FAQ

Changing Culture.  In replanting and revitalization leaders seek to lovingly and wisely change the church culture in the midst of an existing culture that is not as healthy as it once was.  Changing culture and creating health takes time, trust and commitment.

Sacred Cows.  Many dying churches have sacred cows that are like landmines and you usually don’t know they are there until you have already stepped on them.  Since preferences can becoming paramount in declining churches the challenge is in taking our eyes off our ourselves and turning to the needs of others

Lost Love for the Community.  When we fail to love those in the surrounding community we can lose our desire to sacrifice to meet the needs of those around us.  We aim to lead the new body to have broken hearts to reach the community for Christ.  

Lack of Vibrancy.  In declining churches there is often a lack of momentum, hope and people attending the church may be stagnant in their walk with Christ.  They need a lot of care, love, prayer and food from the Word to experience new life.

Lack of Desire to Reach the Lost.  While most churches claim to be gospel centered, many declining churches are unwilling to put preferences aside to reach the broken, hurting and the lost.  

Every community needs a vibrant gospel-centered church that points to His glory and is on mission to reach the community.  Each community desperately needs a church that is a lighthouse for Jesus.  These churches are a source of hope, encouragement and joy for the communities they serve.

God-honoring stewardship of the resources entrusted to your church.  Buildings and assets built by the obedience of faithful followers are underutilized or even empty.  Replanting and revitalization efforts are a pathway to make sure these resources are stewarded well for Kingdom purposes.

Your church can once again bring hope to members of the body and to other churches who may have lost hope. The founders of Catalyst Co. share stories about what He has done in bringing replanted bodies to life!  Such stories of what He has done brings hope to so many who believe it is lost.

For the Glory of God.  This is the primary desire and goal for any initiative of Catalyst Co.  Since He alone is worthy of glory and this is the aim of all creation, we hold this as our primary end.

The organization has a partner in the Redeemer Network that has a successful track record in preparing pastors for new church plants.  At its core, the Network utilizes a residency program that includes the following modules:

The organization is revising these modules to meet the needs of skills deemed essential for a preplanting or revitalization environment as compared to a new church plant.  While some essentials are necessary in either context the replant/revitalization specific modules seek to assess and build on the following competencies:

• Visionary shepherding.  Walking the line between missional clarity and being a loving shepherd
• Tolerance for pain.  These pastors are not called to an easy mission and preparing for times of deep discouragement is necessary
• Love for His local church and an affinity for its history.  Part of planting the new vision is reminding people of hope from brighter days in the past while demonstrating a commitment to a new day
• Resourceful and a Generalist.  These pastors will need to tackle every aspect of church life and equipping people to lead in a new direction
• Aptitude of serving a multi-generational and multi-cultural environments.  Pastors in these rules must value and appreciate the relative complexity of serving and thriving in diverse settings
• Tactical patience.  Knowing when to push change and when to be patient is a critical competency for a pastor in this environment
• High emotional awareness.  These pastors must have an identity firmly planted since they will not likely receive much affirmation from the body, at least initially
• Spousal support and clarity of call.  The spousal connection is critical for a pastor in this context but often they are the only support.  Additionally they must have a strong conviction that God called them to this work and He is faithful