How do we avoid declining and closing?

Q: “Since you seem to be the “go to guy” for talking about church closings, let me tell you our situation. I can foresee our church closing in the near future, unless something changes. I am not a minister, I just ran across this website, and have been intrigued by some of the things you say.  

 Our church is in a neighborhood that is declining. It used to be more of a middle class church. Over the years, most of the middle class people have moved further out from town and have commuted back to town to go to church. Some of these people are getting older and can’t drive the distance anymore, especially at night. Others, have younger families and have found churches closer to home. So, what’s left of our congregation is primarily older people who are slowly becoming too old and have too poor health to keep coming in. I predict that in five to ten years we will be faced with having to decide to close and sell the building, or do as you suggest, which is lease it out to another congregation. Can anything be done to stop this?” 

A: First: When you say your neighborhood is “declining,” I’m taking that to mean that it is filling up with people of lower income and social status than it used to have. In other words, the houses are not sitting empty. There are still fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles and children living in the neighborhood. 

Second, it seems apparent that the original members of the congregation either do not want these people to worship their Creator with them, or they are so out of touch with these new neighbors that they can’t figure out how to worship God with them. 

Third, I’m guessing that the new neighbors are of another culture and/or another shade of brown than the original church members (All humans are brown. Some are very light brown, most of the human race is medium brown and some are very dark brown.).  For some reason the people in  your church are uneasy worshiping God with these other people whom Jesus died to save, and therefore haven’t made any serious efforts to expand the Kingdom to their new neighbors. 

So, when the time comes to sell or lease the building, what do you suppose will happen? I know what I suppose. I suppose that a group of people who love the Lord even as the founders of your congregation did, will buy or lease your building and before long will once again have the praises of God being sung there and the Word of God going forth and touching peoples’ lives.

I suppose that the Holy Spirit will be there in the midst and there will be praise and rejoicing and glory going to God! From whose lips will all this come? I suppose it will come from the lips of the people who moved into that neighborhood and were never reached out to by the original congregation and ministry. And, I suppose that God will be glorified by being able to once again have free course in saving those whom He created in His image. 

Time and again, I hear defeated congregations insist that their problem is their location – that no one will come to it. Then, they sell the building and a group of people fill it up with people being saved and set free and delivered. Since God is no respecter of persons, (and of course neither can WE be), the question is, “Why didn’t WE do it?” And, we are the only ones who can answer that question.

Copyright Steven L. Davis  www.SteveDavis.org