The Revitalize My Church Podcast
Created to help churches navigate change and reorient to a new and healthy future.
Ep. 023 | Text Based Preaching and Intentional Discipleship in Church Revitalization
Discover how text-driven preaching and intentional discipleship can transform struggling churches. Hosts Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant share proven strategies for church revitalization, including how to choose Bible texts that address your church's specific needs and create discipleship pathways that actually work. Learn from Jesus' discipleship model and avoid common mistakes that keep churches from growing. Essential listening for pastors and church leaders seeking biblical solutions for church renewal.
Ep. 022 | Building Healthy Churches
Learn essential strategies for church revitalization with AJ Mathieu of The Malphurs Group. Learn practical steps for assessment, leadership development, and building healthy churches.
Ep. 021 | Prayer and Worship in Church Revitalization
Discover the first two essentials for church revitalization with hosts Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant as they explore Dependent Prayer and Christ-Centered Worship. Learn practical strategies to foster unity, align with God's will, and create worship that truly exalts Jesus rather than following empty routines. Essential insights for church leaders seeking authentic renewal.
Ep. 020 | Leading Leaders in the Local Church
Discover practical strategies for developing church leaders with Jason Allison. Learn how to move beyond delegation to true leadership development, and build a stronger leadership pipeline in your church.
Ep. 019 | The Farming Model of Evangelism
Discover the 6 core principles of effective church evangelism that transform outreach from event-based to relationship-driven. Learn why traditional methods fall short and how to build sustainable growth.
Ep. 018 | Lead Your Church Out of Maintenance Mode
Learn the key signs of church stagnation and practical strategies to get unstuck with veteran executive pastor Dan Reiland. Discover how to evaluate ministries, develop leaders, and reignite growth in your church.
Ep. 017 | Evangelism and Outreach
Discover the 6 core principles of effective church evangelism that transform outreach from event-based to relationship-driven. Learn why traditional methods fall short and how to build sustainable growth.
Ep. 016 | Hope For Dying Churches
In this revealing conversation with Mark Hallock, author of "God's Not Done With Your Church," we explore the critical differences between church revitalization and replanting, while unpacking practical strategies for bringing new life to struggling congregations. Discover the six key indicators of church readiness for renewal and learn how strategic partnerships between healthy and declining churches can create pathways for sustainable ministry impact.
Ep. 015 | Finding Your Next Pastor
In this episode of the Revitalize My Church podcast, Bart Blair and Ed Short discuss the challenges and opportunities of searching for and calling a new pastor in a church that needs to be revitalized.
Ep. 014 | Five Books You Should Read in 2025
Bart Blair shares five books that church leaders should consider reading in 2025 to help their churches thrive
Ep. 013 | Leading Change Without Losing People
In this episode of the Revitalize My Church podcast, hosts Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant discuss the importance of cascading communication and maintaining unity when leading a church through revitalization. They emphasize that getting agreement and buy-in from core leaders, mid-level leaders, and key influencers before announcing major changes to the entire congregation is critical for success.
Ep. 012 | Church Growth Through Small Groups
Adam Ehrlichman shares expertise on building effective church small groups, discussing the relationship between Sunday School and small groups, leadership development, and a six-part framework for ministry success. Learn practical steps for launching and growing small groups while avoiding common pitfalls.
Ep. 011 | Navigating Church Governance for Effective Revitalization
In this episode of the Revitalize My Church podcast, hosts Bart Blair and Nathan Bryant discuss the importance of clear church governance and polity in revitalization efforts. Many struggling churches face challenges related to leadership structure, accountability, and decision-making processes. These issues can hinder progress and make it difficult for churches to move forward in a unified direction.
Ep. 010 | Co-vocational and Bi-vocational Ministry for Pastors
Eric Hoke discusses the distinction between bivocational and co-vocational ministry, sharing insights from his book "Market Street Pastor." Drawing from his experience planting a church in the Bronx, Hoke explores how pastors can thrive by intentionally combining marketplace work with church leadership, challenging traditional ministry models while offering practical solutions for sustainable church leadership.
Ep. 009 | Launching Your Church's New Vision
Just as the Israelites built the tabernacle in stages and conquered the Promised Land in phases, and NASA conducts extensive preparations before a space launch, a church must do a lot of groundwork before the public "launch" of their revitalized ministry. This includes getting ministry teams and leaders in place, promoting the church in the community, setting up the children's ministry, preparing the worship service and sermons, developing an integration pathway for new people, and more.
Ep. 008 | The Value of Vision in Church Revitalization
Over his 30 years at the church, Pastor David has led the West Houston Christian Church through a cultural shift as the surrounding community has changed. When he first joined, services were predominantly in Chinese except for the youth. But over time, they developed an English-speaking adult ministry and saw more intermarriages. Pastor David had a vision to grow the church beyond just a Chinese immigrant congregation.
BONUS | The Power of Circles
Discover how small groups transformed Thrive Church. Pastor Dustin Godshall shares practical strategies for implementing effective small groups, fostering discipleship, and revitalizing your church community.
Ep. 007 | Aligning Your Church's Strategic Plan with God's Mission
When walking through a season of church revitalization, there are a a few things that we want to prioritize. We call these our “five big rocks” of revitalization. The fourth big rock is to develop a Biblically-aligned, God-centered Strategic Plan
Ep. 006 | Cultivate a Thriving Church Culture - Keith Minier
Keith Minier is the Lead Pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Central Ohio. He has successfully lead a small church through a revitalization, from a small inward-facing congregation to a thriving multi-campus ministry.
Ep. 005 | 6 Essential Team Members for a Thriving Church Revitalization Team
When walking through a season of church revitalization, there are a a few things that we want to prioritize. We call these our “five big rocks” of revitalization. The third big rock is to build a vision team to partner with the pastor in the renewal effort.