CHURCH HEALTH LEADERSHIP TEAM

SUMMARY OF WORK

1.  Facilitated Refocus/Vitality Seminars in 55 congregations.

2.  Trained 34 congregations (approximately 1,600 people) in building an evangelistic culture using the “3 Circles” evangelism tool.

3.  Conducted 10 Transitional Pastor training events that trained 103 people.

4.  Facilitating Church Health principals in 230 churches, representing 30,000 people.

5.  Developed options for congregations on the edge of viability.

6. Began collaborative discussions with the Effectively Biblical Leadership gospel priority to equip churches for intentional bi-vocational/co-vocational calls when  contextually missional.

7. Prayerful process of shifting Marc de Jeu into his role as the new National Director of Church Health, and the continued shaping of the Church Health Leadership Team to partner in facilitating this work throughout the EPC.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

The CHLT has no recommendations to present to the 45th General Assembly. 

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WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

2024 Annual Report to Lilly Endowments Inc.
Evangelical Presbyterian Church Grant Number 2023 2274

Project Aims and Purposes

The primary objective of this program is to comprehensively implement the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s Church Health methods and structure, transforming the entire denomination from traditional inward-focused congregations into evangelistic, outward- facing vibrant congregations with a new vision and mission that begins with serving their local communities.

Re-vitalizing local churches through the application of Church Health principles and methods is crucial to achieving our mission in the future. These principles are closely intertwined with Evangelism initiatives and the involvement of Transitional Pastors. These three initiatives form a coherent, integrated, and effective approach for transforming a church’s vision and mission into one that serves its local community through a diverse range of ministry opportunities.

In the subsequent sections, we will address the identified topics in two distinct ways. Firstly, we will provide a comprehensive overview from the program management perspective.

Subsequently, we will complement this with illustrative quotes from specific church health coordinators and other leaders who are actively involved in ministry. These quotes will offer an in-depth and firsthand perspective on the program’s impact.

Grant Activities
Participating Congregations. Describe the congregations participating in your program. What are their activities? Why are they a good fit for your program?

All EPC Churches: Average 2023 Worship Attendance:
Did not Report = 13%
0-35 = 19%
36-50 = 11%
51-75 = 15%
76-100 = 9%
101-500 = 28%
500-Over = 5%

Being a program addressed to the entire Evangelical Presbyterian Church denomination, our participating congregations span a wide range of sizes and locations. These figures illustrates this diversity. Instead of discussing the denomination based on membership numbers, we focus on the actual average weekly attendance of its churches. We believe this metric provides a more accurate representation of a crucial aspect of the EPC.

Of the various sizes of congregations, we’ve observed that medium and smaller ones tend to be more receptive and responsive to our program. This could be because they recognize the need to reestablish themselves with a new mission and vision to remain relevant and viable. They understand that the primary way to become a growing and vibrant community is to step outside their boundaries and serve the community. These congregations become a good fit for our program when they realize that the world has changed, and people don’t flock to them as they did when the attractional model dominated the church landscape.

Another group of congregations that are a good fit for our program are churches that have recently lost a pastor due to retirement, transfer, or other reasons. They often want a new pastor immediately. However, there are many pastoral calls that aren’t a good fit because the congregation lacks the skills to identify the right person or the pastor doesn’t fully understand the unique challenges and issues of the congregation. In such situations, we find that using a transitional pastor trained in our methods of church health can effectively lead the congregation over a year or so to develop a clearer understanding of their existing or potential new mission and vision. Once this mission and vision is well-defined, the transitional pastor can more effectively guide the congregation in finding a pastor who aligns with the new role. Candidate pastors can also gain a better understanding of the congregation to determine if a call is a good fit. Unfortunately, many congregations resist this process and simply want to call the new pastor right away, often leading to a poor match, an inappropriate mission and vision, and a subsequent short pastoral tenure. This cycle can be repeated. At any given time, approximately ten percent of our member congregations are in pastoral transition. Of these seventy congregations, thirty choose to utilize the services of a Transitional Pastor.

These two groups are the best candidates for our program because they already recognize the need for change through a new mission and vision.

From the Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest:
I am working with three congregations at the moment. The first is a mid-sized church that is seeking to align their ministries around their new missional vision to SEE Jesus. Currently they are particularly focused on reigniting their Life Groups around this vision with a desire to see their groups being missionally engaged together. A second church I am working with is a second-stage church plant that has struggled to grow based on the transitory nature of the population of San Francisco and the need to grow in their ability to serve to build relationships to share the gospel. I am scheduled to go and lead an evangelism seminar in February. The third church I am working with is a larger congregation that is coming out of a transitional season and is hiring a new pastor. I am working with the new pastor to help him help the congregation catch a fresh vision from God as he assumes this call.

