The Revitalized Church

07/20/2026

Pass out the hats!
I recently posted a picture of some hats I ordered for my business. I was highlighting how good they looked and thankful for the supplier who made the order happen in a short time. Shout out Matt Kannan

A good friend of mine, pastor Mike Wells commented about how many hats do I really need? Whether he meant it this way or not, Mike had a great point. See as a small business owner, I wear a lot of hats. I’m the president, estimator, project manager, HR director, office administrator, and so on.

It’s common for small business owners to be that way, but in order for me to drop the small title, I have got to pass out some of the hats to capable and willing team members who will take the position and run with it.

Now, the limiting factor of my company is not the available work; it is my ability to do it. If I want to grow, my team has to grow with me.

Too many leaders wear their stack of hats as a badge of honor, instead, they are an anchor holding them down.

Whether you are. Business owner, pastor, team leader or in any level of leadership, start learning how to pass out the hats in your organization; and let it grow.

06/30/2026

A shoutout to the EPs

In all of my Revitalization studies, I have found a common theme: there are two great leaders for most success stories. One out front, and one in the shadows.

There is a passage of scripture I have been pondering lately. Galatians 1:22. In it Paul speaks of how he is personally unknown, yet still being very effective. He said people don’t know him, yet they hear of his results.

How much more could we accomplish if we are willing for people to hear of our results long before they hear of our name? Lately it has been the opposite. We see people build a brand, then add the substance.

Let’s give a good shout out to the great Executive Pastors of our tribe. They’re a huge key to our success. Call one out that you know is killing it behind the scenes.

06/29/2026

Check out the latest blog post about how it feels to see church through the eyes of a visitor.

"One of the most important keys to growing a church is closing the back door. Even the smallest of churches can get a visitor in the door, but can they keep them? For social media influencers, it's called the hook. If you ever catch yourself doomscrolling, those videos you are watching know that they have two seconds to capture your attention and draw you into watching the rest of the video. The best at it have the best hooks. Does your church have a good hook?"

Through the eyes of a visitorI have spent the majority of my life as a member of one church. I guess you could say I was born a member of South Rocky Mount Church of God. Aside from a couple of visits with friends, I had only known this church. That means I literally knew every person in the church,...

06/10/2026

The May and June church revitalization grants were combined to partner with Men and Women of Action to donate scaffolding to send to Jamaica to assist in the rebuilding of churches. Please consider partnering with this great organization.
Check out TheRevitalizedChurch.com to apply for future grants.

06/08/2026

Six months ago, this was me. I remember telling the doctor that it felt like my adrenaline lever was stuck in the on position and I could not turn it off. During a counseling session we talked about the fight or flight system our body has. I was stuck in it. Stress had consumed me. I wasn’t sleeping, my eating habits were horrible, my heart was in irregular patterns more than regular. It was like my mind and body were in a constant tug of war.
We tell pastors to push through and be strong. To put their trust in God and He will handle it. That’s sound advice, but sometimes the cliches don’t cut it. Sometimes hard decisions need to be made through prayer and counseling needs to be sought out.
I’m thankful for a wife that understood, a God that never failed, a Christian counselor who had been through the same circumstances, and friends and mentors who didn’t throw empty sayings at me and took time to listen to give sound advice.
If you understand this picture, you’re not alone. I get it, and others do too. You may have failed at something, but you are not a failure. Let’s get the help you need. It is so worth it.

06/05/2026

Does this image resonate? Whether a church or your business, there are things you need to address before you grow.

05/18/2026

In construction, there is little more frustrating than a stop-work order. A stop-work happens when a job has been started and is progressing as planned, but an inspector or official of some order has made a cause for the job to come to a halt. This order can happen for various reasons. Sometimes there is a necessary change of plans, nosy neighbors may be complaining, funding may be running low, or any number of reasons that construction needs to stop. For the builder who thought he had done everything right and was following all the rules, his hands are tied until the officials see fit to allow him to move forward.
Have you ever felt like you have received a stop work order in your life? You thought you were doing everything right, but all of a sudden, all of your plans come to a screeching halt. You started with prayer, God was blessing you, everything was going right, and then came a setback you weren’t expecting. Why? Why would God allow that if you were doing His will in the first place? If you have the answer to that question, please let me know because I have asked that question more than once. It can be very frustrating.

Take a look at when that happened in the Bible. The book of Ezra details when the Israelites were allowed to return from captivity and rebuild the temple. Things are going great. The book starts out telling us that God commanded the king to rebuild the temple, and God moved the spirits of people to help. This was obviously God’s plan and will for the people, yet just shortly after, we see that the people around them start complaining and making accusations about them to the new king. These people had wanted to join in with them and alter the path God had set them on, and when they did not get their way, they set out to destroy what God had started. The Bible said these people “wanted to frustrate their purpose.” (Ez. 4:4)

I struggle with understanding God’s purpose and plan, but that does not mean that He does not have one. Can you imagine being in their shoes at this time? Every day, they have to see these unfinished plans and wonder why God allowed it to happen.

God's plan unfolded when a new king was installed, and the Israelite leaders sent him a letter asking to restart. They informed King Darius about everything that had happened and asked him to consider letting them restart the process. When he looked through the records, he saw the original decree and not only allowed them to restart building, but made a decree that it should be paid for out of the royal treasury. The same people who complained had to sit and watch the temple be built with their tax money.

See, God’s timeline and our timeline are not the same. We may get frustrated and feel abandoned, but in God’s eyes, He is just setting up the next move on the chessboard of life.

It is normal to get frustrated, but do not give up. Keep praying, stay ready, and when God places a stop work order on what you have planned, know that His plan is always better. Be patient and watch something amazing unfold in your life. He is just setting up the next move.

04/16/2026

What happens when a church chooses to give… before they receive?

In this powerful conversation, I sit down with Pastor Robert Sluder of Claysburg Church of God to share an incredible testimony of faith, obedience, and God’s faithfulness. Just days after their church made the decision to give sacrificially to missions, they received a revitalization grant, reminding us all that you can’t outgive God.

04/16/2026

Help us congratulate Pastor Robert Sluder and the Claysburg Church of God for being the April recipients of the church revitalization grant. This one comes with an awesome story that we will be releasing a video on this weekend.

If you are interested in being considered for the grant, please fill out the application, and remember be as specific as possible about how you will use the funds. Pastor Robert has a great plan in place that he will tell you about in the video.
You can apply here

If you have previously applied and have not been a recipient, please feel free to resubmit your application and be more specific in how you would use the funds.

https://form.jotform.com/250685451099061

04/14/2026

Tonight’s PreVitalize session was all about strengthening and protecting our marriages and families during the revitalization journey. It was a great night with even better conversations, and having our wives there made it even more meaningful. I’m especially thankful Lindsay was able to share her perspective on what it looks like for us to lead together. Ministry is a team sport, and I am glad she is on team TRC!

The next semester of PreVitalize starts in a few weeks. If you are interested, you can join here.

https://form.jotform.com/260674773627064