Church Revitalization Quiz

Can We Grow Again?

by Stan Granberg, PhD
​​I received a call recently from a church that began with this, “We’re tired of years of decline and want to know if anyone can help us grow again.” What a great statement and a statement that can break your heart. Yet I hear it over and over again. My perspective is that there is a dawning desperation among many church leaders. No matter what they do, it seems like people continue to leave their churches and few guests stick around to replace them.

Score the following statements using this system:
1 point= Nope. This isn't us.
3 points=I hope this isn't us
7 points=This could be us
10 points=Oh dear. This is us!

1. Resistance to change: We’re afraid if we try doing much different people will leave
2. Lack of knowledge. We just don’t know what to do. Nothing we’ve tried has worked much
3. Despair and defeatism: We’ve declined, we’re tired and we struggle to find the energy to try again
4. Despair and defeatism: We’ve declined, we’re tired and we struggle to find the energy to try again
5. The magic bullet syndrome: What one thing could we do that would solve our problem without changing anything else?
6. Lack of awareness about the community: Our members live outside our church neighborhood; we’re different from people in our neighborhood
7. Evangelistic apathy: we have no effective outreach that is regularly producing new disciples
8. Deflection of blame: If only . . . (our leaders, neighbors, young people, etc.)
9. Short-term leadership: We’ll fire and hire until something happens
10. Failure to be acquired: We’d rather die than pass our heritage on to new churches

How did you do?

• If you scored 10 to 30 points: You might be a good candidate for revitalization.
• With 31-70 points: Revitalization is possible, but a long shot.
• If you have 71-100 points: You are not likely to successfully revitalize at this time.

 
No matter where you find yourself scoring, there is help. I encourage you to contact the Heritage 21 ministry for a free consultation about what next steps your church might take.
 
Heritage 21 can help you update your legal documents, better understand your challenges, and suggest options for a God-honoring future for your church.