Bart's Blog

by Bart L. Denny Church revitalization is never easy. There are no silver bullets, quick fixes, or one-size-fits-all strategies. But if we’re honest, the root issue in most struggling churches isn’t a lack of programs or people—it’s a lack of Gospel focus. When Jesus Christ is no longer central, everything else begins to drift. The path forward must be prayerful and Spirit-dependent, marked by repentance and renewed devotion to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Only when we place Christ and His mission at the center of our church’s life can true revitalization begin. Below are ten of the most common barriers that keep churches from moving forward—along with general remedies to help overcome them. 1. Resistance to Change Long-standing traditions and deeply ingrained preferences often create powerful resistance to change. Many congregants fear that letting go of the past means abandoning what’s sacred. But revitalization isn’t about chasing trends—it’s about reali...

This paper will demonstrate the crucial importance to church revitalization of cultural diversity—race, ethnicity, and age—that reflects that of its neighborhood. By almost any metric, church decline in the United States is at epidemic levels.  In the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) alone, the denomination’s North American Mission Board projects that by the end of 2019, over 900 churches will have closed their doors during the year (Clifton, 2019).  Sadly, this is a trend that has continued for several years and accounts only for the closures in one denomination (albeit the largest Protestant group).  Reliable numbers are hard to come by, if not non-existent (and Clifton admits that the SBC’s numbers are probably not as dependable as he would like).  However, if one projects this trend across all of evangelicalism, an assumption Clifton sees as valid—the number of evangelical churches closing their doors each year is assuredly staggering.   Among one of t...

by Bart Denny Your baby is ugly. I know—that’s harsh. You don’t want to hear it, and I get it. We’re talking about your baby, after all. She’s not stunning. But you love her. You’d defend her with everything you’ve got. Especially from the guy who just called her ugly. I’m that guy. No, I’m not talking about your kids or grandkids. I’m sure they’re gorgeous. I’m talking about your church. Your church is an ugly baby. Or at least statistically speaking, it is. Depending on the source, somewhere between 65% and 85% of American churches are struggling—ugly babies at best, smoldering dumpster fires at worst. And that’s based on numbers before COVID-19. In the last year and a half, I’ve seen the reality for myself across multiple regions. Churches are far less welcoming than they believe. Congregations are inward-focused. Sure, they support “global missions,” but they’ve outsourced the actual work of evangelism to professionals. They're not making disciples—at least not ...