Spiritual Strategic
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Congregational
Redevelopment
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Reinventing the Life of an Old Age Congregation Overview Old Age is that stage of a congregation’s life cycle when it is functioning on fumes rather than being fueled by vision. The habit or pattern of gathering for worship and fellowship is the primary factor keeping the congregation going. The congregation is now at subsistence level. It is a preaching station, or a chaplaincy ministry. Death is not necessarily nearby, but proactive meaningful congregation life that is generating new energy is gone. Worship life is full of precious memories. Homecomings and anniversaries still play an important part in the life of the congregation. Memorial gifts to the congregation almost become the object of worship rather than instruments or enhancements of worship. The Jonah Syndrome controls fellowship life in the congregation. This is a fear of being swallowed up. So the congregation is afraid to take any risks that might diminish the precious few resources it has left. The most significant number counted in Old Age congregations is the number of funerals, and the number of people who are homebound or in the nursing section of senior adult housing. If the congregation moved to Old Age following a conflict, which may have included a split in the fellowship, then it carries much bitterness into this stage. This bitterness is actually energy that can be used to help the congregation do some significant Kingdom work during this stage. Any positive, proactive ministry of the congregation will probably come from its management resources. For example, if its facilities are in relatively good shape, then they may become an incubation center for new congregations [particularly non-English language/culture], a community center for neighborhood organizations, or a source of income for a merger or relocation. If the congregation now has low expectations of internal ministry, and is not burdened by salaries and facilities expenses, then it may be providing significant dollars to missions work, or community ministry projects. If the demands on the full-time pastor are not high, then he may become meaningfully engaged in community or denominational ministries. It is also possible that this type of congregation will provide meaningful on-the-job training for persons new to pastoral or staff ministry. Many of these latter people will be bi-vocational. An Intervention Framework for Redevelopment at the Old Age Stage The organizing principle or genetic formula for Old Age is vrpM. This is a symbol for when only management is dominant, and vision, relationships, and programs are not. It is the formula for congregations who have reached a subsistence level of existence where the habit of being and doing church is the predominant theme. The congregation is generally not growing qualitatively or quantitatively. The congregation is not hopeful, but it is also not necessarily about to die. Many Old Age congregations continue for a generation or more into the future. For their denominations they may represent a level of financial support that is out of character with the total number of people they represent. They may even define their purpose for continuing as to support missions, to train young pastors, or other singular special interest purposes. The redevelopment formula is VrPm. This means that redevelopment comes about only through the ability to cast a new vision, and to establish new programs that allow newly emerging relationships to be expressed. At the Old Age stage the congregation is willing to attempt extreme measures that it was previously unwilling to consider. Some congregations are even willing to give up their autonomy and revert to mission status, or come under the watch care or authority of another congregation or their denomination. Reinventing the Life of a Retirement Congregation The process theme is reinventing, which involves a major redesign of the congregation for it to have a viable, vital, empowered future. Probably, only a radical change strategy will work, but some congregations may first attempt a discontinuous change strategy. A discontinuous change strategy generally involves a congregation giving permission for a complete reengineering of the programs, ministries, and activities of the congregation. Usually the congregation attempts this in partnership with others, such as their denomination, another congregation, or a parachurch group. This change pathway involves the historic congregation maintaining control of its destiny. A radical change strategy involves the historic congregation giving control of its destiny over to its denomination, another congregation, or a parachurch organization. With new vision, a new congregation is truly reinvented on the remaining base of the historic congregation. The destination for the reinventing is Childhood if changes are made that are discontinuous. If radical changes are attempted, then the destination is Infancy. Note on Rate of Change and Transition: The rate of change may be continuous, discontinuous, or radical. Change that is continuous in nature generally deals with natural transition in things, people, and relationships. Change that is discontinuous in nature generally deals with sustainable changes in things that also require definable transitions in people and relationships. Radical change demands transformation of things, people, and relationships. What Are the Redevelopment Steps at the Old Age Stage? The strategy is to diminish management practices of the congregation that control rather than empower. This can happen by reducing the number of committees, councils, or boards, thus reducing the number of people involved in management activities. Steps to develop and implement decisions can be eliminated, thus streamlining the decision-making process. First, persons who have been in leadership positions so long that they control rather than empower can be moved to new assignments in the congregation. Second, new programs, ministries, and activities can be attempted that will provide for the congregation a sense of momentum and success in the general area of programs. Third, then cast new vision. It cannot be a reinstating or recycling of an old vision; it must be a new vision. Finally, the management systems need to be reengineered to empower the new sense of vision and spiritual strategic direction. The time frame is 18 to 36 months, but with substantial stability reached within six to 18 months. The desired end result is a period that may last seven to nine years and form a new, partial life cycle. What Are the Challenges to Reinventing the Life of an Old Age Congregation? First, Old Age represents the last opportunity for an existing congregation to redevelop. It is appropriate for congregations to be scared at this stage, and attempt unusual and radical things that they would never have attempted in earlier stages. Second, Old Age congregations may change their theology, historic patterns, and enduring core values in an attempt to bargain for more life. For example, they may allow women in roles of leadership they would never have thought about earlier. They may cross barriers to minister to a different racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic group they would never consider as a target of ministry during earlier stages. Third, the changes needed are sufficiently radical that it is doubtful that discontinuous change that still allows the historic congregation to control their destiny will be sufficient change to reinvent the congregation. Fourth, if radical change is attempted, there is no guarantee that the character and nature of the newly emerging congregation will match that of the historic congregation. In reality, the historic congregation may die in the sense that neither its core ideology nor its specific membership is represented long-term in the people connected with the newly emerging congregation. | 
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