{"id":2009,"date":"2008-06-19T18:34:58","date_gmt":"2008-06-19T18:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=2009"},"modified":"2010-12-22T12:24:25","modified_gmt":"2010-12-22T17:24:25","slug":"6365","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/","title":{"rendered":"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind"},"content":{"rendered":"

PLYMOUTH, MN (June 19, 2008) \u2013 A Revitalization Assessment Center to identify potential revitalization pastors, conducted by the Evangelical Covenant Church, may be the first of its kind sponsored by a denomination and represents a commitment to strengthening existing congregations as well as planting new works, leaders say.
\n
\n\u201cOther denominations, along with the Covenant, have hosted assessment centers to identify church planters, but we don\u2019t know of any that have done centers to identify revitalization pastors,\u201d says John Wenrich, director of church revitalization for the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism.<\/p>\n

The revitalization assessment was held in conjunction with the Church Planters Assessment Center at the Plymouth Evangelical Covenant Church<\/a>. Wenrich says Plymouth was the perfect place for the two events because the congregation had undergone revitalization work years ago and went on to plant several congregations.<\/p>\n

Over the four days, participants were involved in several general sessions in addition to focusing on their own particular areas. Wenrich says holding the centers together was important because it was cost-effective and enabled the cross-pollination of ideas.<\/p>\n

All of the pastors have a strong missional focus, Wenrich says, but they face different obstacles and opportunities. He notes that church planters establish a congregation\u2019s culture, but revitalization pastors must translate the church\u2019s history into passion for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cRevitalization is two to three times harder than planting,\u201d says Dave Olson, director of church planting. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to remodel a home than it is to build one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a joy in owning a new house,\u201d Olson says, \u201cand there is another joy in taking an old house and putting it back in its prime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pastors who are approved through the assessment will take positions in \u201cat-risk\u201d or \u201ccritical moment\u201d churches that have signed an agreement with the denomination on a revitalization plan, Wenrich says.<\/p>\n

Olson emphasizes the center is not about imparting the latest techniques or theories. \u201cWe believe if a church is go to be built, it has to be God who builds it,\u201d Olson says. \u201cWhat we are trying to do is to work in harmony with God\u2019s Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pacific Southwest Conference will host the next Revitalization Assessment Center, although a specific location has yet to be identified.<\/p>\n

Ministers interested in the center should first contact their conference superintendent, Wenrich says.<\/p>\n

To learn more about the Covenant\u2019s work in strengthening the vitality of local congregations, visit Wenrich\u2019s blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PLYMOUTH, MN (June 19, 2008) \u2013 A Revitalization Assessment Center to identify potential revitalization pastors, conducted by the Evangelical Covenant Church, may be the first of its kind sponsored by a denomination and represents a commitment to strengthening existing congregations as well as planting new works, leaders say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nRevitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PLYMOUTH, MN (June 19, 2008) \u2013 A Revitalization Assessment Center to identify potential revitalization pastors, conducted by the Evangelical Covenant Church, may be the first of its kind sponsored by a denomination and represents a commitment to strengthening existing congregations as well as planting new works, leaders say.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-06-19T18:34:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2010-12-22T17:24:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"headline\":\"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-06-19T18:34:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-22T17:24:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":411,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/\",\"name\":\"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind - Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-06-19T18:34:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-12-22T17:24:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/2008\\\/06\\\/19\\\/6365\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covenant Newswire Archives\",\"description\":\"Evangelical Covenant Church\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/newswire\\\/author\\\/covwebster\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind - Covenant Newswire Archives","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind - Covenant Newswire Archives","og_description":"PLYMOUTH, MN (June 19, 2008) \u2013 A Revitalization Assessment Center to identify potential revitalization pastors, conducted by the Evangelical Covenant Church, may be the first of its kind sponsored by a denomination and represents a commitment to strengthening existing congregations as well as planting new works, leaders say.","og_url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/","og_site_name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","article_published_time":"2008-06-19T18:34:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2010-12-22T17:24:25+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"headline":"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind","datePublished":"2008-06-19T18:34:58+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-22T17:24:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/"},"wordCount":411,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/","name":"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind - Covenant Newswire Archives","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-06-19T18:34:58+00:00","dateModified":"2010-12-22T17:24:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2008\/06\/19\/6365\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Revitalization Assessment Center May Be First of Its Kind"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#website","url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/","name":"Covenant Newswire Archives","description":"Evangelical Covenant Church","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/#\/schema\/person\/2a26f1b1df304098ad9cbae0bbf2c6e8","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed9f85aca58d0540113c3fcae90abb716831fd0b1d806d275666cf7052268ea9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/author\/covwebster\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2009"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5457,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009\/revisions\/5457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}