Revitalization: Lutheran Revitalization

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's Office of National Mission is addressing the challenge of congregational decline through a comprehensive Revitalization initiative.
In the language of 1 Cor. 3:5-9, revitalization is centered on planting and watering in anticipation of God providing the growth.

Visit http://www.lcms.org/revitalization  details of workshops and Gospel Seeds

Visit Mark Wood's (Director of Revitalization) blog for some helpful articles and groups studies relating to Revitalization

Article: The case for replanting...

Many congregations belonging to mainline churches are asking questions about the future...one possible option that God maybe asking such congregations to consider is replanting...
Nick Price from wiki52 explores what replanting a word and sacrament congregation is about in the article The case for replanting

Book: The Mission Table by Stephen Bouman

In a time of declining mainline Protestant church attendance, Bouman reminds us that the Holy Spirit is still very much at work.  It is the mission of our churches to aid God's reconciling and restoring action in the world. This conversation on mission must involve everyone including laypeople, pastors, seminarians, and emerging congregational leaders. Each chapter contains scripture, questions, and activities, allowing for group study, reflection, and action. The goal is ultimately to help every member of the church to live as signs of the God who made the world and who will make all things new.

Contents Page 

• Mission and the Mainline
• Table of creation
• From kitchen table to altar table
• Seeking hospitality at new tables
• The congregation - a table for mission
• Mission table leadership
• Setting Mission tables
• Restoring the broken table 

Book: Real Good church - How Our Church Came Back from the Dead, and Yours Can, Too

Real Good church - How Our Church Came Back from the Dead, and Yours Can, Too
"This is a practical manual of everything our church did," says author Molly Phinney Baskette, "to reverse our death spiral and become the healthy, stable, spirited and robust community it is today—evident in the large percentage of children and young adults in our church, and a sixfold increase in pledged giving in the last decade."
Baskette, pastor of First Church Somerville, UCC in the Boston area, strongly believes her church's strategies will work for any church, in any setting, regardless of denomination, demographics, and political landscape. In this new book, she shares everything her church did, addressing topics such as: outreach and growth strategies, finances and giving, creative worship, church conflict and change, anxiety and humor, and much more.
What makes Real Good Church unique in the field of church growth books? It's practical. It actually tells churches what they can do. . .and how to do it.
It offers beginning and intermediary steps for growth and renewal. Churches, no matter what situation they're in, will be able to jump in and get to work.
It has a sense of humor. Baskette's easygoing, often self-deprecating writing style and approachable strategies will empower the reader and their church to revitalize itself. (If her church could do it, we can, too!)
Real Good Church is a testament to Baskette's and First Church Somerville UCC's success and a gift of hope for all churches that find themselves struggling to keep their doors open.

Contents
Doom, Gloom and a kernel of hope
Children's Ministry and Adult Spiritual Formation
Pastoral Care
Pastoral Self Care and Administration
Outreach and social justices
Outreach and  growth
Finance and stewardship
Opening and affirming
Real Good Worship
Leadership 
Church Conflict

Amazon Reviews

Article: Turnaround Strategies for Small Churches: Which Ones to Use?

Turnaround strategies for small churches was written by Herb Miller for the Parish Paper...ideas and insights for active congregations.
The article discusses:

• How can small-membership churches move toward maximum effectiveness?
• Taking actions necessary to move past the three classic membership-plateaus.
• Fine-tune the worship service toward a format, style, and hymn selection that shows equal respect for the spiritual preferences of all four adult generations.
• Emphasize concern for children through community service ministries.
• Remove ministry inhibiting barriers in the church buildings.
• Increase the percentage of attendees who pray daily.

Church revitalisation, renewal, replanting

This topic will probably not close:

Here is some more resources on revitalising congregations
http://www.comebackchurches.com/ a web site that backs up the book with more resources including books, web sites and stories.

Here are some must reads suggested by two church revitalisation consultants before attempting to replant or renew:

• Guder, Darrell L., ed.Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998.
• Malphurs, Aubrey.Pouring New Wine into Old Wineskins: How Change a Church without Destroying It. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993.
• Schwarz, Christian A.Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996.
• Southerland, Dan.Transitioning: Leading Your Church through Change. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.
• Van Gelder, Craig.The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
• Wood, Gene.Leading Turnaround Churches. St. Charles, IL: Church SmartResources, 2001.
• Schwarz, Christian A., and Christoph Schalk.Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998.
• Rainer, Thom S. and Eric Geiger. Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2006.
• Reeder, Harry L., III and David Swavely.From Embers to a Flame: How God Can Revitalize Your Church. 2004.
• Alan Roxburgh, Fred Romanuk, and Eddie Gibbs The Missional Leader. 2006.
• Schwarz, Christian A.Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996.
• Stetzer, Ed and David Putman.Breaking the Missional Code. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2006.
• Towns, Elmer and Ed Stetzer.Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church. Chicago, Moody Publishers: 2004.

plus a web site or two

http://www.donatechurch.org/

http://www.crmleaders.org/