By Lindsey Williams
Writing Specialist
With 71% of Mississippi Baptist churches plateaued or declining, one can assume that at least 71% of our pastors are discouraged. The Body of Christ can help relieve that weight, or they can intensify the burden, but the good news is that the same renewing Spirit resides in both the pastor and the people of God.
On January 12, the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board’s Church Planting/Revitalization department hosted its first Church Renewal Summit at First Church, Jackson, seeking to encourage and support pastors amid the disruptive yet vital procedure of revitalizing a shrinking church.
Dr. Heath Lambert, Senior Pastor of First Church, Jacksonville, Fla., was invited as guest speaker and shared his story of a revitalization so cataclysmic that it caught the scrutiny of the public eye on a national level, cost him seven brain surgeries, and cut ties with hundreds of protesting members.
In 2019, First Church, Jacksonville — a church with a $15 million budget, thousands in attendance every Sunday, 12 city blocks downtown, 250 staff members, and a 10,000-seat auditorium — discovered $90 million worth of bills they could not pay.
“I never thought about being a church revitalizer. I only ever wanted to be a pastor from the time the Lord first called me into ministry,” said Lambert.
Previously, Lambert served as the Executive Director of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC) and as a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary before answering the call to serve First Church, Jacksonville, in 2017.
At first, the congregation welcomed Lambert’s plans with excitement and gratitude. But as time went on, the downsizing was met with increasing hostility. Onlookers inside and outside the church made disparaging remarks against his character on social media. Some chose to tear him down in person, even in front of his family. Rumors and death threats circulated. Hundreds hated him and revoked their membership. Thousands were suspicious of him.
As Lambert spoke at the Church Renewal Summit, however, he emphasized trusting God and loving the church, the bride of Christ, with humility. Looking at 2 Corinthians 12:1-10, Lambert shared these three realities:
- Stress proves God’s calling:“Paul’s thorn was not a reason to get out of ministry. Paul’s stressful thorn was proof that God had called him to ministry.”
- Stress proves God’s power: “When I feel stress, I feel weak and powerless. That’s the point. Jesus said to Paul, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ If you don’t know you’re weak, you’ll take credit for yourself and away from Jesus Christ.”
- Stress proves God’s love: “For about four years, my life was about begging God to take the pain away. He told me no 3,000 times. To us, that doesn’t seem loving. But Paul says the thorn was there to keep him from becoming conceited. The Lord is moving heaven and earth to make sure you stay low, to make sure you never, ever believe this is about you, to make sure you never, ever are able to take the credit.”
Taking Lessons Home
In 2024, Immanuel Church, one of the oldest churches in Hattiesburg, called Jason Wright, former NAMB church planter, to serve as Pastor with the purpose of revitalization. Wright brought two other staff members to join him at the Church Renewal Summit.
“Half of our church has started attending in the last year, so all of our stress and challenges are because we are growing and God is at work,” Wright commented. “I want to be a part of anything like this event. All of us need to be refreshed and encouraged in these things, and we get that by being around other churches.”
Pointing out fellow ministers at his table, Wright added, “These guys are a part of, I would say, one of the healthiest churches in the Pine Belt, with a very stable, healthy long-term ministry. Being able to sit here with them and pick their brains while also hearing from Heath in one of the biggest, most dramatic examples of revitalization, we can pull so many lessons from today.
“It’s easy for a church to feel alienated in a church-culture bubble and not realize that other churches have similar issues and conversations around revitalization. So it’s encouraging to know that all the people on the Convention Board are on our team. We give to the Cooperative Program, we support the ministries, but in seasons like this it also comes back to us. We are tangibly benefiting from and seeing that cooperation.”
Lambert walked through personal examples of how he had to daily fight his pride and lean into the support of Christ, his wife and children, and those who loved their pastor even when they did not agree with him. He urged the attending ministers to sincerely show honor and gratitude for the good people, places, and programs of the past while still inspiring their congregations into the good of the future.
“The aspect of how to handle stress personally was helpful,” said Wright, “but it was also very helpful to consider how to care for our church and steward them through loss and change, and to be really faithful, compassionate, and patient in that regard.”
Thank You to Revitalizers
“As we look at our statistics, we need church revitalizers,” said John Maxey, MBCB Director of Church Planting/Revitalization, in his opening remarks. “We are thankful for you guys that are stepping in to serve established churches and bring forth renewal and partnership, having a love for the Bride of Christ and seeing what God can do in your midst to be the salt and light for the Kingdom.”
“I appreciate the work that John and the Church Planting/Revitalization group have done,” said Wright. “I think it’s a really valuable ministry and it is tangibly contributing to our church and is something helpful and fruitful for us, so I am grateful for it.”
Gifts to the Cooperative Program support events like the Church Renewal Summit, with the prayerful intention to lift burdened ministers with the Word of God and refreshing fellowship.
You can learn more about Dr. Heath Lambert’s story through the “What Happened At First Baptist?” podcast here.
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