In many churches especially declining churches it is often a fault to attempt to reach for what has been working in another church, usually one of the mega-churches in the nation. The thought process is if it worked for them, surely it will work for us as well. The blunder is we chase after models and this is detrimental to the health of any church. It can be fatal to a church in the final phases of decline. If you take nothing else away from this post, remember this: Do not copy models – capture principles. The dress code of a pastor of a church in southern California should look different than the dress code of a pastor in rural Texas. It should look different because the communities and cultures are different in each location. The worship style of a church in New York reaching Jamaican Americans will be different than the worship style of a church in inner city Wisconsin. Why, the cultures to be reached are different.

If either of those styles are working and you want to know how that can be adapted to your church setting, do not copy the worship style. Research the principles behind their worship and determine how those principles can be adapted in your worship setting. If the principles are biblically based they can be adapted and successful in your worship set. We are not speaking only of clothing or worship styles. This is true of any part of your ministry or ministry endeavors. Find the principles of effective student ministry, Bible study, or prayer ministry and capture those principles.

You might be surprised to find some of the newest and best forward moving ministries are based on longstanding principles used throughout the ages by successful ministries. My friend Darryl Wilson uses the term “ancient-future”. When you look at the principles behind many successful and thriving ministries today you will often find their ministries are based on principles that worked fifty, sixty, and even one hundred years ago. Methods of ministry change, principles never do.

God has given your church a passion to fulfill your purpose as a church. A purpose validates the intent, extent, and direction of the church. How has the extent of your intent directed your church over the past ten years?

This post is excerpted from Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church, Chapter Nine, The One Best Thing. For more information on this topic visit soncare.net .