In this article, I want to revisit the second of the five renewals required for church revitalization: Relational Renewal. This renewal flows directly from Jesus’ Great Commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37–39). Loving others, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, is central to life in God’s Kingdom. Scripture speaks to this again and again:

• Jesus: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34–35)
• “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another.” (Romans 13:8)
• “And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow…” (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
• “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another…” (1 John 3:23)
• “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.” (1 John 4:7)
• “Love means doing what God has commanded us… to love one another.” (2 John 1:6)

Genuine love for one another within the church is vital to church revitalization. Where love is absent, the church will not be healthy, and where the church isn’t healthy, it won’t grow as God intends. Notice, too, how closely love and mission are connected. In John 13, Jesus makes it clear that love for one another isn’t only about internal health; it’s directly tied to our witness. Our love for one another becomes visible evidence to the world that we belong to Him.

Relational renewal, then, is not separate from evangelism; it’s essential to it.

This kind of love doesn’t originate within us. It flows out ofpersonal renewal, out of a real, lived experience of God’s love. As that love takes root in our own hearts, it begins to overflow into our relationships with others, and as that happens, churches begin to experience the kind of relational health that leads to growth over time.

This is a much larger topic than one article can fully address, but I wanted to lay out three ways to begin facilitating relationalrenewal in your congregation.

Three Ways to Facilitate Love for One Another

1. Preach and Teach on Loving One Another in Christ

There’s a simple leadership principle at work here: you tend to get more of what you focus on. If you focus your preaching and teaching on generosity, giving often increases. If you focus onserving, more people begin to serve. The same is true of love. If your congregation needs relational renewal, give sustained attention to it. Preach on it. Teach on it. Build it into small groups and discipleship settings, and be sure to offer practical guidance, the “how to,” not just the “ought to.”

In particular, teach on what it means to live in the Kingdom ofGod here and now. Dallas Willard’s work on the Sermon on theMount is especially helpful in showing how love is practiced in everyday life.

2. Provide Laboratories for Learning to Love

The local church, like marriage, is one of the primary contexts God gave us to learn how to love and be loved. And, as in marriage, we quickly discover this isn’t always easy. People are difficult. Even faithful followers of Christ are still being formed and healed. We’re all in process. That means the church must be more than a gathering place. It must be a place where real relationships are formed, tested, and strengthened over time.

In this sense, the church becomes a kind of laboratory for love, but for that to happen, smaller environments are essential. It is easy to appear loving in a large worship service. It’s much harder to do so in smaller settings where people know you, where personalities clash, where misunderstandings happen, and where forgiveness is required. Healthy small groups, ministry teams, and other relational environments provide the space where love isn’t just talked about but practiced.

3. Utilize American Anglican Council Resources

Resources like Revive, Renew, and Reframe are designed to come alongside churches in precisely this kind of work. Through weekends, coaching, and ongoing support, these ministries help congregations move toward greater health and renewal. If you’re looking for guidance, I encourage you to explore what’s available at www.churchrevive.org and consider how these resources might serve your church in this season.

Relational renewal doesn’t happen quickly, and it can’t be manufactured through programs alone. It’s the fruit of hearts that are being changed by the love of Christ. So the question for every church isn’t simply whether structures need to change, but whether love is truly present and growing. Are we becoming a people who love the Lord with all we are? Are we becoming a people who genuinely love one another? Are we becoming a people whose love is visible to those who are far from God? These aren’t secondary questions. They’re central to the life and witness of the Church.

So, as you consider your own congregation, begin here. Ask theLord to renew your love for Him, for one another, and for those who don’t yet know Him. Ask Him to do the deeper work that can’t be seen at first but that changes everything over time. “And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow…” (1 Thessalonians 3:12)