How long will it be before some churches recognize that what they are doing isn't working and never will? Every year congregations become older and grayer and the church decreases in size and yet nothing is ever done to reverse that trend. Giving goes down. Building maintenance is ignored. Pastoral tenure becomes shorter with each successive pastor, and it becomes more difficult to find the next pastor, and yet nothing changes in the church. People skip church services more and more. Fewer people volunteer to serve. And yet nothing changes in the church.
In the news last week there were stories about two major retail chains that were struggling. One announced they were closing numerous stores in large malls and opening smaller neighborhood stores. In addition to the items they normally offered they would be selling food products and other items in their new stores. The second chain is in danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange due to their stock prices falling below $1.00 a share for an extended period of time. They were given just a few days to provide the NYSE with a plan to raise their stock price or face being removed from the exchange. In a world of rapid change in the retail world, these two once powerful chains had resisted the changes others were making and now face an uncertain future.
We can say that some churches are making the same mistakes these two retail chains made. As a result, these churches face an uncertain future. Some of them close their doors every week. All around the countryside one can find church properties for sale. These churches were once vibrant, active places of worship and service, and now the buildings sit empty, their voices silent.
When I lead small-church and bivocational pastor conferences I am almost guaranteed to be asked, "Why are so many of our churches struggling to stay open and new non-denominational churches in the community are bursting at the seams?" I try to share some reasons, but what I want to say to the questioner is "Why don't you find out what they are doing that you're not. That will answer your question better than I can."
Last week I ran into a leader of a small church I served as a judicatory leader. He was telling me about the church's struggles. Once again, they are without a pastor. People continue to leave their already small church, and nothing they do seems to attract new people. He then told me about a church in their county that is constantly growing. He complained that they were taking people away from the other churches in the area. I don't know if that's true or not, but, frankly, it doesn't matter. There are plenty of people in that county that do not attend church anywhere. They could reach out to them, but they won't. And they won't change anything that might appeal to unchurched people anyway. They, like so many other declining churches, will continue to do things that no longer work and wonder why they no longer have an impact on the community.
If what your church is doing isn't working, then do something different. Spend some time in prayer as a congregation asking God what you need to do. When Robert Schuller started his church in a drive-in theater he spent his days knocking on hundreds of doors in the community asking people how their new church could minister to them. As people answered his question he went back and began to implement their suggestions. Maybe it's time your church began to ask the people in your community how you can best serve them rather than sitting in the sanctuary complaining that no one wants to come to your church.
Some churches have already lost the opportunity to minister to one and even two generations. Let's not lose any more generations because we want to keep doing things that no longer works.
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