Episode 27 - Joyful Hospitality & Meaningful Membership

Podcast: Revitalized My Church
Episode: 27
Hosts: Bart Blair & Nathan Bryant (Executive Director, Assist Church Expansion)
Release Date: September 1, 2025
Topic: Church Revitalization Essentials #7 & #8

After a brief hiatus in August, Bart and Nathan return to continue their series on church revitalization essentials based on a framework from Terry Long and the North Carolina Baptists. This episode focuses on two critical elements that can make or break a church's revitalization efforts: creating an atmosphere of joyful hospitality and establishing meaningful membership that goes beyond just having your name on a roll.

"When you actually are thinking about how we gonna grow this thing, how we're gonna move forward, well, the primary way you're gonna do that is through relationships and connecting with people." - Nathan Bryant


"If you're not committed to one another, in my opinion, you're not a church." - Nathan Bryant


"The moment that they say yes to being a disciple of Jesus, a follower of Jesus, that's not the end game. That's the beginning of the race." - Bart Blair

On Theological Requirements for Membership: The hosts recommend not creating high theological barriers for new believers entering membership, as many are "still wet behind the ears from baptism." Instead, provide doctrinal statements for review and commit to discipling members in theological understanding over time.

On Church Structure: The discussion assumes some form of formal membership structure, though they acknowledge not all churches operate this way. The principles can be adapted for churches with different organizational models.

Revitalizing Children's Ministry: Essential Strategies for Churches Ready to Welcome Families

Is your church struggling to attract and retain families with children? In this comprehensive episode, host Bart Blair interviews Lisa Rowland, a seasoned children's ministry leader and consultant with Life Catalyst Consulting, who shares over 20 years of practical experience helping churches of all sizes build thriving children's programs.

Lisa's unique journey from corporate business management to children's ministry leadership provides valuable insights for church leaders looking to create welcoming, safe, and effective programs that partner with families in discipleship. Whether your church hasn't had children in years or you're preparing for growth, this episode offers actionable strategies you can implement immediately.

Perfect For: Church planters, pastors of aging congregations, volunteer children's ministry leaders, church revitalization teams, and anyone interested in effective family ministry strategies.

About the Guest: Lisa Rowland serves at Bridgeway Church in North Texas and consults with churches nationwide through Life Catalyst Consulting. Her corporate background provides unique organizational and leadership insights that translate powerfully to ministry settings.

Resources Mentioned: Life Catalyst Consulting (lifecatalyst.com), church management software options, design tools, and curriculum resources for churches with limited budgets.

This 40-minute conversation provides practical, immediately applicable strategies for churches ready to welcome families and build children's ministry programs that make a lasting impact.

Subscribe to Revitalize My Church Podcast for new episodes on the 1st and 15th of each month, featuring practical ministry insights and transformation stories from churches successfully reaching new families and growing younger.

Gospel-Centered Fellowship and Missional Engagement for Church Revitalization

In this milestone episode marking one year of the Revitalize My Church podcast, hosts Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant continue their series on the 10 essentials for church revitalization, based on insights from Terry Long of the North Carolina Baptist Association. They explore two critical elements that struggling churches need: gospel-centered fellowship and missional engagement. This episode reveals why surface-level community isn't enough and how churches can become truly missionary-minded in their local context.

Gospel-centered fellowship goes far beyond potluck dinners and social gatherings. Nathan Bryant explains that many revitalizing churches function primarily around Sunday morning experiences and may have meaningful relationships, but lack the "deeper fellowship of interconnectedness that allows for true deep community where real discipleship takes place."

Most churches focus on large group experiences (Sunday worship, Sunday school) where relationships remain surface-level. While these relationships may be meaningful and long-term, they don't provide the intimate context needed for true spiritual transformation.

Creating gospel-centered fellowship requires intentional steps and cultural change, especially in churches where people have known each other for decades but haven't experienced deeper spiritual community.

Missional engagement focuses on what churches do outside their building to connect with their community. Nathan defines it as "what we're doing with our lives in the corporate nature of the church, the group nature of the church, and the individual lives of the members of the church to actually connect and engage that community we're trying to reach for Jesus."

Most churches can effectively reach M1 and M2 people in their community, but must intentionally focus outward rather than hoping people will simply find them.

The cultural landscape has shifted dramatically. As Pastor Jeff Bogue noted, "We're no longer the home team, the church is the visiting team now." This means churches must adapt their approach to engagement.

Missional engagement isn't about immediately sharing the gospel with everyone you meet. It's about building the trust necessary to eventually gain permission for gospel conversations.

Large-scale events can introduce your church to the community and build awareness, but they rarely result in immediate church attendance. The most effective path to new people visiting church is through trustworthy personal relationships built over time.

