People have to park up and down the two bordering streets but will only do that so far away, especially families. So we are discussing what to do about that — new construction is on the table but is long-term and we need to so something pretty quickly. So failure to grow does not always means that there is a hold-back among the people of the church.
Donald, earlier this year your entire denomination fell headlong into 7. People are leaving in large numbers. I hope and pray the leadership of the UMC will get it together and lead the flock back to Jesus. A local church I know well, thought they had a space problem because a paid consultant told them so. Their facilities all were paid for and the overall ministry had a huge cash reserve. They bought a shopping center which made them look cheap and now owe millions.
Combine all this with Donald Trump and how fake and desperate they have become for money, they have ruined what used be a fairly comfortable haven. Serves them right. Great list. We have seen wonderful growth. And WE are not the answer, Jesus is. I see my church declining every year. We have a few young couples, but mostly retires folks. I filled in for our preacher last Wednesday evening and expressed my concern. I am hoping that others will take up the challenge and begin asking some hard questions.
The lack of willingness or ability of leaders to hear or see what they do not want to hear or see turns off others. I see this when some have their desires or hopes fixated on thing and are not interested in any other options. Churches are not growing because many are self absorbed.
They are not friendly. They want new attendees to fit their mold. Individuals that are talented are not welcomed to use their gifts because people in leadership are dug in and see them as a threat rather than a asset.
I agree… So many people are self absorbed. Sometimes I wonder if they are really there for God or just a big show and production for all to see they are in control. It breaks my heart. Many are disrespectful and rude if they do not get there way… or if you step on their toes by trying to help. I pray that people will be Godly again and respect one another. I was raised and Babtized and taught Sunday school since my oldest Son was 3 years old… He is now Jesus is everywhere.
Thank you for being a life changing agent here, May our Lord — Christ Jesus continue to uphold, strengthen and supply you with sufficient tenacity to satisfy Him till the end as you throw the net of Gospel around the globe!.
Thanks very much and be blessed. This is a good article but you omit what a building can do for or against church growth. There are two area that are essential for attracting new people and younger couples. They are: 1.
If the restrooms are too small, dirty, uncomfortable, and not easily accessible, they can be a big turnoff. Hi Carey, Listen, I just want to say thank you so much for being willing to open the discussion about why churches are struggling. I appreciate you sharing your experience in this area as someone who has worked with hundreds of churches. This is a mission-critical issue and it seems that many in the comment box here seem to think they have all the easy answers. Many are also very quick to judge and blame pastors.
I want to encourage you to stay strong when you receive very personal and often vindictive attacks in response to your writings. This is so disappointing to me. Especially when brothers and sisters in Christ Bible bash one another. Thank you so much, and be strong and courageous. Your blog helps so many of us out here. Blessings to you brother! Number 9 is a really good one.
If more people stop going to churches or even stop supporting certain denominations, then the churches will have to see that they are the problem. Anytime someone leaves a church and says why, the church will rarely acknowledge it because they have hundreds of other members. I read an interesting blog about why someone left a church. This person was feeling disconnected from the people in church and felt that services were more about mocking than about serving God.
Over time, she would only go to church when it was her week to work in the coffee shop, and she did not go to Christmas party. She believed that she was not missed, so she left the church. A few months later, she wrote the pastor a letter about why she left. He did comment that he noticed that was not always attending church and did not go the Christmas party. Let them know that you are there for them and that you care. To me, people want the new generation.
I do to, they are the future. But there will be no future if we keep pampering the young generation. They tell a story about Jesus Christ and a loving God. You pick up a book and are able to read the music.
God said I am the same, today, tomorrow and forever. Look at our churches.. What happened to prayer, laying on of hands? Does no one believe you can pray to the Holy Spirit and trust in Gods Word and your children will at some time listen to you and want to go to church.
If they are just going to hear hopped up feel good music and are never taught that God will not accept you any other way except His way, what have we achieved for the next generation?
