Happy “ReNew” Year!: How to Renew a Ministry Practice this Year – An ePistle by Brian Mackie

What church practice is God leading you to renew and/or revitalize in 2022?

The beginning of a new year is a great time to consider how to change, renew or revitalize a ministry practice. First, however, let us admit, there may be some fatigue in this area due to constant efforts to re-consider all of life, including church life in the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of which was involuntary. At this time, many pastors and church leaders may be weary and not enthused about considering changing or revitalizing a ministry practice again so soon. Yet, in another way, as the “new normal” has set in and life has been gradually moving from survival mode to steady mode, it may be the perfect opportunity to consider what church practices may need to be changed, renewed, replaced, or dropped. It is a good time to pray and consider what God may be wanting to change in 2022.

Are you looking to renew and revitalize in-person worship services? Are you seeking to regain mission-minded community outreaches and service ministries? Are you considering rebooting Vacation Bible School? Do Sunday school classes or mid-week Bible studies need a fresh start? Do men’s breakfasts or women’s fellowship groups need new vision?

In every congregation, there needs to be a continual review of church practices. What can be improved? What can be replaced? What can be dropped entirely?

Author and small church specialist, Karl Vaters, writes:

Start by asking the following hard questions:

• What ministries have ceased to be effective?
• What ministries cost more money, time, or energy than they’re worth?
• If we were starting the church today, is this a ministry we’d choose to do?
• What ministries don’t fit the mission or vision of the church?
• Can this ministry be revamped and renewed? Or, does it need to be ended?
• What are we doing that we wish we didn’t have to do?1

Then, he provides three response options. Vaters writes, “Renew It, Replace It or Say Goodbye to It?”2

In a meeting in the spring of 2017, the deacons of the Nettle Creek Church of the Brethren were disappointed at the most recent love feast turnout. Frankly, so was I. This launched me into looking at what should be done with this practice? Should we as a church seek to “renew it,” “replace it” or “say goodbye to it?”

We opted to “renew it.” It seems to me, the best first step forward with any practice is to attempt to renew it unless there is a strong enough reason to simply replace or drop it. Then, in the process of seeking to renew the practice, it may become evident to replace or drop it later. In other words, my instinct is to default to “renew it” if the other two options are unclear.

It seems best to narrow the focus to one at a time…then move on to another one. For example, there may be several areas that are struggling: worship services, evangelism, community service, Bible studies, Sunday school, men’s breakfast, Vacation Bible School, etc.? This allows the efforts and energies to not be diffused and diluted.

Also keep in mind that different projects may require different time frames. Some may be resolved in a few months, while others may take years. Regardless, here are some steps that I took on my journey with the White Branch and Nettle Creek congregations and would commend for consideration in how to work through the process of renewing a ministry practice.

Step One: Research the Congregation’s Context.

Researching the congregation’s context includes local church historical developments and the historical developments of the surrounding community and culture. The goal of this step is to find out why and how this ministry practice has been done in the past and why and how it changed into the current setting. According to Dr. Robert Schreiter, “Practical theology, begins, therefore, by describing the situation of the congregation and then correlates the situation with the faith and the beliefs of the congregation. From there, practical theology moves back to the life of the congregation to a refocused practice.”3 Thus, the process of renewing a ministry practice can be understood from this quote: describe the current situation (and the history that led to it), correlate it with the faith and beliefs of the congregation, then move back to the life of the congregation with a refocused practice.

In seeking to renew a ministry practice then, begin with researching the congregation’s context. Some helpful questions about the congregation may include: When was the congregation planted? What was its founding mission or purpose? What were the major turning points, or crisis moments? How were those crisis moments resolved? How was this specific practice done in the past? What has changed, in the practice, or the people, to cause it to need renewal, or change? What is the current theology, culture, socio-economic status, age, stage of life, etc. of the congregation?

