Vital Merger: A New Church Start Approach that Joins Church Families Together

Do you feel restless about your church's ministry and wonder whether joining with another church (or churches) could increase your missional impact on the community? If so, you may want to learn more about Vital Mergers. As blended families face big decisions and challenges, so do churches seeking to merge. Dirk Elliott has helped numerous churches successfully navigate this process and can help you do the same.
Dirk Elliott has put the “Method” back into Methodism as he succinctly shows us how to create new and vibrant ministries in communities where the flame has flickered or been snuffed out! As a student of his for nearly a decade and a Vital Merger pastor who is putting Dirk’s method to the test, let me assure you—THIS WORKS! We began a Vital Merger combining members of four congregations using Dirk’s approach… and have met or exceeded every one of his “Measures of Success” as we approach year five. This book is a gift to the church of Jesus Christ!

Scott T. Walsh
Lead Pastor
New Leaf United Methodist Church

As denominations work to create more vital congregations, Dirk Elliott shares a new way to bring growth and health to existing congregations through Vital Mergers. This book offers a step-by-step approach to a successful Vital Merger, giving helpful examples of what to do — and what not to do.

I encourage the use of the book for any congregation that is considering doing something new.

Deborah L. Kiesey
Bishop of the Michigan Area
of The United Methodist Church

Dirk’s long awaited work on Vital Mergers is both his premarital counseling guide and wedding gift to congregations that have a sense of vision and purpose beyond themselves and for the communities God has called them to serve. This innovative and instructional manual comes right out of Dirk’s own leadership, experience and passion for the church that could be if congregations can get serious again about missional movement rather than maintenance.

Gary Shockley
Church Planter and Strategist
Author and Senior Pastor of St. Andrew UMC, Denver, CO

Elliott is one of the true experts in the emerging field of church mergers. He has personally guided many successful mergers in rural, suburban, urban and inner-city contexts utilizing what he calls his “Vital Merger” process. Elliott’s book describes the step-by-step process he has created and refined for more than a decade. The Vital Merger approach rejects traditional models and focuses on creating a merged congregation based on a new-church-start paradigm. Elliott’s approach represents a “new wine in a new wine skin” approach that has a proven track record of creating healthy, growing congregations.

The book is highly readable and is replete with numerous examples from real church mergers. Those planning to lead a merger will appreciate the appendices with include a Vital Merger checklist and examples of key documents needed for the process. A final section describing the characteristics of Vital Merger planting pastors can help clergy discern whether they are suited for such an undertaking.

Christopher R. Gambill, Ph.D.
Center for Congregational Health
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center