Revitalize and Replant Revitalize and Replant LIVE at the 2025 Replant Summit
Nov 25, 2025
Hosts tackle crucial church revitalization issues live at a summit. They discuss the tough choices leading churches to seek mergers or partnerships, highlighting finances and leadership gaps. Topics include overcoming fears of losing control during revitalization and assessing community outreach readiness. The conversation emphasizes the importance of preserving gospel presence in urban areas through collaboration. They also offer insights on navigating disagreements and redefining replanting as a strategic victory, encouraging churches, even smaller ones, to engage in replanting efforts.
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Recognize When You Can’t Sustain Alone
- Churches often decide to pursue radical partnerships when they realize they cannot sustain ministry alone financially or in leadership capacity.
- Mark Clifton says reaching the point where attendance, giving, and baptisms predict inevitable decline within three years marks a replant candidate.
When You Can't Climb The Ladder Anymore
- A Kansas church finally asked for help only after leadership dwindled to two deacons and basic tasks became impossible.
- The deacon told Mark Clifton they were ready when "neither one of us can get up on a ladder anymore."
Change Feels Like Loss To Members
- Many congregations mistake revitalization as simply receiving money and people while everything else stays the same.
- Mark Clifton explains members feel intense loss because the church is often the last stable place in their changing lives.