Activities. What key activities did you undertake in the last year? How do these activities advance the key aims to help congregations thrive by:
1) Adapting to their changing social and cultural contexts
2) Refining their missions and values
3) Drawing on Christian practices.

Our first-year activity encompassed establishing the Church Health Team across all 16 Presbyteries, developing training materials, and conducting various seminars and workshops at both congregation and presbytery levels. Our program comprises three primary elements and

associated activities: the Church Health Refocus seminars, training for Transitional Pastors, and evangelism training. Our training events have ranged from individual congregations to multi- congregational gatherings, spanning from a few local congregations to entire presbyteries and even the entire General Assembly. These events typically involve presentations, prayer, and sharing experiences and insights gained from God’s work in their lives. We frequently employ cohort models throughout the denomination, and our events are often integrated and geographically centered. The following sections provide summaries of each type of event, along with a few illustrative comments.

Refocus. Our Refocus Seminars guide congregational leaders through a multi-month process of developing a new mission and vision. This transformative journey shifts the congregation’s focus from inward to outward, guiding their activities and activities. We successfully conducted over 55 seminars with local churches, attracting an impressive attendance of over 1,500 people.

These workshops were held across the United States, sometimes with a single congregation and sometimes with multiple congregations present. The seminars were usually full-day events. After the seminars, the congregational leaders collaborated with their pastor, a coach, or a transitional pastor to translate the discussions of the day into new mission and vision statements. These workshops serve as a foundation for more detailed structural and people alignment as the concepts developed and the congregation became more purposefully engaged with the community.

Transitional Pastor Training. The Transitional Pastor training program commenced with an initial test training in 2016. This initiative emerged from a recognition of the necessity to equip pastors who would lead congregations during pastoral transitions. The earlier “Interim Pastor” training, adapted from the Alban Institute, was deemed insufficient to address the evolving cultural contexts and pastoral transitions faced by congregations. In addition, it had become clear that this season of transition provided a perfect opportunity to re-establish key church health imperatives into congregational life and practice for those churches in decline. We completed ten Transitional Pastor Training events in 2024 in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Southport, Indiana; Pittsburgh, Pa., and Memphis, Tennessee.

These events were strategically placed across the country to minimize travel costs and encourage participation from Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders. Additionally, we offer “Viability Assessment and the Four Options Seminars” upon request for congregations experiencing decline and struggling to find a meaningful path forward to regain their missional vitality.

Transitional Pastor Training is gaining significant importance, with over fifty percent of pastors planning to retire within the next five years. The COVID-19 pandemic and other pressures have exacerbated the issue, leading to a rise in “Burn Out” among pastors. Moreover, the shortage of pastors in the pipeline, particularly for Reformed, Evangelical, and Missional churches, exacerbates this problem. In response to these challenges, Church Health has developed a comprehensive set of practical and usable resources, comprising over 150 accessible materials for local congregations and their pastors. These resources are instrumental in training transitional pastors.

Evangelism Training. Evangelism training, though not a new concept within the historical Christian Community, is not widely or effectively practiced. We’ve chosen a single gospel tool for use across the denomination, derived from “Turning Everyday Conversations into Gospel Conversations.” This tool aligns well with our philosophy of “serving to build relationships and using relationships to share the Gospel.” It positions service as a means of establishing community relationships that can lead to effective Gospel sharing. However, many individuals are hesitant to share the Gospel, often expressing concerns like “I don’t know how” or “I don’t know what to say when the opportunity arises.”

Introducing the “3-Circles” tool, we’ve addressed these concerns. This simple, usable, reproducible, and adaptable tool is designed to suit various situations and circumstances, especially those related to community service. The Church Health coordinators have conducted over 35 training sessions with local churches, training more than 1600 individuals. Beyond these coordinated training activities, numerous thousands of people have also engaged in presbytery meetings to receive training.

The tool’s simplicity and reproducibility enable local churches to offer periodic training, retraining, and practice sessions, fostering a culture of evangelism and sharing the Gospel.

Christian Practices. Throughout these activities, we draw heavily on the Christian practice of prayer. Our vision teams spend considerable time in prayer and conducting prayer walks to discern how to impact the neighborhood. Our evangelism training incorporates a ten-step process for creating a culture of evangelism, with prayer being the first and foremost step. Our transitional Pastor training also involves the use of prayer life guides. In addition to prayer, all of our programs and events are rooted in the traditional reformed values and virtues of a Christian life.

