📝 Worksheet 1.4: Legacy Church Snapshot

Worksheet Purpose

This worksheet helps you create a first snapshot of your church’s current condition. You will identify the church’s history, strengths, challenges, leadership realities, wounds, and possible future pathways.

Use this worksheet prayerfully. The goal is not to blame, shame, or rush decisions. The goal is to begin telling the truth with humility, courage, and hope.

This worksheet supports Topic 1 of the course: What Is a Legacy or Plateaued Church?

Part 1: Basic Church Information

Church Name:

Location:

Approximate Year Founded:

Current Average Attendance:

Current Leadership Structure:
Check all that apply.

☐ Full-time pastor
☐ Part-time pastor
☐ Bivocational pastor
☐ Interim pastor
☐ Retired pastor helping occasionally
☐ Pulpit supply only
☐ Elders
☐ Deacons
☐ Church board
☐ Ministry volunteers
☐ No clear leadership structure
☐ Other: ___________________________________________

Part 2: Church Type Snapshot

Which descriptions fit your church right now? Check all that apply.

☐ Legacy church with a long history
☐ Plateaued church with little forward movement
☐ Rural or country church
☐ Pastorless church
☐ Aging congregation
☐ Wounded church
☐ Church recovering from conflict
☐ Church recovering from pastor failure or scandal
☐ Church with financial mistrust or confusion
☐ Church with a building burden
☐ Church with faithful members but few trained leaders
☐ Church with unclear mission
☐ Church with declining attendance
☐ Church with no clear discipleship pathway
☐ Church with potential for renewal
☐ Church that may need restart
☐ Church that may need partnership
☐ Church that may need replanting
☐ Church that may need to consider closure

In one sentence, describe the church’s current condition:

Part 3: Honoring the Church’s History

List important moments, ministries, or memories from this church’s past.

What should be honored from this church’s past?

What traditions or habits may need to be released or renewed?

Part 4: Current Strengths

Check the strengths that are still present.

☐ Faithful long-time members
☐ Prayerful people
☐ A usable building
☐ Community visibility
☐ Financial resources or savings
☐ Caring relationships
☐ Biblical preaching or teaching
☐ Mission history
☐ Hospitality
☐ Music or worship gifts
☐ People willing to serve
☐ Potential younger leaders
☐ Members with ministry experience
☐ A good reputation in the community
☐ A desire for renewal
☐ Other: ___________________________________________

Top three strengths God may have preserved here:

Part 5: Current Challenges

Check the challenges that apply.

☐ Attendance decline
☐ No pastor
☐ Cannot afford a full-time pastor
☐ Leadership fatigue
☐ Unclear elder, deacon, or board roles
☐ Resistance to change
☐ Lack of trained leaders
☐ Few children or young families
☐ No disciple-making pathway
☐ Weak prayer culture
☐ Limited evangelism
☐ Conflict avoidance
☐ Past church split
☐ Pastor scandal or leadership failure
☐ Financial mistrust
☐ Building maintenance burden
☐ Community reputation concerns
☐ Volunteer burnout
☐ Fear of closure
☐ Other: ___________________________________________

Top three challenges that must be faced honestly:

Part 6: Leadership Reality

List current leaders and potential future leaders.

Who appears prayerful, humble, teachable, and ready for renewal?

Who may need renewed role clarity, training, accountability, or transition?

Part 7: Wounds and Trust Concerns

Check any areas where the church may need healing or trust rebuilding.

☐ Unresolved conflict
☐ Pastor failure
☐ Moral scandal
☐ Financial concerns
☐ Harsh leadership
☐ Hidden decision-making
☐ Church split
☐ Gossip or relational breakdown
☐ Abuse concerns
☐ Lack of accountability
☐ Burned-out volunteers
☐ Members who left hurt
☐ Community mistrust
☐ Other: ___________________________________________

What wounds may need to be named before healthy renewal can begin?

What safety, transparency, or accountability steps may be needed?

Part 8: Mission and Community Snapshot

Who lives in the church’s mission field today?
Check all that apply.

☐ Aging adults
☐ Young families
☐ Children
☐ Teens
☐ College students
☐ Farmers or rural workers
☐ Commuters
☐ Immigrants or language communities
☐ Low-income households
☐ Professionals
☐ Retirees
☐ People disconnected from church
☐ People wounded by church
☐ Other: ___________________________________________

What community needs are visible nearby?

How is the church currently serving the community?

How could the church begin serving the community again in a simple way?

Part 9: Possible Future Pathway

Based on your first snapshot, which pathway may fit this church?

☐ Renewal — strengthening what remains
☐ Restart — rebuilding around a clearer covenant and mission
☐ Replanting — releasing old structures for a new gospel work
☐ Partnership — receiving help from another church, network, Soul Center, or trained ministry leaders
☐ Closure — faithfully ending a season and stewarding resources for kingdom impact
☐ Unsure — more prayer, listening, and diagnosis needed

Why does this pathway seem possible?

What evidence supports this option?

What evidence challenges this option?

Part 10: First 30-Day Prayerful Step

Choose one faithful step the church could take in the next 30 days.

☐ Hold a prayer gathering for renewal
☐ Conduct a church history listening session
☐ Meet with elders, deacons, or board members for honest diagnosis
☐ Review church finances and building needs
☐ Identify teachable leaders
☐ Begin a simple visitation or care ministry
☐ Ask for outside counsel or mentoring
☐ Explore volunteer, part-time, or bivocational ministry options
☐ Start a small Bible study or discipleship gathering
☐ Begin a trust rebuilding conversation
☐ Other: ___________________________________________

Describe the first 30-day step:

Who should be involved?

When could this begin?

Final Reflection

Complete this sentence:

This church may still have a faithful future if…

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, help us tell the truth with humility, honor what has been faithful, heal what is broken, renew teachable leaders, and take the next faithful step toward your mission. Amen.