Carol Freeman: I think we have to be careful on this one. When you enter a new culture say, in another country you have to communicate to that culture using their language and practices they can understand. Revivals are from a past where people would come out because there were little options in entertainment—so they would come to hear an entertaining speaker! Again, these practices were unknown largely for the first years of Christianity and yet Christianity grew. Go ahead, bring back old songs I have nothing against old songs , revivals, two hour sermons, two worship assemblies morning and night and a midweek prayer gathering.
These are cultural techniques and communication schemes as much as the other practices you dislike. Oh, and by the bye, which old songs? Non of his reasons were rooted in Scripture. Relational, Bible focused, Christ obedient, Holy Spirit filled, servant leadership is what the church needs badly.
You need to understand the writer from his point of view not yours. Sometimes there are certain things we need to put into practice to make our church grow. Sometime we use what God has given us thus wisdom.. Example: what he said in point one. If as a church you are in conflict internally , how can a new member stay???
Okay let me ask, if your Church building is literally collapsing or you are having bad sound everyday, do you need the Bible to tell you what to do about it?
God gave us wisdom from the very first day that we started fearing him. I have a heart. Should invest their time in helping others. The best they can. It would be helpful if the church can team up with some agencies. Most people and even animals are very uncomfortable approaching a new group of any kind. Someone needs to welcome them and include them. If someone stops coming, make a call and invite them to a specific function. Well said. God cannot be mocked, some church leaders think they can deceive God.
The church is for God, not man, so in a case where you tHink the church is business establishment the Holy Spirit Power Will leave the church. God kNows our minds. We, clay, cannot deceive the potter. Jesus told the early Christians that the world will hate them just as they hated him. Also, the Scripture said that there will be a great falling away …. Jesus tells us that broad is the way that leads to destruction but narrow is the way that leads to life and few will find it. I like the article.
Very good. One thing that pops into my mind is … people are not making enduring relationships with lost people. Cloistered Christians syndrome. Another thing Christians are called to have deep, enduring, loving relationships with one another not with lost people. If the lost choose Christ then that is another subject. Read your Bible woman. The pastor is lazy! He claims that his church could grow too, if they did what the big church in town does, but he is too lazy or proud to change anything.
Change means work. Too many pastors are just lazy. The miinistry is a job you can do poorly and still get just as much money as if you did it well. So some get lazy.
Some pastors are lazy for sure. Many work incredibly hard. But it can be a reason for sure. Most I know work hard. Yes, many churches have leaders, but are the Spirit minded? I have seen a rural church near collapse a year after its spiritual leader passed away. You want your church to grow?
This is a very serious idea from one of the many, in your church pews…. Sunday, instead of parroting phrases and boring unintelligible songs to back of blue-heads in front of us, get us out of our stale, boring church! Rent a bus and take us — even for an hour — take us to do what Jesus wants done. Do this, in a dramatic way, during the time people would be sitting in church will force members to talk about it.
Imagine, just imagine every single member of your congregation enthusiastically telling their family, friends, workmates, neighbors, etc… about how exciting church was? I would add 1 to this list. By the way, I think all the above is true.
In most churches there is 1 No expectation for Christians to reach out to non-Christians and 2 If there is an expectation, there is no formal training to help people do so. Until we get out of the mindset of just telling our people to invite people to church, our churches will not grow. Having sermons on how we should be evangelizing without training people to do so just makes people feel guilty.
We need to help them be effective. How many churches have any kind of training whatsoever in teaching members how to make disciples? In my experience it starts with friendship. Otherwise it will be just cold calling which, as the person above posted, is awkward and mostly ineffective.
Not sure about yet another meeting to formally train people. Us families are busy enough. Start with being a good neighbour and friend. Then an invite can naturally flow. Very good point Jeremy. Happens in our church regularly- invite and invite. But no training. I think you are confusing the term culture. But where there are people there will be a culture and subcultures of that culture. Christianity is part of its culture wherever it is.