From the Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest:
I helped one congregation to adapt their evangelistic strategy in order to respond to their changing social and cultural context. The congregation has to grow in their ability to build relationships of trust quickly in order to share Jesus, and so the evangelism seminar will focus on this area of growth. The work with another congregation is focused on helping them refine their mission and values, moving from a programmatic model of ministry to a more missionally- oriented approach. The coaching that is taking place with the third church coming off of their Revitalization Workshop is to draw upon historical/missional practices to shape their Life Groups..

From a member of the EPC Ministerial Vocational Committee:
The Transitional Pastor training offered by the EPC trains leaders in the essential skills required to navigate life and ministry in the 21st-century North American evangelical church context. We are facing significant headwinds in the coming years with a generational handoff in leadership, pastors reporting increasing rates of burnout, the rise in public church leadership failures, a marked decrease in seminary enrollment, and a culture growing more apathetic, if not hostile, to the Gospel by the day. However, hope can always be found in the promise of God and His great faithfulness. Even now, He is raising up courageous, godly, healthy men and women who are willing to do the hard, long-suffering work of cultivating healthy churches who have a passion to reach their communities for Jesus Christ and fulfill the Great Commission. I could not commend the work of Bob Stauffer, Bill Rasch, and their team of church health coordinators more.

Learning community: Describe the program’s congregational learning community. How have congregations interacted with one another? What insights have congregations learned? What challenges or opportunities have emerged through the learning community?

Our Learning community comprises participating churches, Transitional Pastors, their coaches, the National Church Health Leadership Team, presbytery Church Health Coordinators, and our ministry partners at Vital Church and Flourish.

Recognizing that our Transitional Pastor training needed further enhancement to maximize its value for both the Transitional Pastors and the congregation, we forged a strategic partnership with Vital Church Ministries, Interim Pastor Ministries (IPM), and Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO). By attending their trainings and integrating the best practices they offer into our Transitional Pastor training, we aim to provide a comprehensive and impactful learning experience. With their permission, we’ve adapted and incorporated portions of both Vital Church and Flourish materials into our training materials. This partnership is evident in the second edition of our training manual.

Matt Bohling, the head of Flourish (a PCA parachurch organization dedicated to church health and missional vitality), sends his pastors to our foundational Transitional Pastor training. He actively participates in our team of coaches and trainers, contributing to the overall quality of our training.

As congregations begin to understand the significance of having a national organization that offers training materials, workshop management, local leadership, and trained coaches to guide them through the transformative process of shifting from an inward-facing community to an outward-facing community in service to others, our partnership with Vital Church Ministries, IPM, and ECO is proving invaluable.

At the individual congregational level, the interactions vary widely, as illustrated by the following narratives.

From the Presbytery of the West:
The Presbytery of the West has fostered a dynamic congregational learning community over the past year, with a focus on addressing the adaptive challenges and needs faced by churches and their leaders. This has been facilitated by a comprehensive Pastoral Health Survey, which identified key issues related to both personal pastoral well-being and larger organizational health. By engaging with over 35 churches, we sought to meet congregations where they are- at the intersection of individual pastoral struggles and the broader challenges of church leadership.

Through this learning community, congregations have had opportunities to share insights and best practices, particularly in the areas of Evangelism, Pastoral Counseling, and Leading Adaptive Change. One of the most powerful aspects of this community has been the opportunity for peer-to-peer interaction. The process of sharing challenges and solutions has proven invaluable, underscoring that today’s complex ministry problems are best addressed through collective wisdom rather than isolated learning or content-driven solutions. One of our key findings has been the realization that adaptive change in ministry is not a matter of adding more information but creating spaces for peer coaching and support.

Our learning community has been a rich, evolving process. The adaptive challenges of ministry today require not just training, but also deep relational engagement and a commitment to ongoing personal and organizational growth. As we move forward, we will continue to refine our approach, deepen our partnerships, and expand our resources to best serve our churches in their journey toward health and vitality.

From the Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest:
Congregations have interacted by sharing models of ministry with one another. Particularly models of building relationships to share the gospel have been passed on from one congregation to another. Additionally, models of healthy group life have been shared from one church to another in terms of their model of small group life that is more missionally focused.

From the Presbytery of the Midwest:
We have been walking step by step through the Refocus manual. There is a vision team established with members from the Session, key leaders in the church, and staff. There are 10 people on this team in total. The congregation is about 140. This congregation seems to have some good soil to work in for the ‘Refocus’ initiatives. They are very ready and willing to do the work involved in the steps of the process, and they seem to rate very well on the Life Cycle assessment in areas of their outlook and vision.

Another church has been on a break from the ‘Refocus’ process. The early stages of assessment and discerning vision revealed quite a lot of areas where they were lacking alignment in various areas (leadership, congregation, key stakeholders, pastor, staff, and more). I am also working with the council here in the presbytery to refine and codify how we interface as a committee with the Ministerial Committee and individual churches in need of transitional pastors. We are working hard at getting this smoothed out and well-defined in documentation. If it works well, I will certainly be sharing it with the rest of the coordinators to see if it may be implemented in other presbyteries.

