ST. CHARLES – It’s 9 PM on Monday night. The first day of the MBC’s annual meeting has just ended. While many other messengers head for bed, this gathering of 50 pastors and church leaders stays up late. The Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) Resound Network is hosting a late-night pastor’s workshop called “Taking Aim” during the MBC annual meeting, Oct. 24.
Participants check in at the front, then form a line for root beer, ice cream, and cookies. They’re seated at round tables scattered throughout the conference room. Each spot at the table is furnished with an empty worksheet, a free book, and an empty notebook.
When they check in, the pastors receive a package of data that’s specific to their church. It contains things like demographics, community information and church statistics, such as giving and attendance.
Resound Network director Brandon Moore opens the meeting; then, he hands the stage over to a local pastor, who shares his church’s revitalization story. “We had over 200 members before Covid, but then our numbers fell all the way to just 85,” he remembers. “Resound was a wake-up call for our church.” His church wasn’t active in the community, but after Resound brought recommendations and the church adopted them, there was a noticeable change. The church started doing outreach off-campus, out in the community, and people started coming again.
Moore challenged pastors to be assertive. “As church leaders, we need to proactively take aim at church health,” he says. “When we don’t define our target, it has devastating effects.” He explains that churches exist to glorify God—“it’s not just the first box to check; it’s the whole list.” He teaches Christians’ identity from 2 Peter 2:9—we are worshipers, family, and missionaries. Church revitalization is comprehensive; there’s rarely only one problem. “We avoid the silver bullet,” he says. “We must be holistic.” The first step toward revitalization is a basic checkup, and that’s the purpose of this workshop.
Moore gives the pastors a few minutes to look over their data. They discuss it with each other, and the leaders at their tables, and fill out a provided worksheet. Afterward, John Vernon, a DOM and Resound Network volunteer, walks the pastors through their demographics report.
The demographics report contains many useful data points, such as trends of community growth or decline, wealth or poverty, and census data like marriage and housing. “The goal is to help you prepare for the future,” Vernon says. “It’s all to help you understand what’s around you.”
There’s even in-depth information about people’s lifestyles – details like what people in the community are most worried about. There’s what Vernon calls a “Compass Report,” which details preferences the community has in church programs. It helps churches think through new outreach opportunities. “We’re helping you keep a missions mindset,” Vernon says. Even though this information is helpful for churches, Vernon says there’s no replacement for the face-to-face. “Demographics aren’t everything; they favor the average,” he reminds people. “You still have to talk to real people.”
Moore concludes the meeting by pointing pastors to some next steps. He directs them to resoundnetwork.com to start a conversation and encourages them to stop by Resound’s booth at the annual meeting. He also hands each pastor a one-page resource that details the Resound process. The meeting ends after a drawing for door prizes: book bundles and USB drives loaded with several church revitalization resource.
As everyone leaves, there’s an air of determination. Equipped with information, and the ability to use it, these church leaders leave determined to “take aim” at their church’s health, serve their communities, and share the gospel.