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WEATHERFORD Fifteen years into his ministry at Harmony Baptist Church in Weatherford, bi-vocational pastor Lynn Crosslin considered throwing in the towel. However, a renewed emphasis on evangelism and discipleship has revitalized the small community of believers and their pastor.
When Crosslin arrived at Harmony 19 years ago, weekly attendance hovered around 15-20 people. The church experienced growth during the first two years of Crosslin’s ministry but struggled to retain people and hit a plateau of about 60-75 regular attenders.
“For years we would reach a new family only to later see them move on to a larger church with more to offer in programming for the whole family,” Crosslin told the TEXAN.
Eventually, Crosslin reached out to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention for help, which proved a turning point in the life of the church and for Crosslin personally. Evangelism director Nathan Lorick helped him plan a revival for the fall of 2013.
At the end of that revival week, Harmony baptized 20 people, sparking a renewed sense of purpose for Crosslin and church members.
“On our Annual Church Profile that year we realized that our total was 40 baptisms! While we weren’t able to retain all those we baptized, several are still active,” Crosslin said.
That same year, Crosslin and his wife attended their first SBTC annual meeting in San Antonio. They came back to Harmony “encouraged that what we were doing was the right thing to do.” He purposed to take his youth pastor and wife to the convention in Amarillo the next year.
“Being able to experience that convention with our youth pastor and his wife was really a blessing, and I believe [it] brought great benefit to our church that is hard to describe. All I know is that it helped all of us begin to get a clearer picture for what God wanted to do through our church.”
In the past year, Harmony has added a part time children’s minister to the staff in order to reach the growing number of families with children and teens. The church also renewed its commitments to discipleship and outreach. In May, they started three small groups in homes and expect to add more as needed.
“The focus of these groups will be on the revitalization sermon series and small group study notes recommended by Kenneth Priest, [SBTC] director of convention strategies,” Crosslin said. “It will be discipleship oriented; focusing on application of the morning sermon, building relationships within the church family, accountability, and fellowship.”
Additionally, Harmony has recommitted to personal evangelism by training three teams through the Can We Talk? evangelism strategy.
“The challenge before us is to continue knocking on every door in a radius around our church,” Crosslin said. “As to date, we have presented the gospel many times but have yet to see anyone saved. We still have a lot of work to do to build a better outreach ministry.”
Throughout the revitalization process, Crosslin realizes he needed to change just as much as his congregation. His own personal renewal has made him a better pastor, preacher, teacher and leader.
“For several years I felt like we were competing with what the larger churches could offer. I no longer feel that way,” Crosslin said.
“I believe smaller churches can offer things some larger churches can’t. Harmony has been attracting a variety of people who are looking for a biblically based, friendly, ministry-focused church.”
Learn more about church revitalization at sbtexas.com/church-revitalization.
