Revitalized:The story of Bethany Baptist Church
By P.J. Tibayan
Bethany Baptist Church was on the verge of a split in the Fall of 2014 if they didn't confirm the next pastor who was to be put forward for a vote. And it was those members, less captivated by the devil, who would have left; This would have effectively killed the church (humanly speaking). I was affirmatively voted on to be the pastor September 14, 2014 and began ministering on November 2. We just "finished revitalization" in July 2019. How did it happen?
I'd like to briefly mention four ways God graciously used his people to speak his Word in the Spirit's power to move the church's discipleship from a toxic culture and dysfunctional structure to a biblically healthy culture and structure.
Kept by God
First, God kept me as the pastor from being overcome by the sins of impatience, destructive pride, hastiness, isolation, and discouragement. Personal bible meditation (Psalm 1:1-2), prayer (Acts 6:4, Col. 4:2), counting trials joy (James 1:2-8), and fellowshipping outside with other likeminded pastors were indispensable.
Used by God
Second, God graciously used the weekly expository (Neh 8:8, Acts 20:27), Christ-centered (Col 1:28-29, 1 Cor 2:2), congregationally-applied sermons to re-center Christ and Scripture in the church and to awaken members to who they are and what they are responsible to do.
Enabled by God
Third, God enabled the church to revise a church covenant. We used it to define who is a member responsible for the church as we slowly cleaned our membership roll from 1109 to 89.
Taught by God
Fourth, God graciously taught members to understand their need for collective responsibility for the church's structure and leadership. They passed a revised constitution instituting meaningful membership and a plurality of pastors to lead the church. Then God raised up one non-staff pastor (in July 2019) to give us a plurality of pastor-elder-overseers.
We need clear and biblical diagnoses and aims for our churches. Brother pastors, strive for clarity in the terms you use, because your words not only reveal your belief, the terms you use shape your belief.
All churches, namely groups of public Christians collectively and personally responsible for one another's discipleship, for the discipleship of the neighbors, and the nations, need reform and discipleship. Many of these churches are dying as evidenced by their members and leaders being captivated by the devil to neutralize the discipleship in their culture and oftentimes their structure. We need laborers, by God's grace, to speak the gospel and the Bible in the power of God's Spirit so that the culture of discipleship and the structure of the church is faithfully restored.
If you keep the definitions of church, dying churches, and revitalized churches fuzzy then you may perpetuate modern day terms without knowing where you're going or when you've reached your destination. But if you faithfully define these things biblically and theologically you can move with intentionality, clarity, and wisdom.
As God clarifies our aims with his word let us be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that our labor is not in vain (1 Cor 15:58).
Editors Note: This is the final article in this Church Revitalization Series. In it, P.J. Tibayan, Pastor-Theologian of Bethany Baptist Church in Bellflower, California answered the questions what is a Church? What is Church Revitalization? And when is Revitalization “complete”?This final article tells the story of the Revitalization at BBC.