The other area to consider is the congregation’s larger cultural context. Drs. Nancy L. Eiesland and R. Stephen Warner suggest that every congregation exists in a larger context, which they call “ecology.”4 Some helpful questions about the “ecology” or larger cultural context may include: What is the setting in which the congregation ministers? Is the congregation located in an urban, suburban, small-town, or rural setting? Is the community growing, declining, or steady? What are the religious, political, and ethical beliefs of the community? How has the context changed in the last two or three decades? What possible effects has the context had upon the congregation and the ministry practice?

While some of the answers to the above-stated questions may include speculation, it is best to get data, whether from 2020 census data or other reliable sources, in order to be as fair as possible to the questions addressed. This first step may need more or less time and possibly very different sets of questions, depending on which ministry practice one seeks to renew. However, all renewal efforts should take this step into consideration.

For example, in my case regarding Love Feast. One historical change was Love Feast moving from once a year on a Saturday evening with support and attendance from multiple local Brethren congregations to twice a year (Maundy Thursday and World Communion Sunday), neither on a Saturday, with each congregation having their own on the same day, not supporting and attending each others’ feast. This one change alone moved the Love Feast from a larger event, in which Brethren supported each other and increased each other’s attendance as one of the largest events of the year, to a competing date, where the only attendees were from each individual congregation. A second change was the introduction of a Sunday morning bread and cup only communion option, alongside the evening Love Feast option. This made more people satisfied with the Sunday morning communion option instead of Love Feast. While these were not unique to our local church but were across the denomination in regards to Love Feast, they were nevertheless part of our local story and what led to its decline in our context as well. 

Consider then, how national, denominational, and/or local trends brought a change to the practice or a need for a change to the practice? For example, if women’s fellowship always meets on Tuesdays at 10 am, did that develop in a time when most women did not work outside of the home and had children at school, or who were grown adults? If so, maybe the larger national, denominational, and local trends of women working full-time jobs, on top of family life and a generally busier schedule of community and school events may be an influence on why there are not many young women participating in the Tuesday, 10 am women’s fellowship meeting.

Regardless of the practice one seeks to renew, it is a good first step to research the historical developments and current context of the congregation. This will provide needed insights into why and how a particular practice was started, developed, changed, and/or why it needs to be changed. While this step is never truly “finished,” it needs enough substantial effort to provide some insights into why the practice needs renewal. 

Step Two: Conduct Biblical and Theological Research on the Practice

This step alone may resolve the question of whether to renew, replace or drop a ministry practice. For example, if biblical and theological research deems the practice essential, it must be revitalized and/or replaced with something that will meet the equivalent biblical and theological needs. In other words, this process is not simply a business looking at generating more market share, this process is a spiritual journey of being more obedient and faithful to our Lord Jesus. Therefore, cultural trends do not provide the basis for whether a ministry practice should or should not be done, biblical and theological bases do. If something is biblically and theologically essential, dropping it cannot be an option.

The biblical and theological research I conducted led me to believe the Love Feast was biblically and theologically essential and therefore could not be dropped.5 Therefore, dropping the practice, however poorly attended, or unpopular with the congregation or community, was not an option. Faithfulness to Jesus and His commands required the Love Feast to be practiced.

Then consider the specific ministry practice in light of biblical and theological research. For example, is Vacation Bible School biblically and theologically required? Clearly, one will not find the terms “Vacation Bible School” in the Bible. What are the biblical and theological principles and foundations for the practice? Discipleship, outreach, evangelism, training the next generation, service to the community, and more can all be biblical and theological reasons to do VBS. Is VBS itself a biblical essential? Drawing on step one, what were the historical and contextual reasons for developing Vacation Bible School? Do those still fit in the current context? Does it need to be renewed, replaced, or dropped? If dropped, how can biblical and theological values of discipleship, outreach, evangelism, training the next generation, and community service still be done? Or, can reminding the congregation of the biblical and theological reasons for VBS be what brings renewal to the practice in the congregation?

