TURN AROUND CHURCHES
“Turn Around Churches” are congregations in major decline which are given special attention to help them pull out of their dive. I’ve been thinking a bit about such congregations because my pastoral colleague Ralph Moller at the Heartland Community Church in Ripon, has been in the middle of it for the last seven years. And within the last year they have begun to experience “turn around” – new families, new attitude, new outlook, new ministry.

In observing these churches (and having experienced it myself in the first church I served out of seminary) there are generally three critical elements to turn-around.

1. THE CHURCH HAS TO BE DESPERATE. If they are not desperate for change they will not make the necessary adjustments to their ministry. Not all churches which say they are desperate actually are. When people are desperate for change they will embrace it.

2. A REASONABLY COMPETENT PASTOR. By "reasonably" I mean someone who can do a lot of things fairly well – preach, teach, envision, lead... This person tends to have higher than average people-skills and an extreme measure of tenacity. Most of these pastors are not superstars but they are creative people who know how to find the necessary support and resources.

3. A PREGNANT SITUATION. There are churches which are in decline because of population decline or environmental reasons. A pregnant situation is one where change is not only possible but is also probable with the right leadership and the right congregational outlook.

I don’t want to suggest that this is a formula. Because each situation is so different there is no cookbook way to do this important work. It is more art than science. But in my observation of such churches my sense is that the Holy Spirit generally creates a convergence of at least these three elements.