Testimonials
“Our church was stagnant and would have died if not for [VitalChurch] assisting us in flushing out the root causes of our decay and working with us through leadership training, change in governance structure, congregational communication, and staying right on track throughout the entire process. We are looking forward to seeing how God will use all of this to grow His church."
–Brookville Bible Church, Holbrook, MA
“The ministry that [VitalChurch] provides is invaluable. A church that has even a hint of feeling the need for this ministry would do well to grab at the opportunity. The value is seen initially to some degree, but is not seen in its entirety until some time has passed and the effects are permeating the church body. And these effects are from the Lord, not some methodology. [VitalChurch] is a ministry God uses to bring light and healing."
–Brookville Bible Church, Holbrook, MA
“Our church needed to break some cycles that existed here long before I even came on staff. The legacy that VitalChurch is leaving with Community Covenant Church is being able to identify those cycles, step into those cycles and deal with them. I see nothing but value from this season with VitalChurch and for that I'm grateful, and I've learned a ton and I think our church is going to be so much better because of this season.”
–Chris Lindberg, Worship Director, Community Covenant Church, Rehoboth, MA
“I have been at [the church] since the fall of 1973. The church is more vibrant, more outward thinking, and just more enthusiastic about digging deeper into God and then sharing him that (sic) we have ever seen. It’s just so cool. So I wanted you to know that your work with us is bearing good, sweet fruit. We all believe that God brought [the VitalChurch pastor] to us to accomplish a turn around. His work with you and your work with us has indeed turned us."
–Church Member – NJ
"In a crisis/ transition, it can be easy to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ so to speak, and start with a clean slate. But what I saw was a different, and more redemptive form of leadership from VitalChurch. I witnessed the value placed on having people who lived through the initial trauma that brought VitalChurch here be trained and released into leadership. These people were committed to the future of the church and were willing to engage in the hard conversations for the sake of vitality…It is undeniable to see VitalChurch’s passion is for the kingdom of God and for the local church."
–Conrad McKenzie, CCC, Taunton, MA
“[VitalChurch]’s diagnostic process and intentional interim staff were invaluable to our church when we lost our pastor of 26 years. They brought much-needed perspective and addressed issues with both professionalism and pastors' hearts. We're a healthier church poised to serve God in new ways with the arrival of our next full-time pastor."
–Cornerstone Church, Manchester, MA
“The team from VitalChurch was amazing. They were compassionate, encouraging, and honest with us. We received more than an assessment—they ministered to us, both as a community and as individuals. They extended the love of Christ to a community deep in crisis.”
–Dave Dreydoppel, FPC Fairbanks
“Before we had blind spots. We didn’t realize we had unhealthy patterns and systems…Now we are on the journey of being where we need to be.”
–David Kuck, Elder, CCC, MN
“I believe [VitalChurch Ministry]’s diagnostic piece was dead on and captured the weaknesses of this church. They did an excellent job in their interviewing process and their report was very comprehensive. [The interim pastor’s] ministry here was effective in getting Calvary Church through a tough time of transition."
–Elder – Church in CT
“I was the last holdout on the Elder board as I felt this was admitting we could not do our jobs as Elders and it was expensive. Was I ever wrong! Only by observing the skillful, experienced way [VitalChurch Ministry] handled the situation was I able to see how far off we were from having the skill set to deal with things. It took many months of prayerful, unbelievably difficult, diligent work, but today the church is revitalized, there are young people in leadership positions, the church is growing spiritually and numerically, and God is being honored."
–Elder – Church in the Seattle area
“One of the great things VitalChurch does is prepare the church, so that the new long-term pastor has a chance to be successful…Our relationship with our local presbytery is 100% better. it's gone from, on a scale of one to ten, a two or three up to an eight or nine—if not a ten at this point. That's part of the restorative process that most people wouldn't have even considered that we needed”
–Eric Vander Meersch, FUPC, IL
“VitalChurch has been a blessing to Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church (MVPC). They are not an organization that came to judge, criticize, and determine what was wrong with MVPC. VitalChurch opened the eyes of MVPC, based on the feedback from the congregation, to determine the issues we were facing. They asked the right questions, listened to the congregation, and helped MVPC figure out why we were a dying church. It’s important to understand the assessment VCM provided MVPC was not their assessment, but the congregation’s own assessment of ourselves. They took our input and put it all together for us to get a clear picture of why MVPC has been dying for more than a decade. VitalChurch has been with MVPC for about 16 months, and we are now transitioning to put the past behind us and move forward to the direction God is leading us. We needed this time for self-reflection, conflict resolution, repentance of our sins and reconciliation with God and each other before we could move forward. To be totally transparent, there have been times where it’s been an absolute grind. This process takes a lot of work, time and patience. More importantly, it will take a lot of praying. However, we are now at a point where MVPC has new life. We are looking forward with great anticipation to see what God has in store for His church in Moraga.”
–James Matsuda, Elder, Moraga Valley Presbyterian Church
“We can’t underestimate the value of the reconciliation that has happened. We did what we could to own it and reconcile it and the VitalChurch pastor had a significant hand in helping us know what that looks like.”
–Jeremy Balster (Elder), CCC, MN
“The camaraderie that the VitalChurch pastor brought to the staff and staff meetings just really molded the way we think of our jobs…it made it less of a job and more of a passion and more of a calling than ever before.”
–Marcel Laporte, Staff Member, CCC, MA
“Having an outsider get to ask the ‘hows’ and the ‘whys’ like VitalChurch does in a nonjudgmental way is important…. Having the summits [focusing process] made me want to be more part of the church and to stay committed. It moved me forward in my relationship with the church and with God.”
–Matt Reuter, Transition Team Member, CCC, MN
“Being a skeptic on the front end, not liking consultants, I see that VitalChurch is not consultants. The big benefit is that we had a pastor who was unbiased, and who has experienced everything imaginable when it comes to churches in crisis. He come in and led us to unity”
–Steve Wernimont (Director of Operations), CCC, MN
“[VitalChurch Ministry] steadied a badly rocking ship. They helped us to remember that our first love is Jesus. They listened without judging and were wise in their counsel. They were used by God to bring Sunridge into the next phase of ministry. Very grateful to them."
–Sunridge Church, CA
“I wholeheartedly recommend [VitalChurch Ministry]. The value added to your church far outweighs the cost. The people involved in this ministry are not simply consultants. They will walk alongside you through the process and love your church."
–Sunridge Church, CA