I have one coach who is going to be working with a congregation who is seeking membership in the EPC here in the Midwest. Part of the training of the session of that church will fall to this coach as he introduces them to our ‘Refocus’ and missional outlook on ministry.

Challenges and Opportunities
The most significant challenge lies in congregations’ resistance to change. It’s arduous to persuade congregations to embark on an unfamiliar journey that may not yield immediate results. They yearn to remain in their familiar surroundings, even though they recognize that this stance eventually leads to a decline in their community’s vibrancy. Transitioning from a church- centric to a neighborhood-centric approach is not merely a matter of physical or programmatic alterations; it also entails a profound shift in mental thinking. Additionally, there are specific challenges that pertain to individual presbyteries and congregations.

From the Presbytery of the West:
A major challenge that has emerged is how to effectively integrate training and rest in a way that respects the unique rhythms of church leaders. There is a delicate balance between offering substantive training and providing space for the much-needed spiritual and emotional refreshment that leaders require. Additionally, while the cohort model for “Leading Systems and Leading Change” has yielded positive results, there is an ongoing challenge in creating sustainable, long-term peer networks that provide consistent support beyond the initial cohort meetings.

However, these challenges also present opportunities. One of the most promising outcomes has been the formation of networks of peer leaders who continue to support one another in navigating the adaptive changes facing their churches. The “Peer Adaptive Coaching” model has been particularly fruitful, with leaders experiencing tangible benefits from regular, structured peer coaching sessions. This model is now something we plan to expand upon as we seek to create more opportunities for shared leadership development across the Presbytery.

From the Presbytery of Coastal Mid-Atlantic:
Since I have regular time in front of our Presbytery, it has been easy for leaders of churches to see their need for transformation. However, this has not translated into a commitment to Church Health processes/resources to enable their growth. It seems that my presentations in front of Presbytery may inspire those present, but do not then impact the Session of the church as a whole. There is a disconnect between initial inspiration and concrete action.

As a result, I have had difficulty getting commitments from individual churches, and two different trainings were cancelled this fall because the host church did not have sufficient buy-in from the Session (as well as other reasons). For 2025, I have worked with our Stewardship Team to build a process of initial financial commitment from host churches to ensure up-front buy-in.

Another challenge has been navigating competing expectations between the newly-defined goals of transitional pastoring and long-standing transitional pastors who have their own sense of transitional ministry. The good news is that we have a culture of “transitional pastoring” in our Presbytery, the bad news is that the current culture does not fully align with the new culture we are trying to create.

Resources: What resources are you using or creating to support congregations? What resources are most effective?

We categorize our resources into three main areas: financial, people, and information. Of course, the Lilly endowment is greatly appreciated for providing substantial financial resources to support the people and information aspects of the program. These financial resources invest in people: a national leadership team, including a director of transitional pastors, lead church health coordinators, presbytery church health coordinators, and coaches. Each of these individuals brings their unique strengths and skills gained over years of ministry to produce information that ultimately impacts individual congregations. We developed an information repository using “Box,” which contains over 170 items, such as training manuals, assessment tools, workshop materials, and videos for training events. Most of these items can be directly accessed by individual congregations for their use through a simple QR code. The specific resource utilized by any given congregation varies widely and can be adapted to their specific situation and context. Here are some examples from a few Church Health Coordinators.

From the Presbytery of the West:
To support congregations, we have created and utilized a range of resources designed to address the pressing needs identified in our survey. Some of the most effective resources include:

Evangelism Training. Workshops on Evangelism, including “Evangelism in the Negative World” by Aaron Renn, have proven to be powerful in equipping churches to engage with the cultural challenges of our time. The addition of the 3 Circles model provided a practical framework for churches to understand and communicate the Gospel in a post-Christian context.

Healthy Relationships & Evangelism Training. By leveraging research from the EPC, Barna, and Tin Man Ministries, we developed a training that focuses on the intersection of healthy relationships and evangelism. This resource has been particularly impactful in equipping churches to understand the relational dynamics that are foundational to effective outreach.

Cohort Model. The “Leading Systems and Leading Change” cohort has provided an invaluable resource for churches facing adaptive challenges. This six-month program, which includes monthly meetings and coaching sessions, has not only fostered learning but also built a network of leaders who support one another. Peer Adaptive Coaching has become one of the most impactful resources, allowing leaders to gain fresh perspectives and insights from those walking in similar ministry contexts.

