reVision

WHY REVISION?

• reVision is a bold and brave journey, to discern God’s call for the future of your church.
• reVision is designed for congregations experiencing a decline or other challenges that limit growth and connection with their community.
• reVision is for congregations who have potential that is not yet realized.
• reVision is for congregations who want to listen to God’s call for their lives and work.

HOW CAN REVISION HELP?

• reVision will help your congregation draw a clear map to God’s future for your church.
• reVision provides the tools you need to travel in new directions.
• reVision will deepen your congregation’s faith and engagement with each other and your context.

WHAT WILL WE DO AS A PART OF REVISION?

• Dig deeper into the gifts, passions, and needs of your congregation and its neighbors
• Strengthen connections within the community through small groups
• Get to know your neighbors through community engagement
• Experience revitalized worship to support this period of openness and discernment
• Dream about new directions and visions for your congregation
• Engage the entire community in discernment and prioritization
• Create practical and do-able plans for implementing those new directions and visions
• Start implementing the top-priority new directions and visions with concrete actions within the year

HOW WILL WE BE SUPPORTED BY THE REVISION TEAM AT CONVERGENCE?

• You will be assigned a reVision coach who will provide support and guidance throughout the process.
• You will receive the materials for a 60 to 90-day program of worship, spiritual practice, and small group study that will engage your members in the reVision process and strengthen their relationships with each other.
• You will receive detailed instructions for a series of summits to ensure that the whole congregation is engaged in discernment and decision-making, providing them with a sense of ownership of your new directions.
• You will receive plans for consecrating and training lay leaders who are leading, planning, and implementing throughout the process.
• You will receive exclusive reVision resources, including videos providing guidance and advice, and written/electronic resources, to help you stay focused on discernment, openness, and change.

HOW DOES REVISION WORK?

No matter how you came to an awareness of the need for change in your congregation, the reVision process will guide and support you in the work ahead.With reVision, you will assemble the tools you will need, find companions for your journey in spiritual practices and draw a map toward your future.

1. The process begins with intentional spiritual practice and small group opportunities. For 90 days, this adventure will be woven into all parts of congregational life. These 90 days will equip the members of your congregation with tools to help them cope with change and be prepared - not only for the first part of the process, but for what comes in the months and years beyond.
2. Once you all have worked through this period of intentional spiritual practice, your congregation will undertake a day of prayerful discernment in order to turn toward action.
3. You will continue with a celebration and a calling or blessing of those members who have stepped forward to lead the way ahead.
4. Those called to this work in your community will then do a deeper discernment and planning with the full trust and endorsement of the congregation.
5. Following that season, the congregation will meet to determine a final prioritization of the work ahead, determining what items are of greatest priority so the whole congregation can put its efforts where they are most needed.
6. Your congregation will work to support a team of leaders dedicated to implementing this work, through practices and worship that address resistance to change and the value of persistence.

The six steps in the reVision process will take a full year. The process will likely continue into a second year or more, as a period of deliberately living into and implementing the resulting action plans.

In the end, we believe this process will leave your congregation with a clear map to God’s future for your church, the tools you need, and a sense of bold faith. Trust in this journey. While it may not be smooth at every turn, it will inevitably lead toward God’s call for you.

IS REVISION RIGHT FOR MY CONGREGATION?

Asking the right questions is key for a successful start to reVision.

When a church is about to undertake a capital campaign, it is possible to gauge the likelihood of success by asking just a few of questions, which have nothing to do with money:

1. Is there a compelling reason for doing this?
2. Is our leadership deeply committed to it?
3. Can we mobilize one-half of the congregation or more to volunteer to help?

The answer to all of these questions must be a strong “Yes,” or a capital campaign, a new venture like reVision, or any all-church effort, is unlikely to be successful in that congregation.