that the church has to be prepared to go through challenges and changes if they truly want their future to be bright and start growing again.
“I was speaking to an elder of a church in North Wales recently. They have a reasonable sized congregation, but he recognises that the elders are reaching retirement age and the congregation is also mostly elderly. Unless they do something now, they will get to the point of no return. I gave him a booklet and had a chat and watched as his eyes lit up. ‘This is exactly what we need!’ he exclaimed. It is a response like that which gladdens our hearts and encourages us to carry on with this project.”
To read more on this click here for the full article in our Foundations magazine.