In terms of effectiveness, the combination of in-person workshops, cohort models, and peer coaching has proven to be highly successful. These resources foster ongoing connection and mutual learning, rather than just one-time events, and they address the systemic nature of the challenges faced by congregations today.

From the Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest:
The Evangelism Workshop incorporates tools such as how to build healthy relationships, how to share your story with God, and the Three Circles tool that enables people to share their faith in a natural/relational way. The Refocus seminar uses tools (SWOT Analysis, Missional Posture Survey, Church Life Cycles) that help congregations do personal assessments; the Great Commission Matrix helps churches to align their ministry around their missional focus.

From the Presbytery of Coastal Mid-Atlantic:
Out of the abundance of resources at my disposal, I have been particularly grateful for the Missional Posture and Church Health Scorecard self-assessments. Both tools have enabled me to have profitable conversations with leaders based on their own self-reporting.

Leadership: Who are the key leaders of your program? How is their work progressing? In what ways are they changing, growing, or learning through their engagement in this program? Is leadership emerging in unforeseen places?

Leadership of our program operates at multiple levels. The National Director of Church Health serves as the overall leader, supported by a national church leadership team comprising 4-5 individuals. This team provides guidance, expertise, and support to regional church health coordinators responsible for managing 4-5 presbyteries each. Under the regional leadership, individual presbytery health coordinators oversee congregations ranging from 25 to 75 members. Notably, all regional and presbytery church health coordinators are also actively serving as pastors within their respective congregations.

To support individual congregations, church health coordinators are recruited and trained by their presbytery’s church health coordinator. Additionally, the presbytery church health coordinator actively develops leadership within their presbytery to achieve the overall objectives of church health within that specific area.

Transitional Pastor Training is led by a team of experts, including Bob Stauffer (National Church Health Director), Bill Rasch (Director of Transitional Pastors), Matt Bohling (Director of Flourish), Marc de Jeu (Church Health Coordinator for the Presbytery of the Alleghenies), Rosemary Lukens (National Church Health leadership team), and Jim Farrell (National Church Health leadership team). Each member of this team has challenged the others to think more deeply and broadly about this work, its application within the larger church, and to bring their unique life experiences to the conversation.

While progress in leadership development has not been uniform across different presbyteries, it has manifested in various ways. We have undoubtedly witnessed the growth of future leaders, including lead church coordinators, presbytery church coordinators, and coaches. As they gain experience, these individuals continue to learn and adapt, helping churches navigate the challenges of their changing environments. They draw upon what works best for their specific church rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. Moreover, leadership continues to emerge as more coaches step up to new roles, contributing to the overall growth and development of the program.

From the Presbytery of the West:
The key leaders in this program are a mix of pastoral leaders, coaches, and partners from within the Presbytery and beyond. The success of this initiative has been largely driven by leaders who are willing to engage in self-reflection and growth, while also empowering others to do the same. As a result, these leaders are not just providing content but also creating environments where others can learn from their experiences and develop their own leadership capacity.

Over the course of the program, leaders have grown in their ability to navigate complex challenges and have developed a deeper understanding of the importance of peer learning and coaching. Some leaders have emerged from unexpected places-particularly those who have been part of the cohort groups-demonstrating that leadership can develop organically when given the right support and encouragement.

From a transitional pastor:
Having a coach walk with me through this wonderful, challenging moment in a church’s life has given me greater clarity with each decision and fuller satisfaction all along the way. Receiving wisdom and sensitivity from my coach’s experience has been a highlight of my ministry. We’re not meant to do this alone – and it’s amazing when we do it together!

Partners: Who are your partners beyond your own institution? Describe how your partnership relationships are developing and working.

At the highest level, we have partners for each of our three primary areas of focus:

– Evangelism: We’ve partnered with the Family Church in Florida, which provides an evangelism model, an evangelism training program, and a co-vocational ministry leadership program.

– Transitional Pastoring: We’ve collaborated with Vital Church Ministries, Interim Pastor Ministries (IPM), and Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO). We attend their training sessions and incorporate the best practices they’ve developed into our Transitional Pastor training program. With their permission, we’ve adapted and used portions of both Vital Church and Flourish materials. This partnership is evident in the second edition of our training manual. Matt Bohling, the head of Flourish (a PCA parachurch organization focused on church health and missional vitality), sends his pastors to our foundational Transitional Pastor training. He’s also part of our team of coaches and trainers.

– Refocus/Church Health: Rev. Dr. Ken Priddy and the Go-Center provide assessment tools, Church Answers for demographic studies, and speakers at special events.

Additionally, presbytery-level partners have emerged to address specific needs and situations, as illustrated below.