These two elements create a powerful synergy for church revitalization:

Churches engaging in missional efforts must be ready to receive the people God brings. This means creating welcoming environments where newcomers feel comfortable without compromising biblical truth.

The hosts will continue their series on the 10 essentials for church revitalization, covering additional vital elements from Terry Long's research with the North Carolina Baptist Association.

Pastor Brian Moss of Oak Ridge Church shares his proven DREAM framework that transformed a dying congregation of 30 into a thriving church with 101% small group participation over 25 years.

Brian, a former computer engineer who didn't grow up in church, reveals how he developed a systematic approach to balance the five fundamental church purposes: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. He breaks down his DREAM acronym - Design services for lost people, Reach with the gospel, Engage in growth, Activate in ministry, and Mobilize for missions.

Key topics include creating guest-friendly services without compromising the gospel, systematic discipleship through small groups, and why 80% of modern church practices are more cultural than biblical. Brian also addresses the comparison trap destroying pastors and offers practical encouragement for church leaders feeling overwhelmed.

Perfect for pastors, church planters, denominational leaders, and anyone seeking a biblical framework for sustainable church health and growth.

Resources mentioned:

Text Based Preaching and Intentional Discipleship in Church Revitalization

 

Join hosts Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant as they explore two essential elements for successful church revitalization: text-driven preaching and intentional discipleship. Drawing from insights by Terry Long of the North Carolina Baptist Association, this episode reveals why these biblical foundations are game-changers for struggling churches.

Nathan emphasizes that God's Word has transformative power when properly applied, while Bart shares his personal discipleship experience and the "laboratory vs. lecture" approach that accelerated his spiritual growth. Both hosts stress that church revitalization happens through heart transformation, not just methodology changes.

Perfect for pastors, church leaders, and anyone passionate about seeing real life change in their congregation. This practical episode provides actionable strategies you can implement immediately to help your church move toward a healthy, fruitful future.

Scripture Focus: Hebrews 4:12, 1 Corinthians 11:1, and the Great Commission's practical implications for modern discipleship.

New episodes release on the 1st and 15th of each month. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and visit RevitalizeMyChurch.com for additional resources.

Building Healthy Churches: A Conversation with AJ Mathieu of The Malphurs Group

In this episode, we sit down with AJ Mathieu from The Malphurs Group to discuss church revitalization, leadership development, and building healthy churches. Drawing from his decade of experience in ministry and the legacy of Dr. Aubrey Malphurs, AJ shares valuable insights on how churches can move from decline to vitality.

"We can't make anybody change. And we tell every single church we work with, we will lead you through this with the greatest capability and resources we have. But we cannot make you do the work. You have to want it." - AJ Mathieu

AJ Mathieu serves with The Malphurs Group, continuing the legacy of Dr. Aubrey Malphurs who was a professor at Dallas Theological Seminary for 35 years and authored 26 books. The organization focuses on church health, revitalization, and leadership development.

The Malphurs Group evaluates churches in four key areas:

Key pitfalls to avoid:

Recommended characteristics for strategic leadership team members:

 

Healthy Churches Toolkit 

"Advanced Strategic Planning" by Dr. Aubrey Malphurs

"No matter how alone you might feel in ministry, you're not. And there's people that want to see you thrive and they want to see you get back to that first vision you had... whenever God called you to ministry." - AJ Mathieu

The episode emphasizes that while church revitalization is challenging, it's possible with the right approach, proper pacing, and adequate support. The key is being willing to do the work while maintaining hope and seeking help when needed.

Essentials for Church Revitalization - Part 1

In this episode, hosts Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant introduce a new mini-series focusing on the "10 Essentials for Church Revitalization." They cover the first two essentials in depth: Dependent Prayer and Christ-Centered Worship.

In this episode, Bart interviews Jason Allison about the challenges and opportunities of leading leaders in normative-sized churches. Jason shares insights from his extensive experience working with churches through multiple organizations and provides practical guidance for pastors looking to develop leaders rather than just delegate tasks.

Jason Allison serves in multiple roles supporting church leaders:

Progression of church involvement:

In this episode, Bart and Nathan discuss the "Farming Model" of evangelism, building on principles shared in Episode 17. They explore a strategic approach to both individual and corporate evangelism based on the parable of the seed from Matthew 13.

 

Lead Your Church Out Of Maintenance Mode

Signs Your Church May Be in Maintenance Mode with Dan Reiland

In this episode, Bart interviews Dan Reiland, an experienced executive pastor and church leadership coach, about identifying and addressing church stagnation. Dan shares insights from his article "Seven Signs That Your Church May Be In Maintenance Mode" and provides practical guidance for church leaders looking to move their churches forward.