The idea was recently presented to me to look at the seven churches in the book of Revelation through “Church Revitalization eyes.” It’s a fascinating idea. Jesus was certainly addressing specific churches in a specific time. But the question is, are there applications in there that we can make to help revive our churches now? I believe so. Therefore, in this and the following six articles I will look at each of the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 and see what Jesus might be saying to us through it today. First, the Church in Ephesus.

Revelation 2:1-7 says:

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

² “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’”

What immediately comes to my mind is all of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) congregations that used to be part of The Episcopal Church. Your church might be one of those. The church I led for 14 years was in this category. I can almost hear Jesus saying to us:

I know your works, how hard you have worked and patiently endured. You didn’t put up with false teaching and heresy in the Episcopal Church. You recognized the lies and the liars and you took a stand for my truth. Way to go! You sacrificed buildings and started over at a great cost to you for my name’s sake. You have persevered and I’m proud of you. But I have this against you, you don’t love me and each other like you first did. Repent and renew your love for me. Seek me first. Love me more than being Anglican. Love me more than your new facility. If you don’t, you will decline and eventually die and what will all that hard work and sacrifice have been for?

It seems that for many ACNA congregations, there was an initial zeal when in the fight against heresy. That zeal led to great sacrifice and hard work to start over. Years later, having in many cases fulfilled the goal of getting settled in a new facility, that zeal has faded. There’s a hope that new people will start showing up but that’s not happening. At least not enough. The church is either maintaining or declining. Many ask, what are we to do? Jesus gives us the answer in this passage – to remember your first love (Him) and recapture the zeal you had at first!

The first thing we teach in our Church Revitalization seminar, ReVive!, is that there is no revitalization without renewal. In fact, we teach that if a church is to revitalize, it must go through five renewals and they must go in order. They are:

1. Personal Renewal – renewing your own personal love for Jesus. If you’re not personally passionate about your own relationship with Jesus, you’ll never be passionate enough to do the work of revitalizing your church. If your identity and security are in Jesus then you won’t be afraid to make the changes that must happen for growth to occur.
2. Relational Renewal – renewing your love for each other. If you don’t really love, or even like, the others in your church, you’ll never be passionate about inviting others to join you.
3. Missional Renewal – renewing your love for lost people. The church is supposed to be a hospital for sinners not a hotel for saints. Jesus came to seek and save sinners. We are called to love lost sinners as he does and are sent to reach them as he did (John 20:21). If you don’t really love lost people, you’ll never be passionate about going to them, building relationships with them, and bringing them into God’s Kingdom.
4. Structural Renewal – renewing the organizational structures of the church as it grows. This is a byproduct of the first three renewals and is not the place to start.
5. Cultural Renewal – renewing the community your church is in. A healthy, Great Commission church will seek ways to transform the communities they live in with God’s Kingdom. Again, this is a byproduct of the first three renewals and is our ultimate goal.

It all starts with personal renewal. If you and your church are in maintenance mode or declining or if you want to start a new chapter of growth, take Jesus’ advice and before you do anything else, comeback to your first love. Repent and renew your personal love and relationship with Jesus. Become passionate for him again – whatever it takes. And then, with that renewed passion for him and in the power of the Holy Spirit in you, “do the works you did at first.”

The Rev. Canon Mark Eldredge is Director of Church Revitalization and Coaching for the American Anglican Council.