Revitalize and Replant Urban Ministry with Colin Pugh
Oct 23, 2025
Colin Pugh, an urban strategist with the North American Mission Board, transformed Clinton Baptist Church from nine to 350 members. He emphasizes the critical need for leadership development and holistic transitions within church ministries. Colin discusses the church's role as a community lifeline and its impactful partnerships, such as with MedStar for health initiatives and local businesses for job creation. He encourages urban pastors to celebrate small victories and share resources with non-urban churches for stronger community ties.
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Restarting A Declining Church
- Colin arrived at Clinton Baptist with about nine active members and a massive, underused facility of 12 acres and a 1,000-seat sanctuary.
- He called every name in the membership book, discovered many were deceased, and restarted the church intentionally from that baseline.
Develop Leaders Intentionally
- Do intentionally develop younger leaders through a multiyear training cohort to secure future leadership and continuity.
- Colin runs a GSL Institute that meets monthly for two years to prepare 17 handpicked adults for ministry roles.
Fresh Perspective Enables Change
- Coming into a church without being bound by old structures can free you to rebuild systems for leadership and ministry.
- Colin credits not growing up in the traditional church culture for allowing fresh, intentional changes.