If what you say is true than our purpose in this life is to fight cultural wars same-sex marriage, abortion, conservatism. I think that we are to live and tell the Gospel in our culture in a way that redeems it, not defeats it. When people believe the gospel and experience gospel transformation they will affect the culture…but the culture will remain albeit reshaped if the church is being the church.
Christian Singer Shares Struggle […]. I firmly believe that the culture IS an enemy. You actually point to this same truth. The culture is the enemy. The people are the unwitting dupes of the culture, because politically correct language sounds so nice. Culture is just the style in which we do things. The world, however, leads us into sin.
Making style culture an issue is the same as what the Pharisees were doing, and Jesus rebuked them sharply, telling them that they were teaching as doctrines the traditions of men. Even the church has its own culture, and that is often a stumbling point for people coming into the church.
Am not in the ministry, saw this post from my daughter. This trend-based way of doing church may sound good, and we can do some of it without compromising the Gospel, such as advertising, finding out what people need, and helping them as long as the gospel is presented, His Word is not compromised, and discipleship is commencing.
But, what usually happens is that all the time and resources are spent on the fluff and none on the substance. There is nothing greater a church can do than praise and be grateful to God, then seek and worship Him. And, there is noting wrong with being a good communicator as long as you are communicating biblical, real, life-changing truth. But, most churches are not doing that! Unfortunately, I was one of the people making up this stuff and propagating these trends for years as a Church Growth Consultant.
We have created trends, inclinations, and traditions that are not rooted in biblical precepts and have turned our churches toward skewed agendas. This has caused our churches to be turned into merely civic centers without real depth or function for the Kingdom of God. We are no longer the haven of rest because we exchanged the Word and the training grounds for Christian servers and worshipers for God's glory into theaters of entertainment and complacency that fuel self-satisfaction and immaturity.
We created gossipers and legalism, handcrafting our own dysfunction and strife. We have become churches of "pew-sitters" who have become mere consumers of church and not builders or owners who grow in Christ and build His Church.
The dilemma is that this formula has, for the most part, actually worked and people are coming to the mega churches that have been born from these guidelines. This trend of doing church has become front and center for whom and why we are to do church. The essentials are mostly good. For the most part, these categories of formulas have some good to offer us. We want to be contagious for the Gospel, we want to attract people, and we want to communicate effectively. But, what we do not want to do is water down the message or forsake the training and equipping of His people so we can gather more consumers , and not participators in His Kingdom.
When we dilute and dismiss His Word, we end up trading in our beautiful "classic car" of our Christian formation for an impaired vehicle that has a great paint job and looks good, but it does not run or function or take us in a direction that glorifies our Lord and builds His Church. Thus, the sheep starve for food; we bite on one another, creating chaos, engaging in gossip so that the desiccation of our call becomes our meal replacement, resulting in infighting instead of the spiritual growth needed if outreach and missions are to be possible.
For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Our churches fail when we fail to know and grow in Christ, when we fail to follow Him and Him alone! It is His Church; we are the stewards of it. We must act like it. All we do is for His glory, not ours, or even for the people in our neighborhoods!
Krejcir Ph. Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development www. Site Map. Open Menu. Church Leadership. Psalm I was teaching at a pastor's conference recently.
James 2. Matthew 3. Psalm So, how are churches run? Psalm This trend-based way of doing church may sound good, and we can do some of it without compromising the Gospel, such as advertising, finding out what people need, and helping them as long as the gospel is presented, His Word is not compromised, and discipleship is commencing.
Psalm The dilemma is that this formula has, for the most part, actually worked and people are coming to the mega churches that have been born from these guidelines. Psalm Our churches fail when we fail to know and grow in Christ, when we fail to follow Him and Him alone!
You can turn around your church; all you have to do is know Christ and follow Him. Jesus knows us intimately; He knows our situation, our struggles, and our opportunities. He wants us to take hold of His grace and love so we can focus on Him and lean on Him both in our jubilations and in our struggles. The key in these passages is to stay faithful in our Christian identity and our leadership of others, and to remain loyal to Christ. We also talked about avoiding COVID burnout and the 7 media hacks that could change the engagement of your church.
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