The Church Revitalization Podcast

New research indicates troubling trends in the American Religious landscape. Discerning churches will pay attention to these trends and act on their implications for their congregation. All of the top line trends suggest that evangelical churches must overcome serious challenges and shortcomings in order to thrive. In this episode, we'll share three key data points and how your church can respond....

Here in the United States we just celebrated our independence on the 4th of July. Regardless of whether you're an American or not, there are some freedoms that you may need to be reminded of. Oftentimes, pastors get caught in cycles in which they feel oppressed by their circumstances. Sometimes, those circumstances are self-imposed. In this episode, we'll cover 10 freedoms you, as a pastor, have i...

Do most of your staff meetings feel like they could have been an email? The sad reality is most church meetings are too long, too report-driven, and just plain boring! Bad meetings are not unique to churches. But your church's staff meetings don't have to be bad or boring. In this episode, we're sharing three tips for better staff meetings. Develop these three habits, and your church will thrive,...

Have you ever felt like your church's board wasn't reaching its full potential? Most church board members are good people that have good intentions. But they're often inefficient and ineffective because they don't know how best to spend their time and energy. In this episode of The Church Revitalization Podcast, we'll share five common roadblocks to a healthy church board and the shifts your team...

Have you worked on vision in your church, but you're not really seeing the positive effects that you expected?  Vision can be tough, and it doesn't come easy for many, so you're not alone if you're struggling.  Vision cannot be overlooked, though.  It is a critical component of a healthy, thriving church.  In this week's episode, we'll cover 7 vision failures that may be happening in your church a...

If you don't know how you're doing, how can you know if you're doing the right things? One of the components of church revitalization is measuring success. In our Strategic Envisioning process of church revitalization, we work through five things that are essential to church health. If you're seeing these five things happening in your church, there is a very good chance that you're reversing a tre...

Has your church ever experienced a summer slump? Nearly every church sees a dip in attendance over the summer, and it can make you want to shrug your shoulders and take the loss. But what if you could leverage the summer for growth?  Not all growth is numerical, but all growth contributes to your overall health. In this week's episode, we'll explore five things you can do to grow as a church over...

Any church revitalization should start with a church revitalization checklist. Preparation is key. To be a successful revitalizing pastor, you need to use your own pre-revitalization checklist. In this week's episode of The Church Revitalization Podcast, we share a Pre-Revitalization checklist that will set your church up for success. Learn how to clarify, set expectations, and prepare yourself an...

If your church remains a closed system, it will inevitably die. Given the trajectory your church is on, is it spiraling downward or is it genuinely being given outside energy, opening itself up to authentic leadership and deep change? Church death doesn't have to be inevitable. In this week's episode, we'll cover four things you can do to start the process of breakthrough. To reach today's show no...

More than 80% of churches are plateaued or in decline, and church leaders are the problem. The greatest barrier to your church's success is not your strategy, it is your leaders. Having ineffective church leaders is not a death sentence! Church leaders can grow, change, learn, and become effective. But if you want to see strategic change, you have to first admit where and how your church leaders a...

Is an ineffective discipleship model a concern for you in your church?  Learn more as we construct and discuss a results-based discipleship model. Most churches start with predetermined means and try to shoehorn the ends. It never occurs to them that there may be a better way. If you've ever asked yourself how you could make Sunday School or Wednesday night better, you may be ready for results-bas...

Is emotional intelligence really that important to the church and its leaders? Does it make a difference? Great leaders lead through emotions. They move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. In this episode, dive into fourteen reasons why every Christian, and leaders in particular, should understand and value the importance of emotional resonance. To read today's show notes, visi...

By definition, the status quo is the current state of affairs. Regardless of cause, a lack of forward progress in making and maturing disciples of Jesus leaves churches in an unhealthy state. Things are always changing whether we want them to or not, or whether we choose to direct the change or not. Positive change in the church is change that is biblical, intentional, strategic, and measurable. I...

At its core, good church strategic planning is not an event—it is a process of continuous improvement. Most churches fail to make plans. Or, at best, they will put ideas on paper but fail to follow through. The solution is to re-conceptualize church strategic planning as a healthy habit rather than an event. In this episode, you'll learn the five moments—think of them as beats—that define a health...

If you've spent any time on social media, watching TV, reading newspapers, or even listening to family and friends try to tell you something "factual," you've likely noticed that there are communication problems out in the world. Unfortunately, those same problems exist in the church as well. If we're going to be on mission communicating the Good News of Jesus Christ, we need to communicate all th...

In pop culture, narcissism is funny and we derive entertainment from it. In the church, not so much. Narcissism is easy to identify in others but hard to see in ourselves. The success of our leadership, however, depends on our ability to know ourselves. In this episode, explore five warning signs of narcissistic leadership to ensure you are being the strongest leader you can be. To read today's sh...

The single most effective form of evangelism is simply living out a life transformed by Christ and telling other people your story about how you came to know Him. In this episode, we share 3 ways that churches can cultivate creative individual evangelism among their congregations. To read today's show notes, visit: malphursgroup.com/82

The real Saint Patrick's story is more relevant than ever for reaching a post-Christian world. Leaders like Patrick remind us that God is able to use willing people to accomplish unimaginable things. In this episode, we cover three evangelism lessons from Saint Patrick. To read today's show notes, visit: malphursgroup.com/81

Your church will never go where you are not intentionally leading it. To see long-term, sustained success in ministry, you will need to chart a course to ministry goal setting and achieving those goals. Winning ministry goals are Mission-centric, measurable, specific, performance-based, and temporary. Learn more about each of these winning characteristics and how to apply them in this week's episo...

The way you treat guests is a reflection of your practical theology. One of the Bible's deepest values is hospitality, and so if your church is aiming to be Biblical… your church must value hospitality, too! If you've heard criticisms of your hospitality from churchgoers, or you haven't heard them because guests keep slipping out the back door, chances are you need to take a hard look at your appr...

Regardless of your political and social position, we can probably agree that our nation is divided and more tragically, the Church is divided. It would be easier for us to stay in our corners, divided and entrenched in our points of view, but that's not what God is calling us to do. As ministers of reconciliation and peacemakers, we are called to seek a solution for the issues that exist among us....

We all want our churches to be healthy. We want them to bear fruit and be strong enough to hold out hope in a world that is seemingly turning against Christianity. But how healthy is your church? Metrics have real potential to help us explore what is happening. But where there is power in metrics to help us, there are pitfalls we ought to be aware of. To read today's show notes, visit malphursgrou...

You read that right. Stop training your leaders if you want to see better staff and volunteer performance. This sounds almost unbiblical but it has been proven in multiple business studies over multiple decades.  In this week's podcast we discussed six factors that affect workplace and volunteer performance. Learn how to equip your leaders to do the work of ministry well.  To read today's show not...

Spanish is the second most spoken native language in the world. If reaching Spanish-speaking communities isn't on your church's radar, you will fall behind one of the greatest ethnic shifts of the next century. Many Anglo and Black pastors are disconnected from the unique challenges that face Hispanic congregations. In this episode, we'll discuss four of these challenges. To read today's show note...

For many years, Europe has been called "the dark continent." The decline of churches here has been phenomenal, and churches closing down is common. Sometimes the declines are recognized too late since its progression was in slow motion. Join in this week's episode of The Church Revitalization Podcast as we discuss the history of the Church in Europe, and how the remnant is taking root today. To re...