3 Warning Signs of a Dying Church
I recently had some medical issues with my heart. Thankfully, we caught things early enough that it’s fixable before there was a heart attack or stroke because I didn’t ignore the warning signs.
Any church leader becomes concerned when they observe a rapid decline in attendance, but by then it may be too late to reverse the damage. What are the warning signs we should be looking for before we have irreversible damage to the local body?
1. New Members Come Primarily from Transfer Growth
Long before a body begins to decline, there is a very subtle sign most leaders miss, even in growing churches. That troubling trend is no new converts. While we are all thankful for all of the people God brings to our churches, if new people only come from those transferring in from other churches, the growth of that church is temporary! Eventually, attrition will outpace transfer growth. Before you hold up a mega-church with a well-known preacher as an example of why my statement is wrong, you should realize that even mega-churches that maintain growth for over a decade statistically always are adept at attracting new converts and unchurched people as well.
2. Evangelism and Outreach are Replaced by Fellowship Activities
There was one church that was in rapid decline and called me for help to restart it. The first thing I noticed was that they had a full calendar. There were many activities such as breakfasts, dinners, birthday celebrations for the leaders and many, many meetings. They also had yearly anniversary celebrations for the church’s founding. Twenty years of celebrations as they slowly declined.
Now, I’m not against celebrations, we should celebrate the good things God does. However, in this very full calendar, there were no evangelism events or evangelism training for the people. There was no outreach into the community to let them know the church cared.
When we see a church that has multiple celebrations of itself but no outward focus, that church is really on life support, they just don’t know it. Fellowship makes the church seem alive but really it’s like someone a machine breath for them. It’s artificial.
You’ll hear words such as ‘family’ and ‘community’ but in reality, the culture has shifted to an inward focus and the Great Commission is neglected.
3. An Unhealthy Focus on Finances
When I first began pastoring, I never taught on money, giving, or stewardship. That extreme made our congregation unhealthy and too weak to make a difference. I’ve since learned that I must teach the whole word of God. The other extreme is just as unhealthy.
In an effort to keep the organization of the local church open while stagnant or declining, there is an increased focus on finances, sometimes with an increase in pressure to give. Desperation in small, declining churches causes the pastor to get out of balance and spells the beginning of the end. The imbalance causes more people to leave and the problem worsens.
In many denominations, churches have estate planning, annuities, and investments that keep a steady stream of income long after people have left. I once helped a Presbyterian church start a children’s church. They paid ½ of my salary to split time with my home church. They had seemingly unlimited funds for food and activities for the kids. The beautiful, historic building had a six-hundred seat sanctuary that averaged twenty people for Sunday service. When I inquired as to how they afforded their expenses, the pastor said they had several annuities from former congregants that would keep the church open indefinitely.
If you’ll forgive the analogy, it’s like a person whose brain has stopped functioning but their body is kept alive by medical devices. There’s an empty shell where life used to be.