VITALITY is the state of being strong, active and having the continuance of life.
We realize that every church goes through some form of a life-cycle. Just as the human body experiences birth, death, and the many phases in between, we believe the Body of Christ can enjoy and suffer through similar experiences.
Thus, our desire is to help you, our church Leaders, through whatever cycle you and the church you lead are experiencing. We long to see the day that the vital signs of every church within EFCA East are strong - strong enough to produce healthy churches that are actively fulfilling their part of the Great Commission.
We hope that engaging with these resources will strengthen your soul for the work ahead and breathe new life and purpose into your ministry.
HOW DOES YOUR CHURCH MEASURE UP?
VITALITY RESOURCES
21 Day Devotional and Reflection Guide
A simple reflection and devotional guide to help you, the church leader and Influencer, recalibrate your personal vitality, which will in turn enable you to immediately improve the vitality of your church and ministry.
8 Week Vitality Sermon Series
This series is an eight-week study designed to help walk you, your team and your entire church family through eight essential teachings about living a life of vitality both as a church and as individuals. This series corresponds with the eight Vitality Indicators created by EDA Move to help churches develop and maintain healthy vital signs.
GOT A VITALITY QUESTION? EMAIL US!
CHURCH VITALITY
Still Reviving - Cedrick Brown
Vitality Call - February
Focusing Toward Revival - Tony Balsamo
Vitality Call - March
Vitality Call - December
No one needs you. Now what? - Joe Henseler
You're not enough. That's okay. - Eddie Cole
The Two Biggest Challenges Of Multicultural Ministry
NOTE: This post was written right before COVID-19 shut most things down and we had to bank it in order to cover pandemic related content. With the backdrop of racial turmoil currently sweeping our nation, it serves to highlight the critical importance of tackling this challenging area of the church’s mission. Have you ever wanted…
Should We Ask Forgiveness?
As a child, I remember having literal fist-fights with my older brother. When I reached the age and strength in which I could finally defend myself, I was fully engaged in sibling warfare. Yet, no matter how emotional or physical it got, we were forced by our parents to do the most dreaded and inevitable…
3 Keys To Help The Next Generation Of Leaders Crush Giants
I was recently struck by the story of David and Goliath from a fresh perspective. I had just finished praying with an incredibly faithful follower of Christ. He was in the hospital and his days were numbered. I prayed that God would raise up a next generation with faith like he had. As his…
3 Questions To Help Maintain Healthy Vital Signs
While serving as an under-shepherd for many years now, it still can become frustrating when the sheep in God’s pasture don’t willingly follow. Within these exasperating moments I long to strike the rock rather than speak to it. Anybody know what I mean? Over the years I’m learning to pause more rather than striking, or…
Do Numbers Matter? 8 Ways To Measure Success In Ministry.
Let’s be honest… We don’t like to talk numbers. We’re afraid that if we talk about the numbers, then the numbers are the only important thing when measuring the success of a ministry. If we focus on size, then the size of the ministry will determine its value or importance. But we all know the…
6 Ways To Be Smarter About Difficult Conversations
What is the essence of ministry? How do you define it? A definition we’ve come to appreciate at our church goes like this: Ministry is a series of difficult conversations. The easy stuff works itself out. But the entrenched patterns, the destructive habits, the corrosive relationships, those don’t seem to go anywhere. Until there’s a…
10 MORE Things I Would Change
I left my tenure as a local church pastor over three years ago to become the district superintendent of EDA Move. A few weeks back I wrote about some things I would change if I were a pastor again. Now, you’ve heard the statement that goes, “experience is the best teacher.” For the most part,…
10 Things I Would Change
It’s been over three years since I left the role of lead pastor and I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on things I did while I was in that role. There are some things I wouldn’t change for anything and there are plenty of others that I wish I could get a do…
7 Ways To Change An Unchangeable Church
There are churches that feel unchangeable, but any church can experience change and become a healthy, growing, even multiplying church. Before we get into how to change an unchangeable church we need to admit something together: If churches don’t change, they die. This is a reality we may try to avoid or ignore but it is very much true. …
3 Things That Kill Vision In A Church
Has your church plateaued? A new person trickling in once in a while doesn’t count as growth. Has your church been in decline? Decline isn’t measured in seasonal or short term attendance drop off. Instead, decline means a sustained decrease in more than one area of your church. Are leaders leaving and finances dwindling? Is attendance dropping…
Stretch the Sheep
In middle and high school, there are typically teachers whom students avoid like the plague – teachers whose names are synonymous with high expectations and low grades. For me, that teacher was Mrs. Slaughter. No…I’m not making that up; her name really was Slaughter. And, as you can imagine, it magnified the fear of having…
The Slow and Steady of Revitalizing your Church
A few months ago I wrote about St. John’s Syndrome. St John’s syndrome is described as “the tendency of churches to become less effective the longer they are in existence.” The two keys to overcoming St. John’s Syndrome are to rediscover the original values of the church (“do the things you did at first/ going…
3 Ways to Maximize Your Sabbatical
by Peter Johnson You may remember that I took a forced sabbatical due to a slip and fall accident that resulted in several weeks in a dark, quiet room to allow my broken rib and concussion to heal. After a number of medical tests it was confirmed that aside from being clumsy I am pretty healthy. …
Where is your church going?
The life cycle of any church is often pictured by a bell curve. As the church grows, the curve goes up. But at some point, without direct decisions being intentionally made to continue the upward direction that first birthed the church, a church will plateau, grow stagnant, and begin a slide to its death. It is inevitable…
Pastors Need Healthy Boundaries
There’s a phrase in endurance sports called “burning matches.” For every racer, there’s one average pace that gets you to the finish line fastest. And every time you increase your speed above that pace (perhaps to catch one competitor or drop another) you “burn a match.” Burning matches is part of racing, but a smart…
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