From the Presbytery of the West:
Our partnerships extend beyond the walls of the Presbytery to include organizations such as Barna, Tin Man Ministries, Church Multiplication Ministries, and The Church Cooperative of Denver. These partnerships have been instrumental in providing resources, training materials, and frameworks that have helped shape the direction of our work.

The relationships with external partners have been mutually beneficial. For example, Barna’s research on cultural trends has provided invaluable insight for our Evangelism workshops, while Tin Man Ministries has supported our efforts to create relationally driven approaches to ministry. Our partnership with Church Multiplication Ministries has enriched our cohort model, bringing in expertise on mission, multiplication, and gospel motivation. These partnerships are continuing to evolve as we explore new ways to collaborate and serve the broader ministry community.

From the Presbytery of Coastal Mid-Atlantic:
I have been able to serve as a full-member of our Presbytery Leadership Team, and this continues to open doors for connection and partnership. I receive help knowing which churches/leaders would be best to follow up with. I am part of the official process when churches enter the presbytery or navigate a pastoral transition, and the Church Health ministry gets woven into the fabric of life of our Presbytery.

Specifically, I have been asked to lead a weekly prayer call for our presbytery, in which I contact churches ahead of time to see how we can pray for them. Doing this has established stronger relationships between me and our churches and helped them see me as an advocate, rather than simply a “presbytery official” (which carries baggage for some).

I am convinced that the compensation model for my position – both the initial plan through General Assembly and now through the Lilly grant – has accelerated my partnership with the Presbytery Leadership Team. Since my compensation is independent of the events/trainings I lead, it prevents any suspicion arising as to my motivations for seeking out particular churches.

Reflection Stories: Share a story or two about something that illustrates the program’s progress toward its aims. The story may be about an important event, activity, or people involved in your program.

From the Presbytery of the Alleghenies:
Lebanon EPC in West Mifflin, PA, took very seriously our evangelism training last year and has been very intentionally getting out into their neighborhood through prayer walks and finding intentional ways to share the Gospel through relationships with the local school by their church. They are seeing the culture of an outward focus influencing their longtime members, expectantly welcoming and integrating their many new visitors each Sunday morning. We are working with them now on developing an even deeper missional presence in the community through their evangelistic efforts.

From the Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest:
One of our church plants has struggled financially. In response, the congregation I serve has provided additional financial support but also empowered me to go and lead a renewal weekend where I will preach and lead an evangelism workshop for that congregation. Their pastor expressed that financial support and leadership support have enabled them to continue in their Gospel witness in the city. Coaching Centerville Pres. and the refocus of their life groups ministry led their Associate Pastor to say that it is great to have partnership and support from another pastor and church that has already positively witnessed growth and change in that area of ministry.

From the Presbytery of New River:
A shining example of the convergence of the work of a Transitional Pastor with the work of church health is the Forge Church community in Greensboro, North Carolina. Forge was birthed out of the decline of the Memorial Presbyterian Church. The congregation was in sharp decline and facing a pastoral transition. They contracted with one of our trained Transitional Pastors, to help them figure out God’s calling for them going forward. When he helped them face the reality that the community was no longer coming to them and they no longer had the energy to reach the community, they began to think about closing. In the midst of their wrestling, God was doing a work in the heart of an elder at Reynolda Church, a neighbor in the Presbytery.

A church planter felt a call to plant a faith community that served their community and lived invitationally toward that community. His vision was for a faith community named FORGE, standing for: faith, outreach, reconciliation, generosity, and evangelism. It would be a faith community for the community. Memorial Church heard about the vision. They decided to offer everything to the new vision- property, building, finances, and the remaining people. The result was something only God could have brought about: a multi-racial, multi-economic level faith community that serves the larger community in varied ways that matter most to that neighborhood. The Forge is a vibrant and thriving community of faith, which is reaching their neighbors with Good News of Jesus Christ.

From the Presbytery of the Great Plains:
Avery is a small neighborhood church comprising an Anglo congregation and a Hispanic Church Plant funded by the Presbytery. The Anglo congregation averaged around 150 in attendance, with a full-time youth minister, part-time music minister, organist, and office administrator. By November 2022, average attendance was around 60, and they had overspent offerings by a very significant amount. An EPC Transitional Pastor (retiree) assumed the pastorate without compensation, enabling the church to continue to operate without significant perturbation of existing staff. The church combined the music, youth, and worship into one full-time position and kept the part-time employees. Eighteen months after the REFOCUS seminar and the start of the visioning process, the church is averaging 92 in attendance, and giving has recovered to the point that a pastor search committee has been formed.