All ministry practices should undergo this process of researching the biblical and theological reasons for the practice. If the biblical and theological reasons deem a practice essential it needs to be done and therefore renewed regardless of popularity or cultural trends. If the practice is rooted in biblical and theological ideas, but the practice itself is not essential, consideration can be given to replacing it with something else that will meet the same biblical and theological criteria or dropped altogether. 

Step Three: Study How to Make Change Within the Specific Context

My context was two, small, rural/small town, traditional churches. I needed to study how to make change in that context, which would be different in a large, urban, contemporary, staff-run/hierarchical system. While some books and studies on change will have common principles regardless of setting, some are specific and contextual. Author and church consultant Lyle Shaller wrote, “Neglecting the power of that context or climate can lead to frustration, disappointment, and rejection.”6

In order to successfully change, or renew a ministry practice in a specific context, one needs to know how to make change within that specific context. If one approaches the change in the wrong way, the needed change or renewal will be less likely to succeed. Thus, knowing what needs to be renewed and why it needs to be renewed also needs to be combined with the wisdom of how to influence others in an effort to bring about the renewal.

Step Four: Consider What Changes the Initiator of Change Needs to Make

To bring the desired renewal, or change, to a congregational practice may include the initiator of the change also needing to change. An official change in a written policy, or document, or plan, may not actually change the practice. The real change must be embraced by the people in the congregation. This may require a change in the way someone seeking renewal relates to those in the congregation or community in order to see a true change/renewal. Thus, in order to successfully bring change and renewal within a specific context, the initiator of the change must learn what changes he, or she, needs to make as well. For example, due to what I had learned in step three about change in my context, I needed to become more relational and unofficial. 

Step Five: Get Credible and Helpful Feedback

Too often congregational decisions are made based on those who choose to voice opinions, either strongly in favor, or against those decisions. If someone is vocal enough, that one voice can outweigh the majority. Or, if the person is the patriarch or matriarch in the congregation, that one voice can outweigh other voices. Another all too frequent occurrence is the report, “several people are saying…” In reality, “several” may only be two or three people. In order to broaden my base of feedback and seek the answers I was looking for, I chose to utilize a system of paper surveys asking for official, anonymous responses. For example, I asked questions about why people did or did not attend Love Feast, along with questions about potential changes in time, location, or other options. This feedback allowed me to get more helpful, intentionally sought feedback regarding the attempts to renew the Love Feast practice. Asking the questions for which I wanted answers plus getting a larger sample size, allowed me to get better feedback for what would and would not work.

Back to the example about renewing women’s fellowship. It would be helpful to seek feedback from the women in the congregation. Questions could be asked such as these: If women’s fellowship were held at a different time (not Tuesdays at 10 am) would you be more likely, less likely, or equally like to attend? If another time, what would be more helpful? Mornings, Afternoons, Evenings, Weekends? What is the most important factor in deterring you from attending: time, day, frequency, activities, not liking the people attending, etc.? What would make you most likely to want to participate in the women’s fellowship? What would you like to see the women do together as a congregation? 

Step Six: Create a Strategy

After getting feedback, a strategy for renewal must be developed and implemented. Due to my personality, interests, and use of time, I chose to focus primarily on preaching persuasive, biblical sermons as well as inviting more people outside of our congregations to Love Feast. As the pastor of two congregations and the one who is called upon to preach on a regular basis, my most public role and most efficient use of my influence was to choose preaching as an avenue of change. While possibly less effective, preaching sermons was a shorter process than the timeframe to meet with people on an individual basis. Theologically, I also hold a high value on the Holy Spirit’s work through preaching to cause change in people’s lives. For these two reasons, I chose to focus my strategy first on renewing the practice through persuasive, biblical preaching. 

