Denominational strategies often place emphasis on launching new congregations and then many years later helping plateaued, declining and dying congregations revitalize or replant.
In between these times, congregations are included in ongoing and special programs, yet the underlying opportunities and challenges of vision, vitality and vibrancy remain unaddressed. Needed services often come too late to keep congregations from going through their lost years.
Interventions may occur during pastor transitions, strategic planning efforts or the construction of a new building. Otherwise, the underlying, less visible issues of the life cycle of congregations are ineffectively addressed.
3 phases
I refer to these in-between times as the lost years of congregations and identify three phases with needed actions.
RELATED: Check out more articles on the impact of Baptist associations.
Phase 1 lasts from the end of the third year of a congregation’s life for the next eight to 10 years. Phase 2 covers another eight to 10 years. Phase 3 involves the next 10 to 15 years. All these time frames are flexible and can be shorter or longer.
Each phase requires a distinct set of actions. Denominations may not effectively address these phases.
Even worse, congregations are often clueless about the lost years. They are doing church as they feel led by God. They lack understanding of the life of congregations as a journey with phases during which they must address various issues.
Using a congregational life cycle approach, Phase 1 encompasses infancy and childhood. Phase 2 spans adolescence to emerging adulthood. Phase 3 applies to adulthood and years of maturity.
Phase 1: The multiplying years
During infancy and childhood, congregations formalize the programs and ministries that define their first generation of life. They do so with flexibility, excitement and a sense of God’s movement among them. They make positive efforts to impact the context or people groups they serve.
Growth occurs in numbers and spiritual depth. Growth pains arise. The finances, facilities, staff, materials, equipment and time needed to address spiritual and strategic opportunities are limited.
In infancy, people who are captured by God’s vision for the congregation swarm around the opportunities for ministry. They want to help make great ministry happen. By childhood, more time is spent on recruiting people to accept roles than simply responding to those rushing forward to volunteer.
Despite constraints, the ministry is often growing and multiplying. The spiritual harvest is bountiful. People who dedicate themselves to the strategic efforts also experience growth in their personal discipleship.
The founders of the congregation have devoted their hearts, souls, minds and strength to the effort and inspire excitement and hope in others that alleviates the challenges of successful ministry.
Phase 2: The maturing years
When congregations reach their adolescent years, traditions — or “our way of doing things” — become as strong as the motivation to innovate and try new things. Management of ministry becomes an agenda that must be addressed.
Rules and policies are put into place to clearly define and formalize the culture of the congregation. It is obvious who the founders are and who the newcomers are.
During adolescence, congregations reach their most effective years in reaching new followers of Jesus and helping them mature as disciples — greater than many congregations see in later phases of their life.
Some of this success is because of the children and spouses of families who are making their decisions for Christ and being baptized.
Phase 3: The management years
When congregations reach adulthood — about 20 to 25 years after they launch — their founding vision from God realizes its greatest ascendancy. That is both a great thing and a dangerous thing because few congregations know what to do next.
Some years later they reach maturity for the first time in their lives. They lose touch with God’s vision for their spiritual and strategic journey. Instead of God’s vision, management is now the key driver of their journey.
At the same time, because of the developed resource base, the quality of their programs and ministries is greater than they have ever experienced. Financially, they are having their most fruitful years.
While everything seems great to long-term members, they do not know where God is leading them anymore.
The next three columns will address in more depth the three phases of the lost years — beginning with the multiplying years — and how associations can address them.
EDITOR’S NOTE — George Bullard spent 45 years in denominational ministry. He served on the staff of three associations, was a key staff person working with associations in two state conventions and served on the association missions division staff of the former Home Mission Board of the SBC. He retired in June 2022 as director of Columbia Metro Baptist Association in South Carolina. He has led strategic planning processes in more than 100 associations and has written extensively in this area. Bullard now serves as a strategic thinking mentor for Christian leaders through his ForthTelling Innovation ministry and a correspondent for The Baptist Paper.
To request permission to republish this article, email news@thebaptistpaper.org.
