Our church was 12 years old when we noticed the listlessness. People began to complain. "It doesn't feel the same around here." "My small group is boring." "I need something more."

We had a purpose—we were "The Equipping Church"—but now, that didn't seem to be enough.

Since our beginning in 1977, Fellowship Bible Church had been marked by a wonderful enthusiasm. There was always a new project, a new building, a new cause. But with the addition of staff and a comfortable facility where we no longer had to show up at 5:30 Sunday mornings to set up chairs, the congregation grew restless.

In 1989 we took a survey. It confirmed our suspicions. Even with more people coming, we had lost our spiritual momentum.

We wondered if there was a problem with our church's vision. As an "equipping church," a term borrowed from Ephesians 4, we had been equipping people to live better lives, have better marriages, be better parents, handle better their finances, and grow deeper in God's Word. But we had never ...