What Is Church Development? (Formerly Redevelopment)

It’s a fact, generally speaking the American Church is in deep trouble. The vast majority of local congregations in our nation are either in plateau or outright decline. But far be it from a simple numerical statistic, the problems that lead to this truth are systemic. It is near impossible to gather a congregation for regular intercessory prayer today. Our typical model of discipleship has been distilled down to a Bible-based lecture on a Sunday morning, rather than the transformational mentoring model of the New Testament. And evangelism is nearly non-existent among American Christians — where it does exist it is usually a “canned” approach rather than the outpouring of a vibrant faith in Christ. If you can identify with these symptoms, then you already know full well the need for this critical ministry.

Most American believers do not purposefully share their faith with friends or loved ones as a witness for Christ. Ministry in today’s churches is often focused completely on the needs and desires of those who already attend the church rather than on those who have yet to meet Jesus. As a result, the church at large is no longer effectively reaching the lost in her own local communities. And as those communities continue to change, things will only get worse.

The American Church Research Project’s David T. Olson reports that church attendance in every U.S. State has been declining for the last 40 years. Having studied true association/denominational reports from all different backgrounds, he notes that today only 17% to 19% of Americans are actually in a church on any given Sunday. And both Olson and Tim Roehl (Christian Resource Ministries) report that the United States of America is now considered the largest English-speaking mission field in the world, with North America (the U.S. and Canada) being the only continent on the face of the earth where Christianity is NOT expanding.

While some local congregations are doing an incredible job, most churches need help to refocus on what has been called the “irreducible core” of Christianity: Love God, Love Others, and Make Disciples. Church Redevelopment (or Revitalization) is the process — unique to each congregation — that leads a church and her ministry back to New Testament wholeness based upon these principles.

For More Information

If you or your church would like more information about Church Redevelopment, or if you think you may be called to redevelopment ministry, call Dr. John Kimball, our Director of Conference Care & Church Redevelopment at (651) 739-1474 or use the Contact Us feature at the top of the page.