we need a new normal
Creating Understood Value for a Revitalized Church
“It is no secret that the church in North America is in trouble. Many churches are plateaued or declining. Our congregations sometimes live so much like the world that non-believers know nothing of the transforming power of the gospel. Leaders struggle to determine how to make a difference in dying churches and how to make a dent in a darkening culture. We need genuine revitalization based on personal and corporate recommitments to the God who alone grows his church... John is a pastor, professor, and missiologist. As a pastor, he knows the importance of loving the people of God and getting them on board in revitalization. As a professor, he understands why analysis and evaluation must happen. As a missiologist, he recognizes why knowing one’s community matters. As a Christian, he wants the church to base everything it does on the Word of God. This combination is unusual, and it uniquely qualifies him to write this book.”
Study after study indicate that for several years, the vast majority of American churches are plateaued or in decline. According to The Barna Group (2020), 32% of practicing Christians stopped attending their church during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This has become such a common point of discussion and understanding, we have grown to accept it, even expect it, as being normal. We need a new expectation. We need a new normal!
“Few people I know have more experience and know-how to help churches experience revitalization than John Ewart does… He knows the church, loves her, and deeply desires for it to maximize its work for the glory of God.”
Honest & Practical
After years of serving as a missionary, local church pastor, seminary professor and administrator, conference leader, and church consultant, Dr. John H. Ewart has put together the principles and processes he has experienced and observed in his own ministry and after working with hundreds of churches all around the world.
Are you still a church?
How do you know?
Are you truly making disciples?
How can you tell?
Do you have a biblical, understood value for the church and healthy church membership?
Do you or your members even know why you really “go to church” each week?
Do you understand who you are truly intended to be as church leaders and members?
Do the communities in which you live, and minister have an understood value of why your church exists and what you are there to do?
These questions and many more are addressed by our ministry, including a brief book (A New Normal, see the Resources page) summarizing the church revitalization conference and consultation content and processes Dr. Ewart has shared with denominations, in churches and the classroom over decades of ministry. These are no ivory tower ideas, but practical issues proven in the crucible of actual church and ministry life.
Church health is a journey not an event. A New Normal will motivate you to begin that journey and to continue it. It is time for a higher expectation for the church and church membership. It is time for a new normal!
We also invite you to browse the pages of this website to discover other resources and opportunities for conferences, consultation, and revitalization.