When Churches Remember

The Zoé Life

Leadership exercise · Chapter 9

What Does Your Church Remember?

Gather a small group of trusted leaders. Do not begin with official archives. Begin with memory. Let people write privately first. Then compare.

Step 1 · Write privately

What are the ten most important things God has done in the history of this church?

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10

Step 2 · Compare

Which of these would the average person in our church know?

That may be even more revealing.

Step 3 · Then ask

The memory audit

  1. 1. What are we in danger of losing?
  2. 2. What lessons are held by only a few people?
  3. 3. What testimony has never been preserved?
  4. 4. What story needs to be told carefully?
  5. 5. What pain still influences us?
  6. 6. What should younger leaders know?
  7. 7. What do we celebrate too much?
  8. 8. What do we celebrate too little?
  9. 9. What have we forgotten that we should recover?
  10. 10. What do we remember that may need reframing?

Going deeper

Four diagnostics from the chapter

Ask What People Tell Newcomers

What stories do they reach for?

  • “You should have seen this church twenty years ago.”
  • “That pastor changed everything.”
  • “We prayed for years before this happened.”
  • “God provided in a way no one expected.”

What we noticed

What Does the Church Celebrate?

A congregation also needs to celebrate:

  • Repentance.
  • Reconciliation.
  • Endurance.
  • Hidden generosity.
  • Long obedience.
  • Answered prayer.
  • Faithfulness in suffering.

What we noticed

What Stories Are Missing?

Who served here faithfully without recognition?

  • Who prayed?
  • Who gave?
  • Who discipled quietly?
  • Who stayed during difficult years?
  • Who carried burdens behind the scenes?

What we noticed

What Does the Church Remember About God?

A healthy church should be able to say:

  • We learned here that God provides.
  • We learned here that God is patient.
  • We learned here that prayer matters.
  • We learned here that grace is deeper than failure.

What we noticed

This exercise is not about creating nostalgia. It is about discovering the memory already shaping the church. What has God done among us that we must never allow ourselves to forget?

From When Churches Remember by Kraig Kleeman, Chapter 9, “What Does Your Church Remember?”.