The most significant discovery we’ve made over the past 25 years is how the life cycle impacts your church. This is particularly important coming out of the pandemic.
Here is why:
It’s the first step to answering two questions:
- How healthy is our church?
- What do we need to do to grow?
Discovering your pinpoint creates a sense of urgency to “do something” like none other because many churches overestimate their position on the life cycle. Left unchecked here is the sure result: Your church is destined to decline unless spiritual and strategic intervention is intentionally engaged.
Note: “Doing something” does not mean “doing anything”. Your church does not need another program. You’ve done that. It needs a different approach.
Where is your pinpoint?
There are three broad stages of the life cycle. About 70% of all American churches find themselves in the recline or plateau stage. The others fall on either side in about equal percentages.
11 markers pinpoint your church’s location on its life cycle. We have pulled four of them to give you a general idea of where your church lies.
Your church is located in the incline stage when it:
- looks forward to the future
- is driven by vision
- focuses on the community
- grows through conversion
Your church is located in the recline stage when it:
- looks to the present
- is driven by programs
- focuses on the congregation
- grows through transfer
Your church is located in the decline stage when it:
- looks to the past
- is driven by structure
- focuses on the core of those remaining
- doesn’t grow
Go Deeper
Having a general idea of your location on the life cycle is good, but not enough. You must get to the root. This is where we can help.
Our Church Health Assessment Tool pinpoints the root. It assesses the 11 areas of your church critical to its health and growth. Once you discover where you land, we can work together to right the ship through our proven process. Aligning your perception to reality is the first step to becoming healthier and growing.
Act now if you are in the recline stage so that you can ignite the next growth phase. Now is the time to operate from a position of strength, not weakness.
So why don’t churches turn to vitalization sooner rather than later?
Church leaders are reluctant to tamper with ministry that’s working, choosing to operate too much in the present, rely too heavily on programming and transfer growth, rather than continue to stretch the people under their care to make disciples and impact the community in new ways.
Don’t be that guy. That season will pass and your church will accelerate its decline.
Take the self-assessment today. It’s free and takes about 10-15 minutes to complete. It’s the first step to creating a sense of urgency.
We will send you a free confidential report. This will help you understand where things stand, your starting point. Then, if you’re interested in more feedback, you can schedule a debrief with us.