During the revitalization process, the State Department changed rules on visas and forced the Mexican church planter to return to Mexico. The Hispanic church plant is holding its own with lay leadership augmented by training and assistance from the head of the Spanish Cohort Leader for EPC church planting, and the Avery Transitional Pastor. However, the Pastor Search Committee is searching for a bilingual pastor who will pastor both language groups and work toward Avery Church becoming a multiethnic church. This is the perfect strategy for this church as there is a shift in the population in the Avery neighborhood. Within 2-3 years, the Avery neighborhood will be balanced among English and Spanish-speaking residents and eventually Spanish will be the dominant language group.

Accomplishments: What were the program’s most important accomplishments in the last year? Identify two or three. What discoveries or insights did you make? What surprises you?

A significant accomplishment is the recruitment and training of a viable church health team that spans the entire denomination, with coordinators in all 16 presbyteries. Through training sessions, workshops, and personal engagement, this team has emphasized the importance of revitalization and redirecting their mission focus outward. We are also making progress in addressing the pastoral shortage by aggressively recruiting and training bi/co-vocational pastors, many of whom are undergoing transitional pastor training. Without this leadership in churches, the inward focus would have overshadowed any outward efforts.

One striking revelation is the number of small churches in the denomination, comprising about one-third with fewer than 50 weekly attendees. Many of these churches are witnessing their dwindling membership, with only a few members sustaining their existence. For many of these churches, the process of revitalization seems too late to be effective, leading to ecclesiastical paralysis. They fear that any action will result in the church’s demise. To address this crisis, we have developed a comprehensive program that offers various options for their future. These options include merging with another church to regain viability, being adopted by another church for nurturing and restoration, or even closing the doors to celebrate their life. Many congregations and pastors are relieved to discover these options and find that the denomination is willing to collaborate with them as they redefine their mission to serve their community in new and diverse ways. These options have breathed new life or energy into these congregations, even if it meant closing and celebrating their existence.

Lessons: What lessons from this past year might be worth sharing with others?

Churches often struggle to shift their focus outward, but when they do, it can be incredibly liberating for both the church and its community. Developing a culture of evangelism is crucial before expecting visible fruit from evangelism efforts. To achieve this, it’s essential to have a unified gospelling tool across the denomination. This tool should be simple, practical, and adaptable, enabling a broader culture to influence local cultures.

Transitional Pastoring is gaining significance as churches grapple with finding pastoral leadership capable of guiding them in seeking and establishing a new vision and mission for their congregation. One effective approach is to place greater emphasis on bi/co-vocational leadership.

From the Presbytery of the Gulf South:
I held several evangelism seminars and have been “fine-tuning” my approach based on my own discernment as well as that of participants. I have come to realize that merely doing a seminar and offering the training cannot be the end of things. We, as church health coordinators, need to continue to engage those churches and pastors to encourage and remind them to keep sharing their faith. We need to continue to stay in touch with the pastors and leaders for their accountability and ours, and to continue to provide them with additional resources.

From the Presbytery of the Alleghenies:
One of our congregations has gone through both the Refocus workshop and evangelism training, has purchased the Know Your Community demographic/psychographic tool we encourage. Over the last year, the congregation has made significant connections with their community’s school as part of their effort to get to better know their neighboring community. They find themselves now in a place where they are desiring to develop a more consistent relational presence in the community, where neighbors and church members can grow in relationship, and opportunities to share in the gospel can happen naturally outside of the church. This need to help churches in the deep development of missional presence is a growing point for our church health process.

One of our congregations has gone through our Refocus process for the last two years and has come to the place where we’ve determined they are not going to be able to make progress in church health as a congregation. Our desire was to help them imagine a generative way to move toward health, but we did not find success with them, in large part due to the capacity of a much smaller, much older church in a severely declining community. Another growing point for our process is to introduce/incorporate creative ways forward for churches in similar situations.

Modifications: What program modifications have you implemented in the past year?

Due to the prevalence of small or struggling churches, we’ve intensified our focus and attention on them. By intervening early in their life cycle and helping them refine their vision and mission, we can foster new growth and community ministry.

In response to the growing demand for leadership in our communities, we’re placing significant emphasis on transitional pastoring. To achieve this, we’re implementing specific learning objectives.

1. Team training is invaluable. Having attendees with diverse approaches to problem- solving is worth the additional cost. Each trainer brings a unique gifting and style to the work, demonstrating how the process and tools can be effectively applied in various contexts. Moreover, the testimonies of Teaching Elders actively engaged in the training and successfully utilizing the materials and resources reinforce the practicality and applicability of our approach.

2. We’ve found that this training and resources are valuable for pastors of all levels of experience and in diverse contexts. It provides them with practical insights into how they can assist their congregations in overcoming various challenges. To ensure its wide applicability, we tailor our marketing efforts accordingly.

