The New Life Church, located in Farmington, rests upon a small, two-lane roadway in a rural setting. It needs extra signage for visitors to find it. When Pastor Kevin Kappler became its pastor in 2013, average Sunday attendance was around 40 people, down from a peak of nearly 200 a few years earlier. The church was in debt from the partially finished construction of a new metal building, undertaken when the church was experiencing a season of rapid growth.
Several factors contributed to New Life’s decline. A series of short-tenured pastors who did not “gel with the culture of the church” led to conflict, church splits, and declining attendance. Lay leaders at the church also identified family problems, disagreements with preaching, and consumerism as factors that contributed to the church’s decline.
One of Pastor Kevin’s first actions was to address the church’s financial problems. When the balloon payment on the loan for the new building came due, the church lacked the funds to repay it. Working with a representative from the bank, the church took steps to improve its financial position. The bank agreed to work with the church and restructure the loan.
In addition to working with the bank, Pastor Kevin also challenged the church to begin financially supporting missionaries, even though the church was in a difficult financial situation. This commitment to missions had the unexpected benefit of leading to an improvement in the church’s financial situation. It also led to parishioners participating in short-term missions trips, and to Pastor Kevin encouraging parishioners to see their community as a mission field.
Pastor Kevin, who had previously been a police chaplain, believes in “relational evangelism” and feels it is a key factor in the church’s turnaround. He became a police chaplain in his new community, serving both the police department and county ambulance service. This has led to police officers and their families attending New Life.
Pastor Kevin has also led New Life to become more involved in the community. The church hosts a “Light the Night” event in a local neighborhood and participates in the community parade. The church has also updated its foyer to make it more welcoming to visitors, and changed its name from Pleasant View Assembly of God to New Life–Farmington to reflect its new outward focus.
Pastor Kevin places a high value on building relationships with parishioners and utilizes those relationships when he needs to implement change in the church. He also works closely with the church’s deacon board, seeking their input and support before moving forward with new ideas. He is always sure to celebrate victories with the church and let them know he is thankful for their willingness to try new things.
By 2023, New Life–Farmington had grown to an average Sunday attendance of 102, with much of that growth occurring in the three years prior. The church has been able to refinance its building loan with the Assemblies of God Credit Union, and has never missed a payment. New and revitalized ministries, especially to children and youth, are flourishing, and more people are involved in serving than ever before. Lay leaders in the church point to Pastor Kevin’s leadership, particularly his willingness to ask people to serve, as a significant factor in the revitalization of New Life Church–Farmington.
The complete story of New Life Church–Farmington can be found in Danny Davis’ book, Rural Church Turnaround: Real Life Experiences of Rural Pastors and Lay-leaders (CrossLink Publishing, 2020).
Pierre-Alain Giffard, Director of Pastoral Work
Articles on evangelization and parish revitalization:
- The Church’s Social Doctrine and Evangelization
- Kindness: A Christian Perspective
- How to Bring Someone to Christ
- The Ultimate Purpose of Human Life – Glorifying God
- From Near-Death to New Life: A Rural Church’s Revitalization Journey
- Evangelization simply: “Taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8)
- Revitalization of Rural Churches
- Attracting Converts to the Catholic Faith
- Addressing Low Attendance in Churches
- Fostering a Sacred Atmosphere during the Sunday Mass
- Prayer to be baptized in the Holy Spirit
- Jesus is Thirsty for Souls
- Praying And Sharing The Good News With God’s Redemptive Names
- Embracing the Call to Evangelize
- What is Most Pleasing to God? Bringing Souls to Christ
- The Growth of the Church of the Nativity (Fr. Michael White)
- Deliverance Prayer, by Fr. Stephen J. Rossetti (AUDIO – mp3)
- The Growth of Saint Benedict Parish (Fr. James Mallon)
- Five Pillars of the Christian Life
- Encountering Christ: The Path to Transformation
- What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus?
- Unleashing The Evangelization Potential of Your Parish
- The Ultimate Goal of Evangelization
- God’s Longing for Love and our Mission to Make it Known
- A prayer for those whom we wish to encounter Christ
- Memorable Sundays
- Fr. Bedard’s Three-Step Blueprint for Evangelisation
- Guide for The Missionary Transformation of Parishes
- Divine Encounters: A Practical Guide for Small Evangelization Groups
- The Missionary Transformation of Sant’Eustorgio Parish
- Creating Vibrant Faith Communities: Insights from ‘Excellent Catholic Parishes’
- Sharing The Gospel According to People’s Needs And Receptivity
- A Prayer for Inviting Others to Evangelization Meetings and Services
- Welcoming Church Guests and Visitors: Dos and Don’ts
- Various Dimensions of Evangelization
- The True Measure of Success
- Pope Francis on Evangelization
- Revitalizing the Rural Parish for Mission
- Factors Leading to Christian Conversion
- Evangelizing Through Random Acts of Kindness
- Questions To Start Spiritual Conversations
- Three Feet From Gold
- Spreading the Gospel One Act at a Time
- Gather, Witness and Invite
- Prayer to Receive the Spiritual Gifts of The Holy Spirit
- The Language of Evangelization
- Key Factors for Parish Growth According to Rich Birch
- How to defeat Satan?
- Bringing Love, Hope and Healing Through the Gospel
- Love: Our Fundamental Vocation
- Touched by the Master
- A Man, a Dog, and the Ultimate Love
- The essence of evangelization: Loving God and our neighbours
- Loving Our Enemies and Reconciling with Others
- A Powerful Prayer for Healing: You Are The LORD Who Heals Me
- Living a Life of Love: Mother Teresa’s Legacy
- Living a Life of Love: Lessons from the New Testament
- In The Shadows Of Darkness, A Powerful Force Is At Work
- 19 Pastoral Orientations for Parish Renewal and Growth
- The Missionary Renewal of Catechesis
- Characteristics of missionary parishes
- Powerful healing prayer attributed to St. Padre Pio
- We are called to share our faith with others
- Should we seek to grow the Church?
- Find a Need and Fill It – Revealing God’s Heart in the Community
- 15 Habits to Evangelize on a Daily Basis
- The Church’s Mission
- Three Barriers to Building An Invitational Culture In Your Parish
- The Relational Evangelizer
- Doing Church at Home
- The Blind Girl
- A Group of Frogs
- The Elephant Rope
- A Shared Faith is a Growing Faith
- In The Shoes Of The Unchurched
- Parish Evangelizing Cells
- Six Unique Features of Missional Parishes
- Steps Towards Becoming A Missional Parish
- What Is Evangelization, And How Should It Be Carried Out?
- Discussion And Self-Assessment Questions For Parish Evangelization
- A Missional Church Is A Church That Prays
- The Jesus Prayer: A Method To Pray At All Times
- What can help children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults?
- An Example of a Missionary Parish: Phoenix First Assembly of God
- Satan’s Tactics
- Learning to Be a Missionary
- When we cry out to God, he answers
- Presence and Proclamation
- Saving those who are lost
- Saint-Nazaire Parish: The story of a missionary transformation
- Small Groups and Evangelization
- Evangelizing By Inviting People To Receive Jesus As Lord And Saviour
- You Will Receive Power…
- Have You Heard About the Law of Three Hearings and Seven Touches?
- Three Habits of a Fruitful Christian Life
