Wednesday, May 31, 2006
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3 comments:
It is a combination of will, energy, and finance. There are congregations that no longer have the will to survive. Too few people to carry on, too many jobs for too few people. Even if there are sufficient people to keep the thing going there is a lack of energy. There are a few that are interested in moving the congregation to a new stage of its lifecycle but they don't have the energy to make it happen. Finally finance is considered. The endowment, if there was one, is gone. The congregation can no longer afford a full-time pastor, can no longer afford the upkeep on the building, and can no longer afford any type of ministry. No will, not enough energy, and little money to survive on.
Some churches can funtion endlessly with just a few people in a small building with a part-time local pastor or lay speaker. A small rural church that I pastored from 1990-93 had an average attendance of 23 and the youngest regular attender was in her 50's. It was assumed by many that the church would die out as its members died. Now 15 years later, their average attendance is about 23 and their average age is in the 60's. The old folks that have died off were replaced with new old folks. This church always pays their apportionments and something for all the special Sundays.
The church I was previously a member of merged with the church where I am a member now 3 years ago. I had already moved 6 years before. They had been a medium sized neighborhood church in a neighborhood that no longer had people living in it. The neighborhood houses had almost all become M-F 9-5 offices. The area was abandoned on the weekends. The church had dwindled to where it had to go from an elder to a local pastor and could barely pay the bills. Everyone was to tired to continue.
Some small churches need to close, some need to remain open.
The actual NUMBER should not be the determining factor.
I would suggest the church be evaluated according to the needs of the gospel. With changing neighborhoods and different needs closing a church can be a requirement, just like closing a franchise of a chain store may be necessary as one is opened in better territory.
The problem is that especially our older members have a great (and understandable) emotional attachment to the church they grew up in, which makes it hard to close a church and open another one like a McDonalds. That same emotional attachment, however, can be precisely what is keeping the church from being effective.
A friend of mine who is a local church pastor for a small church with a membership that tends over 60 was asked by the congregation to provide them with a plan for growth. He did. I've seen it, and I think it would work in that particular neighborhood. He presented it to the church. They agreed that if they did those things their church could grow, then voted to keep the church what it already was--what they were comfortable with--and let it fade.
You can't do much with that. :-(
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