Invitation to take the first step.

Larry Doornbos, the Director of Vibrant Congregations, shares with you how we will help your church discern your next faithful, fresh step in ministry and mission.

Together we will assess where your church is currently at in its lifecycle —then invite you to discern, pray, and connect with a partner organization that fits best with your church’s unique ministry journey and that will help guide you in taking fresh steps.

We invite you to take that first step by taking Vibrant Congregations’ free lifecycle assessment.

Lombard CRC

"A desire to be better"

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Silver Creek RCA

"We all have blind spots"

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Third CRC

"Renewal is the process"

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Article

Should you focus on Union?

Larry Doornbos – September 27, 2022
The Heidelberg Catechism says that in the Lord's Supper, we are united by the Spirit to Christ. Being united to...
Devotional

Draw Me a Picture

Larry Doornbos – September 27, 2022
Draw Me A Picture Leaders know the power of pictures. We often lead by drawing pictures in the minds of...
Devotional

GOAT – The Greatest of All Time

Larry Doornbos – September 20, 2022
Welcome back to Vibrant Leadership devotionals. We anticipate an excellent year of learning from multiple leadership voices.  When you think...
Article

Is Your Church Running at the Speed of Apple? Part 3

Larry Doornbos – September 20, 2022
Running at the speed of Apple leaves a congregation gasping for breath while it may be missing the point of...
Article Consistory Councils Pastors

Is Your Church Running at the Speed of Apple Part 2

Larry Doornbos – August 15, 2022
Image: Unsplash.com Apple and Silicon Valley are the timekeepers of the 21st century (for other timekeepers, see part one of...
Article Church Renewal Consistory Councils Pastors

Is Your Church Running at the Speed of Apple?

Vibrant Congregation – August 8, 2022
Andrew Root's book The Congregation in a Secular Age takes us on a journey in time - or, more accurately,...
Devotional

Embodying the Message

Elaine May – June 14, 2022
2 Corinthians 5:11-21. Delegates from the forty-nine classes (geographical regions) of the Christian Reformed Church are gathered in Grand Rapids,...
Devotional

An Unlikely Ministry Partner

Elaine May – June 9, 2022
John 4:1-42. Tod Bolsinger tells the story of Lewis and Clark in his book Canoeing the Mountains. Their expedition took...
Devotional

Discipleship and Disasters 

Reginald Smith – June 1, 2022
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built...
Devotional

Moving from Stuckness to Curiosity

Reginald Smith – May 18, 2022
I guess “fear” is the official word of this decade. The COVID-19 pandemic made us afraid of being in close...
Article

What are You Learning?

Edie Lenz – May 4, 2022
What am I learning? This simple but complex question is one that I ask myself a lot. It began as...
Devotional

Creativity and Persistence

Rob Hogendoorn – April 27, 2022
One of my favorite leadership moments from the Old Testament is the obscure and often overlooked story of David found...
Article

The Myth of Authenticity

Vibrant Congregation – April 22, 2022
"One of the struggles of our secular age as people experience it is the myth of authenticity. What I mean...
Partner

Vibrant Partner Colin Watson – CRCNA

Vibrant Congregation – April 21, 2022
Renewal is important to our congregations. Not only now. I think it will continue to be important to our congregations....
Partner

Luminex Group Partner

Vibrant Congregation – April 21, 2022
Vibrant Congregations interacts with a bunch of churches and a bunch of church leaders more so than we do. They...
Partner

Healthy Church Partner

Vibrant Congregation – April 21, 2022
Church renewal is critical at this time because we're facing a new reformation where the culture and the church no...
Devotional

Persevere in the journey

Allen Likkel – April 20, 2022
Luke 9:51 “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to...
Article

7 church conversations to listen for

Vibrant Congregation – April 19, 2022
Every congregation has conversations going. These conversations happen in council rooms, committee meetings, small groups, coffee after worship (covid permitting!),...
Article

How to Handle Pastoral Burnout in a Covid-Plus World

Larry Doornbos – April 15, 2022
This morning, a friend emailed me a message that he’s repeated often in the past two years: “Again and again,...
Devotional

Stooping to Serve

Jul Medenblik – April 12, 2022
John 13:1-17. “You may not remember what I said today, but I hope you will remember what I now do.”...

    Vibrancy Pathway

    We all need to take fresh steps in ministry and mission to pursue God's unique future for our congregations. Wherever you are in your church's life, Vibrant Congregations can help you discern the best path to your congregation's God-given hope-filled future.

    How it works: Vibrant Congregations walks with congregations through a discernment process, known as a vibrancy pathway. This process includes conversation, prayer, discernment instruments, and more conversation. The outcome is discovering which partner is best for each congregation as it seeks vibrant ministry.

    Preloader

    • Start

      Connect with us by taking a free 7 minute assessment! We’re eager to understand where your church is in the journey and what specific needs your congregation has.

    • Discern

      Engage in a few additional assessments considering your church’s specific needs, where you are in your journey, and which revitalization organizations best align with your unique situation.

    • Connect

      Collaborate in partnership with the organization best suited for your church’s journey.

    • Pray

      As a council or consistory, engage in a targeted prayer guide and prepare for the journey together, reflecting on what God reveals.

    Why this pathway?

    Many groups are available to work with your congregation to take fresh steps. Before this journey can begin, each church should ponder this question: "Which one will best fit our congregation?"

    Vibrant Congregations assists each church in discerning its best partner, something that is unique from other organizations. Using the vibrancy pathway, our church will discover which partner can best help your congregation pursue its God-given future.

    Let's get started by taking a FREE (no obligation) 90 second survey.
    Get Started!