Church Renewal: A Historical Perspective

Someone suggested tracing church renewal movements through history to gather important lessons. This is an excellent suggestion.

First, a quick note. While revival and church renewal involve spiritual renewal, they are distinct.

• Revival is a shorter, more intense experience where human hearts (often in great numbers) are transformed by a sudden and unexpected work of the Holy Spirit.
• Church renewal is a longer duration event focusing on new or renewed commitments that return faith communities to the priorities and practices of the Holy Spirit birthed church described in Acts 2:42-47.

There are several great epochs of church renewal including the Monastic Renewal, the Protestant Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, the Pietistic Renewal, renewal during the Great Awakenings, the Holiness Movement, the Charismatic Renewal, and renewal through recent Missional Church Movements.

• What is most interesting is that church renewal is less about these great epochs than about the constant work of the Holy Spirit in everyday congregations. At the Center for Church Renewal we say, “Either a church is on a constant path of renewal or a sure path of decline.”

I was born in the late 1950s. I can trace at least seven renewal movements from my lifetime.

Seven Renewal Movements in recent church history

1. The generational change renewal movement

• During the counterculture revolution of the 1960’s, many young people found deep intimacy with Jesus apart from institutions. This anti-institution and pro-youth emphasis remade how we thought about church.

2. The multi-cultural and social action movement

• In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s increased social activism flowed out of the civil rights movement and into the church. Middle-class Anglo churches rethought who they were and what they should do.

3. The evangelistic fervor movement

• The 1970’s were influenced by the Four Spiritual Laws of Campus Crusade and Kennedy’s Evangelism Explosion. We awakened to the importance of sharing the Gospel with others.

4. The discipleship movement

• By the early 1980’s we began to think about mentorship and life-on-life discipleship as championed by the Navigators and similar ministries. Practicing the spiritual disciplines and seeking accountability became common.

5. The third-wave charismatic renewal

• Also, in the early to mid-1980’s the Third Wave Charismatic renewal movement revived worship (think praise and worship), prayer, lay leadership, and a fuller expression of spiritual gifts.

6. The every believer renewal movement

• The late 1980s into the 1990s saw a movement recognizing the leadership and proclamation gifts of men and women alike. This recognition renewed the church through broader ownership of ministry along with greater vision and increased wisdom.

7. The seeker, emergent and fresh expressions movements

• The 1980s to the present have produced a wave of creative mission-focused ministry approaches that coaxed the church out of their insular and introverted ways to engage in ministry within a post-modern world.

There are many other examples of recent church renewal movements. The important point is that church renewal should be the persistent expectation, and the persistent experience of every Spirit directed church. What signs of renewal are present in your own congregation today?