Fanning the Revitalization Flame

Robert Beckett

Description

With practical advice included, this spirituality book offers a guide to help church leaders renew the vision of the local church.
Revitalization—more than a word, but a practice. In Fanning the Revitalization Flame, author Rev. Robert Beckett presents the case for fanning the flames. Step by step, he discusses what’s needed for the revitalization of the small church.
Fanning the Revitalization Flame follows the journey of a small, suburban church that had long past lived its glory days. Beckett points out the challenges and rewards of being obedient to God regardless of the consequence and shows the benefit of following God in each small step. Each chapter demonstrates a proven path of success that God honors for revitalization.
The church leader will learn that prayer, vision, mission, and implementation are the ingredients for a successful revitalization effort. It’s God’s desire to see every church succeed and to prosper for his kingdom. Everyone will benefit from the truths shared in this resource that will help bring health and confidence. When the flame of revitalization is fanned and burning hot in a congregation, God will receive the glory and will transform lives both inside and outside the church.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 06 décembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664284661
• Langue: English

Extrait

“Some leaders talk about the ministry of revitalization without ever doing the work. That’s not the case with Pastor Rob Beckett; he writes from the overflow of his experience. This book is a well-thought-out guide to renewing the vision of the local church. It includes practical steps for reaching the community and leading people to faith in Christ. Rob takes his readers on a step-by-step journey that reveals how revitalization is possible in any context. I highly recommend Fanning the Revitalization Flame ”
-Dr. Brian L. Powell
District Superintendent
Kentucky District Church of the Nazarene
Rob’s writing is grounded by the laboratory of raw and messy local church life and community outreach in rural communities. Rob’s longevity in his pastoral assignments along with his creative and relentless efforts to meet the needs of his neighbors make him someone worthy of our attention.
-Dr. Scott Sherwood
President, Nazarene Bible College
“ Fanning the Revitalization Flame ” is a powerful book – it really impacted my heart as I read through the pages. This is a much-needed resource for our churches today! Rob has not only carefully laid out the crisis in many of our churches today but has also provided glorious hope for our restoration and destiny. This isn’t a book filled with empty rhetoric - it is a book based on experience and wisdom fueled by a fiery passion for revival. The practical application moves this book from another “good idea” for church growth to real steps on the road to spiritual revitalization! God’s way and for His glory!
-Rhonda Mathisen (Hughey)
Author, Desperate for His Presence
This is a must-read book for any pastor or church leader who desires to see the church experience renewal and revitalization!
Most of us know our churches need revitalization but struggle with the practical steps to launch the journey. Rev. Robert Beckett has a proven track record of bringing revitalization to the church, and as he writes, it is as if he is responding to your thoughts and questions. So, what are you waiting for? Start reading and begin helping the church experience revitalization.
-Dr. Timothy Crump
District Superintendent
Southwest Indiana District Church of the Nazarene
What a pleasant surprise to have so much valuable information tucked into Pastor Rob Beckett’s book Fanning the Revitalization Flame . Every rural (or even urban) church will find practical ideas to employ and see God do a new thing in their ministry. The book is comprehensive and completed by Pastor Rob’s own experiences of revitalizing his own church. Even if you feel it’s too late, absorb and apply this content and you too can bring new life to your ministry.
-Rev. Elaine Briefman
Shepherd, author, speaker, and owner
Fishing4Truth Ministry Success
Revitalization - more than a word, but a practice. Pastor, leader, author, and friend Rob Beckett takes us through the process in this book. He presents the case for “new wineskins” and a fresh work of the Holy Spirit. Not only will your church be revitalized, but so will you.
-Rev. Jay Height
Executive Director
Shepherd Community
Rob Beckett beautifully weaves his own journey as a rural church pastor into the narrative of Fanning the Revitalization Flame . His is not the search for some newfangled approach or strategy. His call is for a return to the old paths. The reader will sense Rob’s passion to show you the way up from despair and hopelessness to transformation and fruitfulness as a thriving community of faith, starting with a change of perception.
-Dr. David F. Nixon
Author, It Only Takes a Spark
District Superintendent Emeritus
South Florida District of the Church of the Nazarene
Rob has a way of looking at the church, the community, and people and seeing that God has so much more for each of them than most have come to believe. He will challenge you to do the same and, in the process, you will find yourself encouraged as a pastor of a small church that has great Kingdom potential.
-Heath Barth
Campus Pastor
Southeast Christian Church





Fanning the REVITALIZATION FLAME


Leading Your Church from Smoldering Embers to Revival Fire




Robert Beckett









Copyright © 2022 Robert Beckett.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.



WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8467-8 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8468-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8466-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022921646



WestBow Press rev. date: 12/06/2022



CONTENTS
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction

Chapter 1 From Smoldering Embers to Revival Fire
Chapter 2 Am I Really the One to Lead This Revitalization Effort?
Chapter 3 Your Perception of The Church Must Change
Chapter 4 Recognizing the Need for Revitalization
Chapter 5 Prayer is the Fuel for the Fire
Chapter 6 Receiving the Vision
Chapter 7 Working Out the Mission from God
Chapter 8 Planning And Implementing the Strategy
Chapter 9 Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is
Chapter 10 Witnessing Is a Privilege and Responsibility
Chapter 11 Putting Actions to Your Words Successfully
Chapter 12 Effectiveness is Not Defined By Size

Notes



DEDICATION
For my wife, Joanna, putting up with the good and the bad. She is willing to follow anywhere Jesus leads. Her heart is for serving others as Jesus wants. She put away a nice job, in which she had much vested time, so that she could work more closely to the ones who are in need, who are living lives of brokenness. She runs a center for homeless women and children, providing much needed resources and the face of Jesus to the ones she encounters day to day. You make the world a better place.
I want to give a special thanks to the ladies who help with adjusting my West Virginia-ese so that the book could be a little more readable. Thank you, Karen Meadows, Lois Merrell, Roberta Falkenstein Steutermann for the edits and spell checking, and also Jay Height for the encouragement and mentorship that you provide, which has been priceless.
To my Shepherdsville First Church family. This has been a journey that has seen many ups and downs, but it has been worth it all. I love each one of you. We have been able to see lives transformed and saved from the clutches of the enemy. This is only the beginning of the story because we still have a lot of work to do!
To my Papa Herman - although he died many years before I was ever called to preach, he has been a constant guide for me as a pastor. Watching him as I grew up on that front row with him setting the example of how a strong Christian man should be will never leave me. Papa, I sure loved listening to you preach God’s Word with power and authority.



FOREWORD
The future of the church in the world today rests on the effectiveness of the small church. The small church seems to be a part of God’s plan. At the end of our Lord’s ministry, he had established a small band of believers: a small church. His Holy Spirit birthed the church by training 12 church planters. When the first church in Jerusalem became large, he dispersed it so that, in just a matter of decades, the church could have little outposts all across the known world. The small church seems to be central to God’s ordained strategy for reaching the world. As Director of the Church of the Nazarene’s work in the USA and Canada, I realize the key role small churches must have in our mission.
Today, the Church of the Nazarene is very similar to most movements of churches: the average size of our 5,000 churches is about 50 people. With so many small churches, it is more important than ever for them to have access to the resources to make the big impact God has in mind. Pastor Rob Beckett is the perfect person to provide these invaluable resources.
I know Pastor Rob Beckett as a friend; I know his heart. He loves small churches, their pastors and people. He has put his heart and soul into writing this book; this is a labor of love and gift to the church.
I also know Pastor Rob Beckett as a an intelligent, highly sk