Your
Tough Ministry & Church Questions Answered!
Our church membership is declining; we
might close.
Q: “After several years of declining membership, our small church is probably going to vote to close. . . We are too small to pay a minister, and are in a section of our town that growth has moved away from. . . We will probably sell the church and give the money to our denomination and have them earmark it to be used only for either missionary support or to plant a new church somewhere. Our church constitution and by-laws specify that, if we ever cease to function as a church that all church properties must be sold to another 501( c) 3 non profit and the monies received be given towards planting a new church or must go to missions. Still, this makes me sad. Do you have any other ideas?”
A: There is at least one other option that you really need to prayerfully consider, an option that not only future generations will thank you for, but also would be most likely an extension of the wishes of those who planted your church in the first place. It’s an option that probably never occurred to them:
First, have a meeting of your Board, Elders, or whatever you call the leadership in your church and write a proposed amendment to your By-Laws. Your By-Laws will have a clause, usually at the end stating that they may be amended. Amend the By-Laws to include the option that if your church ever ceases to operate as a church that the real property may be leased to another church, and the proceeds from such lease be used for maintenance of the building as needed and the balance to be used for missionary support or for the planting of another church.
Here’s why: Traditionally the “sell the church, give the money to Missions (or to plant another church)” approach has a bad track record. When a missionary or new church plant is given a windfall of several thousand dollars, they have a tendency to consume the money as operating expenses and not spend their prayers and efforts in securing funds for the future. So, before long, the money is gone and the missionary or new church plant is once again desperate for more operating expenses.
Another concern is the level of ministry and financial competency of the individuals who will be receiving this financial windfall. If they know there is a financial pool of more than a hundred thousand dollars that they can draw from, you can be sure it will be drawn from quickly. And, it will be spent a whole lot faster than it took to raise it in the first place.
On the other hand, if you LEASE your present facility to another church, you are accomplishing several positive and wise things. First of all, you are ensuring that the vision of those who sacrificed and gave money in order to build your church building; a functioning and fruitful church WILL be meeting there for the glory of God.
Second, you can send a monthly gift (assuming your present facility is paid for) to both missions and to new church planting. Say for instance, your building will lease for $2,000 per month (making it very cheap lease!). You can give $500 per month towards missions and $1,500 per month to a new church being planted. These are significant gifts, and at the same time can not be “dipped into” like a one time gift of $200,000 or more. Also, if the missionary comes in from the field, you can redirect that monthly gift. If the church planter turns out to be more of a dreamer than a doer, he can only go through $1500 per month, as opposed to blowing the whole amount in a year or two.
A third “plus” is this. You can review your recipients each year, and decide whether to continue to support them or find someone else to support.
Fourth: If in the future the Lord raises up people in your location who want to re open your church, you will be able to do it! Simply elect to not renew the lease when it ends. This is easy, if you lease your building for two years or five years maximum. You can begin your new church in someone’s house, and when you outgrow it, you can rent a small facility or use meeting space at a local hotel. Then, when the current lease is up on your church, you can elect to not renew and then move your congregation into it. This could never happen if you sold it.
Q: “After several years of declining membership, our small church is probably going to vote to close. . . We are too small to pay a minister, and are in a section of our town that growth has moved away from. . . We will probably sell the church and give the money to our denomination and have them earmark it to be used only for either missionary support or to plant a new church somewhere. Our church constitution and by-laws specify that, if we ever cease to function as a church that all church properties must be sold to another 501( c) 3 non profit and the monies received be given towards planting a new church or must go to missions. Still, this makes me sad. Do you have any other ideas?”
A: There is at least one other option that you really need to prayerfully consider, an option that not only future generations will thank you for, but also would be most likely an extension of the wishes of those who planted your church in the first place. It’s an option that probably never occurred to them:
First, have a meeting of your Board, Elders, or whatever you call the leadership in your church and write a proposed amendment to your By-Laws. Your By-Laws will have a clause, usually at the end stating that they may be amended. Amend the By-Laws to include the option that if your church ever ceases to operate as a church that the real property may be leased to another church, and the proceeds from such lease be used for maintenance of the building as needed and the balance to be used for missionary support or for the planting of another church.
Here’s why: Traditionally the “sell the church, give the money to Missions (or to plant another church)” approach has a bad track record. When a missionary or new church plant is given a windfall of several thousand dollars, they have a tendency to consume the money as operating expenses and not spend their prayers and efforts in securing funds for the future. So, before long, the money is gone and the missionary or new church plant is once again desperate for more operating expenses.
Another concern is the level of ministry and financial competency of the individuals who will be receiving this financial windfall. If they know there is a financial pool of more than a hundred thousand dollars that they can draw from, you can be sure it will be drawn from quickly. And, it will be spent a whole lot faster than it took to raise it in the first place.
On the other hand, if you LEASE your present facility to another church, you are accomplishing several positive and wise things. First of all, you are ensuring that the vision of those who sacrificed and gave money in order to build your church building; a functioning and fruitful church WILL be meeting there for the glory of God.
Second, you can send a monthly gift (assuming your present facility is paid for) to both missions and to new church planting. Say for instance, your building will lease for $2,000 per month (making it very cheap lease!). You can give $500 per month towards missions and $1,500 per month to a new church being planted. These are significant gifts, and at the same time can not be “dipped into” like a one time gift of $200,000 or more. Also, if the missionary comes in from the field, you can redirect that monthly gift. If the church planter turns out to be more of a dreamer than a doer, he can only go through $1500 per month, as opposed to blowing the whole amount in a year or two.
A third “plus” is this. You can review your recipients each year, and decide whether to continue to support them or find someone else to support.
Fourth: If in the future the Lord raises up people in your location who want to re open your church, you will be able to do it! Simply elect to not renew the lease when it ends. This is easy, if you lease your building for two years or five years maximum. You can begin your new church in someone’s house, and when you outgrow it, you can rent a small facility or use meeting space at a local hotel. Then, when the current lease is up on your church, you can elect to not renew and then move your congregation into it. This could never happen if you sold it.
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