I don’t think I’m good with plants. The Easter bunny brought my daughters flowers to plant in these little pastel pails. One seems to be doing alright, but the other is struggling to survive. It’s odd because they’ve received the same amount of sunlight and the same amount of water, yet one’s growing and the other is dying. Maybe your church can relate.
You’re doing the things other churches are doing. You’re preaching out of the same Bible. Your worship music may be similar.
Yet, the church down the road is growing, and yours seems to be dying.
You need to find out why because before you can fix the problem, you need to diagnose it.
In most cases of churches that are in decline or have died, these were some of the early warning signs.
- A Refusal to Let Go of the Past
Sometimes a successful past can be your worst enemy. People love to glorify and even live in the past. Especially church people. And when you attempt to change something that may have worked in the past but currently isn’t, you’re going to have a fight on your hands. We’re not talking about biblical truths. We’re talking about changing out the pulpit. The sad reality is many churches would rather die than change.
- A Lack of Care for the Community
Thom Rainer said, “When a church ceases to have a heart and a ministry for its community, it is on the path toward death.” I couldn’t agree more. Many churches isolate themselves from the community they’ve been called to reach. Their sign may say “Everyone Welcome,” but how they react to someone new showing up communicates the exact opposite.
- A Budget that Primarily Focuses on Insiders
It should come as no surprise that churches who isolate themselves will become completely focused on meeting the needs of those already there. When budget cuts have to be made because of the church dying, those items focused on reaching others are the first to go, which in turn only accelerates the inevitable.
- A Steady Decrease in Evangelism
Many churches started off great fulfilling the Great Commission, yet over time they refused to change their methods. Going door to door may have worked years ago, but now it’s a quick way to get shot, especially if you live in the rural south. But instead of just changing the way they reach out, they quit reaching out all together.
- A Loss of Purpose
What does the scripture say? Where there is no vision, the people perish. You could also say, where there is no purpose, the people perish. And churches that die are churches that long ago lost their purpose. The dying church’s mantra is, “This is the way we’ve always done it.”
Here’s the scary thing about death, it has a funny way of sneaking up on us. Rarely is it quick. Normally, it’s a slow fade that is hard to notice. Hopefully, these warning signs will help you discover the problem before it’s too late.
Have you ever been a part of a dying church? What were the warning signs? Let us know by leaving a comment below, and don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get tips on church growth, leadership, and more delivered to your inbox each week.
