Developing, nurturing a "vital" congregation

My article in the October issue of The Fort Wayne Lutheran stated boldly that I believe leaders in the church are afraid of what might happen if we actually engage passion in our churches. What I was talking about was more than merely a strong feeling or desire to do something for God or the church. Perhaps, instead of using the word passion, I should have used the term "vitality." Passion often is left to individuals who have personal agendas or interests. What I meant to describe was what it takes to develop and nurture a "vital" congregation.

Many church researchers and focus groups have tried to come up with categories that would identify the "vital" aspects of congregational life.

Defining congregational vitality is not an easy task. One mainline denomination recently defined vitality as "the dynamic forward-leaning state of engagement that connects people to God, each other and the world in profound ways."

As I consider more about congregational vitality, I think there are three areas that I believe are essential, yet often deficient, in many congregations: prayer, mission and community.

If vitality takes connecting people to God, then prayer must be an essential practice for the individual and the corporate gathering. We must admit that many of our churches suffer from "prayer anemia," which leads to spiritual malnutrition. It is the embracing of prayer as a core spiritual practice that leads congregations to step out in faith. Encouraging prayer also deeply connects our ministry and lives to God, each other and the world. Too often, little focus or attention is given by congregational leaders to root prayer at the center of congregational life.

At best, prayer has become a back-up plan instead of an indispensable part of our faith.

Mission activity can be an example. Many congregations are experiencing a period of dryness in which church leaders are in survival mode rather than experiencing vitality. It may take an outsider or curious individual to join the congregation, and spark a new interest, desire or even a new mission. It is often these people who help the myopic congregation begin to have new eyes for their community or the neighborhood in which they reside. Too often, small-group programs, dynamic preachers and even youth groups accentuate this myopic behavior. They simply lack engagement with the needs of the world and miss opportunities to offer God's love in response.

At best, mission has been reduced to internally taking care of the needs in our churches, yet missing the opportunity to reach out and serve our neighbors.

I have been a member of churches and visited churches that radiated vitality when I walked on their property, but rarely was it connected to a particular worship style, the dynamism of the pastor or the programs offered. These congregations simply had an indefinable sense of life and energy, a passion for what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "Life Together." These are communities where the members truly believe that special things are at work simply through their act of gathering together. You know they have something special, and yet, if you ask, most members could not fully define that "special something."

At best, community has been accepted as comfortable acquaintances that spend about an hour in close proximity each week.

So I must ask, what would happen if your congregation had an absolute commitment by each member that God was engaged in their lives together, and that life was connecting them to God, one another and the world? What if there was a belief that significant things were happening through prayer, and that belief created a passion and energy that was infectious? What if people in the community could see this commitment, and want to be a part of something special, thus leading to growth, leading to a belief that God was at work in their midst, leading to passion, leading to growth?

At best, the church would be found vital to our world, but sadly for many it is only seen as a nuisance. Friends, now is the time for revitalization!

By Bob Henry

First Appeared in the FWLutheran, December 2010