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There are several organizations dedicated to church restoration, replanting and revitalizing. (many of these from Comeback churches.)
Church Resource Ministries One of the most effective is Church Resource Ministries, (www.refocusing.org). Their two year process takes the leader through personal development (year 1) and then through the church leadership process (year 2). ReFocusing is a two-year transformation process for a local church which links personal renewal of the leaders and congregation to the revitalization of a church and its structures. The end result is a harvest-focused church with an intentional plan of raising up more and better disciples and churches.

• The Refocusing process begins with personal renewal, then moves to the corporate revitalization of the church structures.
• Focused Living is the personal development resource from CRM that empowers leaders in personal renewal.
• Focused Ministry is the corporate revitalization resource from CRM that empowers church leaders to develop an intentional plan for ministry and mission.
• ReFocusing Networks group six to ten pastors and churches together to work through the ReFocusing process.

Leading Turnaround Consulting Gene Wood’s book, Leading Turnaround Churches speaks to church pastors and leaders to help strengthen and mobilize churches throughout our nation and abroad. Leading Turnaround Churches seminars are scheduled throughout the world to help leaders turn around a plateaued or declining church to growth and vitality.

Outreach North America ONA’s Revitalization Program provides assistance to congregations in established churches that want to grow spiritually, especially if the church has reached a plateau in its growth. It is exciting to hear how hearts have been touched and how church members have reached out to bring others to Christ as a result of their involvement in the year-long renewal effort. (Affiliated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.)

Pursuing Vital Ministry Pursuing Vital Ministry is not just another step-based program for your church. Rather, it describes a congregation’s on-going spiritual strategic journey. It is a journey where a congregation continuously seeks to discover and live into the future to which God is calling it. It is a journey toward “Full Kingdom Potential.”

The Lazarus Project The Lazarus Project is a network of congregations using some simple principles to promote renewed vitality in churches which had been declining, dormant or dying… Both ministers and lay leaders participate in this effort, which proceeds with a simple notion: it only takes one focused, persistent leader with vision to revitalize a congregation…and if you aren’t that person, why’d you find your way here?

Church revitalization is a big deal. Most churches that try to make a change do NOT succeed.

The good news is that you do not need to take the journey alone. Several books have been written to help you think through the process. Several key choices have been bolded–read these before attempting to lead your church through transition.

Top Eight:
Read these before attempting to lead your church through transition.

1. Guder, Darrell L., ed.
   Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998.
2. Malphurs, Aubrey.
   Pouring New Wine into Old Wineskins: How Change a Church without Destroying It. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1993.
3. Towns, Elmer and Ed Stetzer.
   Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church. Chicago, Moody Publishers: 2004.
4. Schwarz, Christian A.
   Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996.
5. Southerland, Dan.
   Transitioning: Leading Your Church through Change. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.
6. Van Gelder, Craig.
   The Essence of the Church: A Community Created by the Spirit. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
7. Wood, Gene.
   Leading Turnaround Churches. St. Charles, IL: Church SmartResources, 2001.
8. Schwarz, Christian A., and Christoph Schalk.
   Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998.

Books for Further Study on Refocusing Churches:

• Barber, Cyril. The Dynamics of Effective Leadership: Learning from Nehemiah. Loizeaux Bro. 1976
• Buttry, Daniel. Bring Your Church Back to Life: Beyond Survival Mentality. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1988.
• Dale, Robert. Leadership for a Changing Church. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1998.
• Frazee, Randy. The Come Back Congregation. Nashville: TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.
• Herrington, Jim; Mike Bonem; and James H. Furr. Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
• Kimball, Dan. The Emerging Church. Zondervan, 2003.
• Logan, Robert E., and Thomas T. Clegg. Releasing Your Church’s Potential: A Natural Church Development Resource Kit. Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998.
• Martoia, Ron. Morph! Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2003. (0-7644-2450-5)
• Maxwell, John. Failing Forward. Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000.
• McNeal, Reggie, A Work of Heart. San Francisco: Jossey-Boss Publishers, 2000.
• Mundey, Paul. Unlocking Church Doors: 10 Keys to Positive Change. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.
• Nelson, Allan and Gene Appel. How to Change Your Church Without Killing It. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000.
• Ogden, Greg. The New Reformation: Returning the Ministry to the People of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.
• Roxburgh, Alan, with Mike Regele. Crossing the Bridge: Church Leadership in a Time of Change. Costa Mesa, Calif.: Percept Group, Inc., 2000.
• Scazzero, Peter. The Emotionally Healthy Church. Zondervan, 2003.
• Schaller, Lyle E. 44 Questions for Congregational Self-Appraisal. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1998.
• Schaller, Lyle. E. Discontinuity and Hope: Radical Change and the Path of the Future. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.
• Schaller, Lyle E. The InterVentionist. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1997.
• Shawchuck, Norman, and Gustave Rath. Benchmarks of Quality in the Church: 21 Ways to Continuously Improve the Content of Your Ministry. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.
• Tidsworth, Floyd. Lifecycle of a Congregation. Nashville, TN: Broadman, 1992.
• Tillapaugh, Frank R. Unleashing the Church. Ventura, CA: GL Publications. 1982.
• Troeger, Thomas H. Preaching While the Church is Under Reconstruction. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1999.
• Troeger, Thomas H. Ten Strategies for Preaching in a Multi Media Culture. Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1996.
• Walling, Terry. Focused Ministry. Carol Stream, IL: Church Smart Resources, 1999.
• White, James Emery. Rethinking the Church: A Challenge to Creative Resign in an Age of Transition. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997.

Here is a helpful description of some of the books from http://www.wesleyan.org/ecg/fitness/refocusing_churches_network/resources.htm

• Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey, Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem and James H. Furr (Jossey-Bass, 2000)—deals with the primary task of refocusing and turnaround churches, namely understanding and managing the change process—if you don’t know where to begin studying “refocusing,” start with this book.
• Turnaround Churches: How to Overcome Barriers to Growth and Bring New Life to an Established Church, George Barna (Regal Books, 1993)—although basically pessimistic about the success rate of turnaround churches, Barna offers some helpful insights about it being done.
• Leading Turnaround Churches, Gene Wood (ChurchSmart Resources, 2001)—the basis of Wood’s seminar offered through ChurchSmart (see their website for seminar dates).
• Turnaround Strategies for the Small Church, Ron Crandall (Abingdon, 1995)—this title is by a professor at Asbury Theological Seminary and is well-written for pastors of smaller congregations.
• One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Bringing Out the Best in Any Size Church, Gary L. McIntosh (Fleming H. Revell, 1999)—written in the first-person style of a struggling pastor conversing with a mentor, this book models mentoring while also addressing classic church growth insights leading to congregational transformation.
• The Healthy Church: Avoiding and Curing the 9 Diseases that Can Afflict Any Church, C. Peter Wagner (Regal Books, 1996)—helps leaders diagnose and prescribe courses of action for dealing with nine “pathologies” that can result in plateau, decline or death of a congregation.
• Strategy 2000: Churches Making Disciples for the Next Millennium, Aubrey Malphurs (Kregel Publications, 1996)—a step-by-step guide for developing a strategy for disciplemaking growth; the examples alone in the appendix of the book are worth the purchase price.
• Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for Church and Ministry Leaders, Aubrey Malphurs (Baker Books, 1999)—a more in-depth treatment of the same subject matter as Strategy 2000.