3. Inviting the Ruling Elders of congregations approaching a pastoral transition to training is highly beneficial. It helps them comprehend the role of a Transitional Pastor and the value of their trained leadership during such a pivotal moment for the church.

4. Creating a bottleneck ensures that congregations receive a clear presentation of the value of a Transitional Pastor and have their contract and work thoroughly answered. This allows for focused questioning by the Director of Transitional Pastors to better identify a congregation’s issues and match the trained Transitional Pastor’s gifts, skills, and makeup to their needs and struggles.

5. To enhance the consistency and quality of their work, we now require each Transitional Pastor in our system to have a coach. This approach significantly improves the overall effectiveness of their work. We maintain a minimal cost to the congregation, amounting to $600 per year, making this aspect of our program both affordable and valuable.

6. Additionally, we have implemented an end-of-service assessment of the Transitional Pastor and their work to gain a deeper understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. This assessment also provides valuable insights into areas where we need to improve or expand our training in the future.

Next Steps: What are your plans for next year? Who is involved in your current efforts to sustain the program beyond the grant period? How is their work progressing?

Having made significant strides in organization, training materials, key relationships, and numerous early successes in establishing new missions and visions that are significantly impacting the community, it is time to delve deeper into transforming the fundamental culture of congregations. The missional perspective cannot merely be a buzzword at General Assemblies but must be manifested daily in every congregation. To facilitate this transformative journey, we will be introducing new leadership for the national leadership team, who will be better equipped to address cultural shifts within local congregations and guide them toward a stronger community future. To support this endeavor, we have hired a grant writer to secure broader support for the denomination. As the Lilly endowment support diminishes, the individual congregations and presbyteries will be better positioned to embrace outward-facing Christian life as a fundamental aspect of their faith.

From the Presbytery of the East:
In 2025, the Presbytery will designate the year as the Year of Church Health. The new moderator has already embraced this initiative, which will be prioritized over the next three Presbytery meetings. We have implemented a new requirement that all incoming churches participate in the Refocus Seminar. In the long term, I believe the presbytery needs to reassess its bylaws and restructure to be more missional.

From the Presbytery of the Great Plains:
Change the view of the pastors and churches that see Church Health, REFOCUS, and Revitalization as emergency solutions that are only engaged when things get desperate. I hope to stop thinking of Church Health as the trauma doctor in the emergency room and start thinking of myself as the primary care physician who wants to help them stay healthy and avoid the emergency room.

Thriving Congregations Initiative Baseline Data
Number of Congregations Participating in the Program – 230
Number of Individuals from congregations participating in the program – 30,000
Total number of individuals participating in the program – 30,000

Learning/Training Events
Number of events conducted by the program** – 125
Number of congregations represented in all events – 60

**This represents only those events conducted by the Church Health Coordinator or other trained staff, but does not include those subsequent events led by the local congregation.

Other statistics we are tracking.
1. Number of ReFocus workshops – How many congregations are actively involved in the revitalization beyond simply attending a seminar. It usually initiates a congregation into active participation of renewed mission and vision. (60)
2. Number of trained Transitional Pastors and ministry leaders – How many pastors and coaches are available to lead congregations in revitalization in the period when a church is awaiting a new pastor. (103)
3. Number of Coaches available and engaged – tells us how well the process is engaged at the congregational level. (37)

Major gathering or significant events for the coming year:
February 4-6, 2025, Church Health Coordinator Training and Workshop Orlando, FL
May 7-8, 2025, Transitional Pastor Training, Portland, OR
June 16-17, 2025 Church Health Coordinator mid-term review, Farmington Hills, MI
September 23-24, 2025, Transitional Pastor Training, Tampa, FL
November 4-5, 2025, Transitional Pastor Training, Mechanicsville, VA

NCHLT Viability Assessment and Other 4 Options

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RECOMMENDATIONS (DETAILED)

The CHLT has no recommendations to present to the 45th General Assembly. 

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COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Marc de Jeu
TE, Presbytery of the Alleghenies

Mark Farrell
TE, Presbytery of Florida and the Caribbean

Larry Williams
RE, Presbytery of the Alleghenies

MEETING DATES

July 10, 2024: Video Conference
August 14, 2024: Video Conference
September 11, 2024: Video Conference
October 9, 2024: Video Conference
November 13, 2024: Video Conference
December 12, 2024: Video Conference
January 8, 2025: Video Conference
February 4-6, 2025: Office of the General Assembly, Orlando, FL
March 12, 2025: Video Conference
April 9, 2025: Video Conference
May 14, 2025: Video Conference
June 16, 2025: Ward Presbyterian Church, Farmington Hills, MI

Respectfully submitted,

Bob Stauffer, National Director of Church Health
June 2025

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