Dr. Shane Garrison, assistant professor of educational ministries in the CU School of Theology, presented “Church Life Cycles” at the March meeting of the Taylor County Ministerial Association. (Campbellsville University Photos by Linda Waggener)

By Linda Waggener, marketing and media relations coordinator

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - The Taylor County Ministerial Association March meeting was hosted by Campbellsville University and featured two training sessions around how to grow the church.

Dr. Shane Garrison, assistant professor of educational ministries in the CU School of Theology, presented “Church Life Cycles” including how-to steps for taking a church from one level of involvement to the next. He said that without redefinition and/or redevelopment, a church may slowly slip into decline.

The Rev. Alan Witham, a 1984 graduate of Campbellsville University who is pastoral ministry counseling group leader/central region consultant with the church consulting and revitalization team of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, presented “Essential Steps in a Church Revitalization Process” with nine basic steps in the concept of revitalizing the church.

Statistics he offered showing why churches need revitalization include: 75 percent of Churches in Kentucky are either plateaued or in decline, 80-85 percent nationwide;

An estimated 55,000 churches will close their doors between 2005 and 2020;

Less than 20 percent of the American population attends church on any given Sunday, moving toward 14.7 percent by 2020; and

One in five Kentucky Baptist Churches did not baptize one person last year.

The Rev. Michael Caldwell, president of the TCMA, welcomed everyone.

Among the steps Witham presented toward beginning the process of revitalization was to “begin the church revitalization journey with a personal revitalization journey. He quoted Acts 20:28, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Sprit has made you overseers.” He said that often pastors want to pay careful attention to the flock first.

Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,600 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master's degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.