{"id":32177,"date":"2022-09-10T15:59:26","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-one-pastor-shifted-from-church-planting-to-revitalization\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:59:26","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:59:26","slug":"how-one-pastor-shifted-from-church-planting-to-revitalization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/how-one-pastor-shifted-from-church-planting-to-revitalization\/","title":{"rendered":"How One Pastor Shifted from Church Planting to Revitalization"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/div>\n

By Justin Pollock<\/em><\/p>\n

Brad Patterson knew he wanted to plant churches from the earliest days of his call to ministry.<\/p>\n

His motivation? Rebellion. He admits he didn\u2019t like how his church operated and thought he could do it better.<\/p>\n

Patterson noticed that a lack of discipleship and gospel urgency permeated the churches in his circles. For him, planting new, vibrant churches to displace the stagnant ones represented the Church\u2019s only hope.<\/p>\n

He recalls that he became aware of this arrogance during his undergraduate training at Criswell College. \u201cBy the time I graduated from Criswell, I realized I needed some more training and that planting a church right away would\u2019ve been disastrous,\u201d Patterson says.<\/p>\n

As he came to terms with his early pride, Patterson\u2019s passion for planting churches grew as he studied at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Ultimately, the northeast called his name.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Patterson met with church planters, prepared himself through a track specifically designed for church planting, and sought mentor relationships to support and encourage his growing desire. But as Patterson approached graduation, the Lord changed his heart.<\/p>\n

Patterson noticed the trend of migration from the west and northeast\u2014the two most unchurched regions in America.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Northeast came here to Texas,\u201d he says. \u201cThe healthy economy attracted people from these two regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

All around the Dallas metroplex, housing developments exploded. Urban sprawl had set in, and for the first time in generations, the city of Dallas needed healthy churches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI realized having a passion to plant churches didn\u2019t mean I had to be the church planter,\u201d Patterson says. \u201cGod could use an established church to plant churches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patterson began to search for opportunities to minister in an established church that had church-planting potential in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Not long after this, God opened the door for him to pastor First Baptist Lavon, located in the metroplex\u2019s northeastern quadrant.<\/p>\n

Patterson thought he and his young family would walk into a healthy church situation in a growing area brimming with gospel advancement opportunities.<\/p>\n

Reality blindsided them in that first year.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Remembering his expectations of what a healthy church would look like, Patterson did some quick calculations about his new church.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had the same pastor for 30 years, so that means they don\u2019t fire pastors quickly,\u201d he thought. \u201cThey give 10 percent to the Cooperative Program, so that must mean they\u2019re involved in missions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patterson didn\u2019t anticipate the need for revitalization. Yet, within the earliest days of his new post, he uncovered unsettling issues in the church.<\/p>\n

He knew the church needed deep revitalization when, \u201cIn the first few months of pastoring, I had a conversation with an important church member who made it clear they had no desire for the church to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
See also  Is It \u2018Ministry Failure\u2019 To See a Counselor?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

At that moment, Patterson realized he wouldn\u2019t achieve his goals for First Baptist Lavon as easily as he had anticipated.<\/p>\n

Patterson inherited the very church culture he\u2019d rebelled against.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The situation grew dire when Patterson discovered the bad reputation his new church had developed in the community. The advice he\u2019d received from mentors to, \u201cpreach, pray, and stay\u201d rested heavily on him during his first year.<\/p>\n

Patterson decided to commit to the long haul, laboring in prayer and in the Word, and building up the body in revitalization to become a church-planting church.<\/p>\n

He recalls the next three years as some of the hardest of his life. Fifteen months in, Patterson discovered that a group of supposed friends sought to remove him from the pastorate.<\/p>\n

Even as he and his wife slumped to the floor of their living room, tears running down their faces, they remained confident in the face of opposition.<\/p>\n

Between tense business meetings and targeted attacks on his family, they continued the hard work of revitalization. Some people left. Many more came.<\/em><\/p>\n

The church repaired its relationship with the community and the Lord restored His church.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo church ever begins to end,\u201d Patterson says. \u201cEvery church has this idea that when we start, we\u2019ll reach people for Jesus.\u201d Yet, First Baptist Lavon hadn\u2019t baptized anyone in three years.<\/p>\n

That tragic reality fueled the revitalization process.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In the three years that followed, God saved dozens through the ministry of the church. God grew the congregation from the seventy-five people who voted Patterson in to two hundred people.<\/p>\n

Patterson describes the nature of revitalization as redemptive as the community \u201cresponded to God after so much negativity.\u201d<\/p>\n

January 2019 marked the church\u2019s first successful church-planting endeavor\u2014Keystone Church in Denver, Colorado, which the church supported for one year.<\/p>\n

Patterson defines church revitalization as God breathing life back into a church that has lost track of its mission. Those stagnant churches which incited rebellion in his youth, now present an opportunity for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d encourage any aspiring pastor to consider revitalizing over planting if you can,\u201d he says. \u201cWe need young people to invest their lives in our old churches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Justin Pollock<\/h2>\n

\n

\n

Justin is the pastor of students and worship at First Baptist Church, Lavon, Texas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n