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Revitalization Pastor Cohort

Equipping revitalization pastors & replanters to ADVANCE God's mission in their context.

RE Pastor Cohort Online Course

RE is a movement of God’s leadership seeking to strengthen God’s Church and transform a community through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In coming months you will be guided through 13 of lessons and consultations seeking to equip you to lead God’s people to reorient to God’s mission as you trust Christ to build His Church.

RE is not a manual for church revitalization, but a guide to help you get started on a long journey as a pastor called to serve an at-risk church. Seeking to create the right conversations to encourage pastors and replanters to focus their time on elements essential to church revitalization, each lesson in RE will challenge you to consider Biblical Truth, Wisdom from others, and apply it to your local context.

Below you will find links and required resources for each lesson of the RE cohort. It is imperative that you set aside time each month to prayerfully work through the individual requirements as you will be expected to share your work with your peers, mentors and ultimately, leaders in your congregation. Church revitalization is hard work over a marathon length tenure as pastor to God’s people. So, set your pace and let’s start the journey together for the glory of God!

Required Reading List

The primary resources are listed so you can order/obtain them in time for each corresponding lesson.

DOWNLOAD THE PASTOR WORKBOOK (PDF)
DOWNLOAD THE MENTOR GUIDE (PDF)

(Password Required)

1. Orientation / Preparing for your first cohort session

1)    Begin a 30-day personal prayer strategy for personal revitalization. Some options might include:

  • Consider reading a resource to grow a particular spiritual discipline

  • Schedule a weekend prayer retreat

  • Begin a prayer journal just for this season of revitalization

  • Adjusting your schedule to allow for more uninterrupted times of prayer

2)    Secure a pastoral mentor. You will need to select a pastoral mentor to meet with you regularly as you complete your revitalization journey. We feel it is better that you choose a mentor that can:

    • Meet about once a month for an hour to discuss a few pre-written questions related to the RE content.

    • Provide wisdom and encouragement

    • Commit to praying for you and the church you serve

3)   Review and sign the RE Pastor Covenant bring it to your first cohort session. (Download PDF)

4) Assessment

  • Download and complete a self-assessment of 13 Essential Characteristics referenced by Jimbo Stewart. (Download pdf)

  • Ask 3-5 members of your congregation or trusted peers to complete the 13 Essential Characteristics assessment and return it to you in preparation for Session 3, Biblical Leadership. NOTE: You may need to create a way for them to return them anonymously to ensure accurate feedback. (Download pdf)

5) Order the primary resource for next lesson: Developing a Powerful Praying Church by Richard Blackaby and Rick Fisher

2. Prayer

Complete pastor lesson (Download) prior to cohort session.

  1. Additional resources related to objectives:

    1. A Passion for Prayer by Dr. Tom Elliff

    2. A collection of prayer books by E.M. Bounds online from CCEL.org

      1. The Necessity of Prayer

      2. Purpose in Prayer

      3. Essential of Prayer

      4. Power Through Prayer

    3. Revitalization Devotional, Morning Sacrifice , South Carolina Baptist Convention

    4. Online article: Prayer Is the First Step in Revitalization, HopeforChurches.org

  2. Order the primary resource for your next lesson , Biblical Leadership: Spiritual Leadership: Principles of Excellence For Every Believer by J. Oswald Sanders

3. Biblical Leadership

4. Gospel Centrality & Marks of a Healthy Church

Complete pastor lesson (Download) prior to cohort session.

5. Vision & Values

Complete pastor lesson (Download) prior to cohort session.

6. Evangelism/Missional Engagement in Community

Complete pastor lesson (Download) prior to cohort session.

7. Preaching & Teaching

Note: We have revised the Preaching lesson due to the lack of availability of the previous resource, Preaching with Balance by Donald Hamilton. Should you want to utilize the original lesson and resource, the following links will assist your preparation:

8. Discipleship & Member Care

9. Congregational Worship

10. Developing Leaders

11. Polity & Processes

12. Adversity, Perseverance & Partnerships

13. Multiplication & Sending

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Church Strategies Group    Hopeforchurches.org
This SCBC resource is made possible through the Cooperative Program giving of South Carolina Baptist churches.