Revitalization Process

Revitalization Process - Learning Groups

How are you? How is your wife? How are your children? Is anyone caring about you with that much love? The learning communities of the Transformation/Revitalization process will. The pastors who are a part of these communities come together not as competitors but rather as cheerleaders. It is a place to ask for help. It is a place where failure is not shameful, but helpful because we all share in the brokenness of life. We delight in each other's significance and success.

Pastor Randy Miller of Trinity Lutheran Church, Columbia Tennessee says this about the process:

"Working through the 20 year self-study of the congregation, the weekend consultation, and the learning community has been awesome. Trinity Lutheran Church is abuzz. What makes this so different from anything else we have done is that it is a holistic approach. It is not just an evangelism program or a stewardship workshop. The Transformation/Revitalization process captures every ministry and puts it all together. Trinity is being changed for the better and we are receiving the support we need as the district is walking alongside us. The learning community is what I have always been looking for since I came out at the seminary. It supports me, keeps me focused on what is important and stretches me with an accountability that I feel towards the group."

Transforming Congregations - Revitalization

• You have a passion for the non-Christian people in your community.
• You want to reach out to your community with the Good News of Jesus Christ.
• You are willing to learn and change.

Transforming churches is a growing movement across the LCMS.

The process includes:

• A Weekend Consultation.
  It's like an annual physical at the doctors. Congregations receive a report on their strengths, concerns and prescriptions to address each concern.
• Learning Communities for Pastors
  Pastors will take part in a monthly learning community consisting of three hours of training and two hours of spiritual development over a two-year period.
• Lay Training Events
  The English District will provide the congregation with mentoring and training events for one year.
• Groups Ablaze
  The congregation will study together the Groups Ablaze material and learn how to create interest groups and triads (groups of three for outreach).

The English District Board of Directors has set a goal of 35 English district congregations being involved in the revitalization process by the time of the District convention in 2010. Please pray for this process and for the congregations who are choosing to begin the work of transformation.

For more information contact:
The Rev. David L. Thiele, Mission Executive/Consultant

1-800-755-9335 | E-mail David Thiele