What is Congregational Vitality?
Congregational Vitality is a result of the living God breathing new life into the heart of a congregation.
Vitality is the wind of the Spirit … “a rushing wind so wild and strong,” as the old hymn goes. Our role is to raise our sails and catch this wind.
Vitality is nothing less than a spiritual awakening in Christ. It is not about sustaining and maintaining; it’s about thriving, growing and depending on God to lead us deeper in Christ and further in mission.
Why we invest in Congregational Vitality
- God’s desire is for every church to be healthy and missional. Simply defined: to be healthy is to pursue Christ; to be missional is to pursue Christ’s priorities in the world.
- God’s plan has the Church being the primary vehicle for advancing His mission in the world.
- Churches tend to lose vitality rather than gain it as time passes. It is easier to look back at the past and smile on yesterday’s accomplishments than it is to look ahead to the future and think about tomorrow’s possibilities.
- In vital congregations there is a strong and clear sense of a greater purpose.
- Healthy churches encourage and empower their people to share their gifts both within and beyond their congregation.
Congregational Vitality is about life, passion and awakening
The question you are probably asking is, “Why should we do this?”
Why should we spend energy on something that may well disturb our contentment and place new demands on our leadership? There is only one answer. You will only do this if you want to renew clarity of purpose and missional momentum within your congregation for God’s greater purposes in the world. If you want to flourish, to be where Jesus is, to help others experience the holy, and to be a blessing beyond yourselves with people hungering for hope, then it will be worth all the effort to renew your congregational life. Congregational Vitality is about life, passion and awakening. In the end, it is God’s mission and the Gospel that matter most. Everything else is secondary and should align with them.
ECC + NWC Partnership
Congregational Vitality is a collaborative effort of the local church, the NWC and the Evangelical Covenant Church encouraging, supporting, learning and growing with one another in our shared pursuit of Christ and His priorities through His Church. As scripture reminds us, “A cord of three strands is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).