My second strategy was to increase our invitations to the Love Feast from outside of our congregations. We expanded our invitations beyond our two local churches to include other neighboring churches, like the Methodists, that had not yet experienced the Brethren way of doing Love Feast, even inviting the Methodist pastor to lead the more familiar bread and cup communion portion of the service. We also invited the nearby seminary community of Bethany Theological Seminary and Earlham School of Religion, asking some of the students to read Scriptures or to pray.

While I ultimately wanted the members of our congregations to experience a renewal of the Love Feast practice, I also knew it would take longer for some of them to experience this. I drew upon our history of sharing the Love Feast with those from other congregations (although only Brethren in the earlier days). Since communion is no longer closed to only Brethren, but open to any believer, I used this as an opportunity to invite others and expand our efforts beyond our congregations to those who either are not Brethren or those from the seminary community who may not have a local congregation closer by which to participate in the Love Feast. The effect worked as our Love Feast attendance grew and those in our congregations experienced renewed joy in sharing the Love Feast experience with others and even explaining aspects of it to our non-Brethren brothers and sisters. That teaching opportunity to the non-Brethren actually renewed the experience for the Brethren. It also generated enthusiasm that they shared with others in the congregations when asked, “How was Love Feast?” It was a short-term win strategy designed to jumpstart a more long-term approach. In other words, the sermons and the invite strategies were meant to be short-term, while the long-term strategies of relationship-building still need to occur. Based on the previous five steps, consider what strategy would be most helpful in creating a change/renewal in the ministry practice. 

Step Seven: Evaluate the Strategy

This is where surveys were taken again to see if any difference had been made in the congregations. Also, quantitative numbers were taken into account. For example, the Love Feast participants grew from 25-30 before the revitalization efforts in 2017 to 45-60 in 2019. While the actual percentage of congregation members did not significantly increase, the number of those attending from outside of the congregation (the Methodists and seminaries, for example) did increase the total number…providing some satisfaction in a revitalized practice.

Based on the feedback, the short-term strategies seemed somewhat successful. In prior examples like VBS and Women’s Fellowship, the strategies need also to be evaluated. For example: Are more people showing up? Is there more enthusiasm? What is the feedback from those who have been participating? The feedback will help again to examine the question of staying with the current strategy (ie. is this practice being renewed?), which is the final step.

Step Eight: Review and Decide Future Steps

At this point, another review needs to take place. What are the future steps? Continue current course and strategy? (Consider the practice to have been “renewed and revitalized.”) Change course and try a different strategy? (Try again to “renew and revitalize.) Drop the Practice and Replace it with a different practice? Or Drop the Practice and Do not replace it?

In my case, I decided the short-term strategies had been somewhat successful, but a new course would be needed in order to gain the longer-term renewal and change. However, at this same time, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted those plans. Now as we begin 2022, our congregations and I need to review how to help renew the practice once again. Maybe something similar happened for you. Maybe your congregation was already in the midst of changing and renewing a practice when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and it needs to be reviewed again. Or, maybe changes have occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, like worship practices, building online community, etc. 

Entering this new year is a good time to review those changes and go through the steps outlined here to determine where to go next. May the Lord bless you and your congregation as you consider whether to change, renew or revitalize a ministry practice. Happy “ReNew” Year!

1.  Karl Vaters, “The #1 Rule to Help Reduce Church Clutter and Renew Effective Ministry,” http://newsmallchurch.com/church-clutter-and-effective-ministry/ (accessed December 16, 2021).
2. Ibid.
3. Nancy T. Ammerman, Jackson Carroll, Carl S. Dudley, and William McKinney, eds., Studying Congregations: A New Handbook (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1992), 25.
4. Ibid., 40.
5.  See previous Brethren Life & Thought article on “Is Love Feast Essential?”
6. Lyle E. Schaller, The Small Membership Church: Scenarios for Tomorrow (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1994), 14.

Brian Mackie pastors the White Branch and Nettle Creek Churches of the Brethren and is the host of The Good News with Pastor Brian Mackie. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Anderson University and a Master’s of Divinity degree from Bethany Theological Seminary.