1. We would position ourselves around the worst of sinners, looking for opportunities to share the Gospel.

2. We would share the Gospel slowly and clearly.

3. We would redirect our fear to God from man.

4. We would endeavor to preach the Gospel in all circumstances.

5. We would be careful with new converts and our evangelism methods.

6. We would make ourselves life-long students of the Gospel.

7. We would preach to open eyes, not just transfer information.

8. We would ask ourselves a question; is my confidence in myself or in the power of the Gospel itself?

9. We would preach in such a way that our hearers would rely on the power of God.

Mike said more than once that planting a church puts a Gospel witness in a place where it wasn’t before, and that revitalizing a church does this as well as taking away a mar on the Gospel witness from the community. This is correct, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it is bigger than this, there are also key theological truths being taught as well. Church planting is a picture of creation, while church revitalization is a picture of the resurrection. A revitalized church, a living community that once was dead, is a powerful representation of the Gospel.

When a church is revitalized we show that God has taken something dead and brought it back to life, just as he has taken us, dead in our sin, and brought us to life in Christ. This now thriving church can point people to God in a way that nothing else can. This isn’t to say that church planting isn’t valid and important but that revitalization is too. If you’ve felt God calling you to start something new have you that that maybe he is calling you to bring new life to something old?