by John Gross
Ralph Wilson, in his article “Restart,” states, “One of the most common blocks to growth in a declining or dying congregation is leadership that is closed to faith and a vision of the future.” Often, these entrenched “old-timers” have difficulty accepting a new vision and new direction.
Not every church is a good candidate for a restart. Rural areas losing population, areas of ethnic change, and declining neighborhoods are difficult. The area around a restart church needs to have a definable target group of sufficient size that may be effectively reached by church ministries.
One reason a restart church may not make progress with a new vision or direction is because the leadership who contributed to the decline or death of the church was not successfully changed. The changes you desire may not happen even with a new steering committee if there are negative power struggles with a nucleus of long-standing members calling the shots. There must be an overwhelming welcome of new people and new leadership to the church. Without the excitement of welcoming new guests and new ideas there will be a half-heartedness of corporation for change.1
Restarting a church and starting a church from the ground up requires tremendously different skill sets and mindsets. The restarter is a person with a vast amount of coordination and patience while the latter tends to be a person of strategies and applications. It is true planting a church and restarting a church have many of the same characteristics, but the approach and process is very different.
1. Thoughts gleaned from an article by Ralph Wilson, Joyful Heart Ministries.