How to Create Buy-In for Church Revitalization

Any church can revitalize by following the steps that are necessary for that process to occur. While it is true that most churches have fewer than two hundred members, it is not necessarily true that smaller churches cannot revitalize. The smaller the church, the more difficult the revitalization may be, but that fact does not mean that small churches are destined to die. It simply means that the church must begin with a determination that revitalization is no longer just an option for them. It is an absolute necessity.

The process begins with buy-in. Note that buy-in is the beginning point for revitalization, and buy-in is the ending point. The reason is because it does not matter how well a church’s leadership plans for revitalization, if the church is not on board and ready to learn to embrace the changes necessary to get them and keep them on a growth plane, all of the work will be in vain. Revitalization allows a church to start anew. Since most churches grow the fastest during their first years of existence, revitalization allows the established church to renew itself and start over. Growth can return to the church.

Buy-in is critical because, most probably during the days of plateau or decline, the church has lost its confidence in the pastoral ministry, in its leadership, in its community, and in the congregation itself. If the church at large is not in favor of embracing even the concepts of change and revitalization, little reason, outside of obedience to God, exists to continue the effort. If buy-in occurs, the church is ready for a new chapter in its Life Stage.

Thus, buy-in is critical. People will resist change if it is just presented as a need or as the static process of change for the sake of change. Therefore, address change and gain buy-in by speaking both to the head and the heart of people.

1. Talk with people. In dealing with emotions, talk to the people involved in the change, caring for them as with a family member. Avoid speeches and have a real dialogue with church members and leaders. Think through the following guidelines for healthy conversation:

Quantity—give enough information but do not inundate people

Quality—be genuine and do not embellish

Relation—be relevant and communicate how the change will affect people personally and what will be expected of them

Manner—be clear, brief, and logical; avoid being vague, ambiguous, and wordy

2. Address the emotions in the room. Work to understand how church members and leaders feel about change. Emotions are often triggered by a lack of information, new expectations, a lack of structure or certainty, feeling threatened, and being comfortable with the status quo and not wanting to change. Create acceptance, commitment, hope, and trust by letting people deal with emotions, not just facts. For example, people know that the church is declining. Those are the facts. The emotion, however, is a sense of guilt or a fear of the unknown and the future.

3. Communicate, repeat, communicate, repeat. The leaders who create the need for change fail to understand the frequency of communication that is necessary for people to understand it emotionally and intellectually. As people deal with their emotions, they are less receptive to believing what they hear. Consistency and repetition are key.

4. Vary the medium of communication. When people hear the same message from multiple directions, it has a better chance of being heard and remembered, on both an intellectual and emotional level. Therefore, evaluate what mediums of communication are available for the church and utilize every means possible, including worship services, called meetings, informal conversations, FAQ sheets, the church’s website, Bible study groups, committee meetings, and other forms of oral and written communication.

5. Use metaphors, analogies, examples, and stories. Find stories and testimonies of churches that have successfully revitalized. Try to share these stories live or by video. Allow people to engage those who have gone through the process. Make sure the stories are authentic and speak to people’s hearts.

6. Develop a succinct presentation about the need for change and what it involves. Besides all the usual methods and forums for communicating the change, it is also useful to have a succinct presentation available for different circumstances. In the presentation, express the following key points:

Here’s what our change initiative is about . . .

It’s important to do because . . .

Here’s what success will look like, especially for you . . .

Here’s what we need from you . . .

7. Be credible. Credibility as the leader is crucial in getting people to buy-in on the change. If credibility is suspect, work to rebuild it before initiating the change. If credibility is low, people will not believe the message. One of the most powerful ways to communicate a new direction is through personal behavior. Make sure that actions match words.1 Tony Morgan makes this important observation about buy-in: “If a church . . . acknowledges that the end is near, then sometimes they’re willing to do something dramatic to turn things around. It will indeed take something dramatic. The reality is that churches on life support need to somehow find their way back to a new beginning. They need to start over.”2

That idea is the concept of buy-in. Churches must understand the urgency of the need and embrace the emotion of what the future holds for them. In doing so, change is on the horizon, and the future of the church can be bright again. It all begins with buy-in.

Excerpted with permission from ReClaimed Church by Bill Henard. Copyright 2018, B&H Publishing Group.

Notes:

1. These steps were adapted from Bruna Martinuzzi, “9 Ways to Get Others to Buy In on Change,” https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business /openforum/articles/9-ways-to-get-others-to-buy-in-on-change/.

2. Tony Morgan, The Unstuck Church: Equipping Churches to Experience Sustained Health (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2017), 177–78.