Church Planting vs Revitalising Existing Churches

The North American Division faces a stark reality: 61% of its churches are declining and 11% are plateaued, leaving only 28% in growth mode (NAD Multiply, 2022). This raises a critical strategic question about resource allocation between planting new churches and revitalising existing ones. Cross-denominational evidence suggests church planting has a 30–40% failure rate in early years but correlates positively with overall denominational growth. Revitalisation leverages existing facilities, stewardship bases, and community ties at lower cost, with faster potential for impact. The Southeastern New England Conference has targeted 50+ revitalised congregations by 2026 as part of a multiplication strategy. The emerging consensus among Adventist strategists is that these are not competing strategies but complementary ones — revitalised "mother" churches are better positioned to birth new congregations. However, rigorous cost-per-retained-member data comparing the two approaches within Adventism is absent. The denomination's recent emphasis on both church planting (with goals like 28 new plants by 2028 in some territories) and revitalisation (through NAD Multiply) reflects an integrated approach, though budgetary reality often forces conferences to choose one emphasis over the other.