What is the key to revival? Bro. Edward E. Cantu, pastor of Family Worship Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado had this to say: "I know that there are many people that try to boil it down to a single thing, that if they would just do that one thing, they would have revival. I have not found that to be true at all. Revival doesn't come in a suitcase, nor does it come in a single method or program."

"One thing that has contributed to revival is my personal state of mind and heart. A number of years ago, I began to pray that the Lord would change our local church and change the people. I had some very specific things that I was praying about. What happened as a result of those prayers is that the Lord changed ME. My perspective changed, my vision radically changed, my devotion changed, my personal investment, both in terms of resources as well as time, changed. My faith grew as a result."

A New Direction
Bro. Cantu explained, "We began to pray for laborers and the Lord sent them. I realized that the Lord did not send them so they could sit on the pew. We put them to work and tried to find a slot for just about everybody. We have a very friendly and loving church. We do not just have greeters at the front door because the entire congregation makes it a point to get to new guests. You will frequently see, 6, 8, 12 people gathered around a visitor or a visiting family. They are totally interested. They want to know, 'What can we, as a church, do for you?'"

"I'm developing the infrastructure of the church patterned after a corporate model instead of a traditional church model, where the pastor does everything. I want the people to know that they are partnering with me. It's their church, not just mine," he said.

Bro. Cantu has divided the leadership team into four divisions, (1) Arts and Communications-- things that reflect the creative side of the church, (2) Public Relations-- guest services, lifestyle outreach, etc., (3) Education-- Sunday School, Bible quizzing, discipleship, etc., and (4) Campus Services-- building maintenance, office management, etc.

"The four individuals over these divisions directly report to me. We also meet an hour before the Sunday service with everybody that does anything on a Sunday morning.  We cover everything from what's going on in the auditorium to the needs of the Sunday School staff.  We get everyone on the same page, have a devotional and group prayer, and then we go to work."

A New Idea
"These and other things play into what I believe is contributing to our church growth. Last summer, we held Summer Seminars instead of our midweek service. I knew that, traditionally, attendance dipped in the summer. I also knew that if we could keep folks focused during the summer months that the drop would be lessened, and we could start the fall with a higher attendance average," Bro. Cantu said.

"My hope was then to grow to the next level. We offered four simultaneous classes instead of a regular mid-week Bible study. We had one session on Parenting, one on Personal Finances using the Crown Financial Ministries curriculum, a discipleship class for youth, with another class for kids. As a result, our Thursday night attendance average was almost that of a Sunday morning.

"So, we went into the fall with a higher attendance average than in the past. Families kept coming; we started winning people, and before I had realized it, we had doubled."

"The last two to three years have really been significant for us. There are a number of things that are working, and I want to keep doing every one of them. I don't have a problem stopping programs. If something doesn't work, we throw it out and move on. We tweak it and go."

A New Way to Look at Discipleship
"Having grown up in a Oneness Apostolic setting, I intuitively knew the list of do's and don'ts, the 'whats' as I call them. If you picked up most discipleship courses, they basically were a list of 'whats'. The Lord helped me to realize that His people needed to know WHY, not just what. I wanted to give a bigger picture related to why we live the way we live.

"Even though people raised in church usually know the list, it doesn't necessarily mean they'll live by it. The theory is if they know why, they'll feel respected and will be more likely to follow. I wanted to empower the people with that knowledge. They have the same Word that I have; they have the same Holy Ghost that I have. I wanted to challenge them to grow and mature spiritually," Bro. Cantu said.

"The 12 week Bible study that resulted from this understanding is called This, We Believe. Using biblical ideas and principles, it forms a framework for what disciples need to know. It's not really designed for soul winning or as a new converts' course. It's written more toward 'this is how you mature as a saint' and 'this is why we believe what we believe'. It starts very high level, very big picture. It starts with the concept of God, he said.

"The first two lessons are devoted just to who God is. Then you stroll into the garden and walk through the events that resulted in our need for restoration. It gives people a perspective that they may not have considered before.

"I have had people tell me, 'Pastor I've been in church 15 years, 20 years, why haven't I heard this?' It's just a fresh approach to understanding God's plan. It deals with a variety of lifestyle-related topics from a spiritual angle. For example, we cover finances as a faith issue. We cover modesty as a respect-for-others issue. The whole topic on hair, we deal with it as honoring God's creative plan.

"The study always emphasizes the greater principle. I teach it in a classroom setting, and it's heavily dependent on guided discussion. Since about half of the Bible study uses questions that are not easy to answer and since the details are not always in the curriculum itself, it's a study that cannot easily be published. The questions can only be answered by discussion and by having read the Scriptures that go along with each lesson. I teach this class in place of a Sunday evening service. We have received some very positive feedback from all that take the course," he concluded.

A New Way to Look at Sundays
Bro. Cantu said, "Sunday mornings are almost always evangelistic in nature. If folks want discipleship, they have to come to the midweek service or to the Christian growth classes. I'm not saying they don't get fed. But Sunday mornings are when we get all our visitors so the thrust of the message is evangelistic.

"I think it also helps keep the established saints constantly aware of evangelism. There are people around them in life, some even in church, that are in need of repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and the Holy Ghost," he said.

Bro. Cantu believes a Christian has to be a verbal witness. "That means not just living your life right before people where they see your example. It means opening your mouth, sharing with them, meeting people, being friendly and loving them. It takes action and words. It's been one of our goals to get folks into the mindset that it is their privilege and their joy to share their experience with others.

"We've tried a number of things, door knocking, direct mail, radio spots, etc. Nothing has panned out for us like one-on-one invitations. Ninety-five percent of our guests come because someone invited them.  So, we've provided folks with small invitation cards that they can carry with them. It has a message of encouragement on one side and church information on the other. These are always available in the foyer.

But the key is not a piece of paper; that's just one tool. "We also celebrate even the smallest of victories. And I am very careful to cast vision, not just once a year but throughout the year. Then, we celebrate each victory as it arises," he said.

Closing Comments
"We have not arrived. This is a work in progress, and we are trying to do what one of my Bible College teachers said, 'The greatest ability you can bring to the Lord is stick-ability.' My spin is that there are actually two abilities to bring: stick-ability and availability. We're trying to be available and have the tenacity of a bull dog to keep moving forward and keep bringing people with us, constantly giving them hope.

"I always remind myself that this is His work, His church, His Word, and His promise. I'm not establishing a business, I'm growing His kingdom.  Our job is to reach the world; His job is to save them."

Bro Cantu and his wife, Debra, have three children: Andrea (married to Joshua Wise), Andrew (engaged to Jayme Klages), and Arica, and two grandchildren, Austin and Ethan.