A Book by Brent Lacy
This is NOT DiY
Renovating the Local Congregation
A practical guide to church revitalization for small congregations
Church revitalization is not a DIY project.
The title says it plainly: renovating a local congregation is not something a pastor does alone, and it is not something that happens by importing a program from somewhere else. This is NOT DiY is a practical guide to what church revitalization actually requires — and what it does not.
What This Book Is About
Most church revitalization resources are written for large churches with staff, budget, and systems. This is NOT DiY: Renovating the Local Congregation is written for the small church pastor who is trying to lead a congregation toward health with limited resources, volunteer leaders, and a community that has known the church for generations.
Brent Lacy has been in ministry since 1998, serving in small rural churches across Indiana. This book is built from that experience — not from theory.
Who This Book Is For
- Pastors of small and rural churches navigating decline, plateau, or transition
- Church boards and elders trying to understand why revitalization is hard and what it actually requires
- Denominational leaders supporting small churches through difficult seasons
- Bi-vocational pastors leading revitalization without full-time capacity
Key Themes
- Why church revitalization is not a program you can import from somewhere else
- The honest assessment every declining church needs to do first
- What actually moves the needle in small church revitalization
- The role of pastoral stability, community engagement, and leadership development
- When to consider replanting or merging instead of revitalizing
Also Available: Small Group Edition
This is NOT DiY: Renovating the Local Congregation — Small Group Edition is designed for church leadership teams, elder boards, and small groups working through the revitalization process together. It includes discussion questions and group exercises for each chapter.
Use the Small Group Edition with your board, your deacons, or a leadership team that is wrestling with the church’s future together.
Get the Small Group Edition on Amazon →
Free Resources to Go Alongside the Book
MinistryPlace offers free resources that complement the themes in This is NOT DiY:
- Small Church Revitalization Guide — free overview of what actually works
- Church Health Assessment — free self-assessment tool for small churches
- How to Grow a Small Church — 6 practical strategies
- Church Leadership Development — developing lay leaders in a small church
- Rescue Gospel Framework — free evangelism tool for your congregation
- Pastor Search Guide — if revitalization requires new pastoral leadership