Articles
Why Churches Decline
Why Churches Decline
David Banning
Several years ago I conducted a gospel meeting for an older congregation near a big city. This group had a large facility that would accommodate several hundred people. However, they only had about twenty members. As I visited with those brethren, they shared with me that the building used to be full. But over the years they experienced a terrible decline. All that remained was a handful of people struggling to keep the doors open.
While stories like this are sad, they are hardly unusual. It is rare to find congregations that are thriving and experiencing significant growth. Many groups are simply maintaining. Many more are declining. You can go back a couple of decades, chart the attendance and see the steady declining of the numbers.
How is it that over the course of 20-30 years a church can go from being a thriving group, to one that is about to die? Why do churches decline? If we are going to change this growing trend, then we need to be honest about the factors that contribute to decline. Let me mention three.
Churches decline because they do not reach out to the lost.
There is a hard reality here with which we cannot quibble. If we are not busy inviting people, having Bible studies and baptizing the lost, then we will decline.
Congregations may avoid facing this reality for a while, if they happen to be located in an area that is experiencing economic growth. Their numbers may swell because brethren move to the area for work. But this is not genuine growth; it is simply shifting sheep. Kingdom growth takes place when the gospel is preached and the lost respond (Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:37-47; 8:4).
If we allow ourselves to be satisfied with “congregational swelling” and neglect our mission, it will eventually catch up with us. The economic situation will change and our members will move to other parts of the country for work. Since no one has been encouraged to teach the lost and there is no evangelistic growth, the numbers begin to drop and the congregation declines. Churches that live by the economy eventually die by the economy.
If we want to avoid decline, we must be focused with laser-like intensity on the work Jesus gave us to do. We must teach the lost (Matthew 28:18-20).
Churches decline because they lose their youth.
I’ve heard this problem referenced repeatedly in declining churches. In groups that are now largely made up of older people, someone will inevitably say, “If we just had half of the young people that grew up here, this place would be full.”
What happened to those kids? It is likely that some went away to school and then found work in some other places. But that does not explain all the missing kids. We must accept the hard reality that many have simply fallen away, about 60% in the average church. Factor in those who also go away for school or work and it is not hard to figure out why churches begin to decline. They are losing their youth.
If we want to avoid decline, then we need to make sure that we take care of our kids. Addressing their spiritual needs must be among our most important priorities. Parents need constant reminders about their duty to teach children to know the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Ephesians 6:4). The battle for our kids will be won (or lost) at home! Congregations need to support their work with rock-solid Bible classes that teach truth and instill strong convictions. We need to help our kids discover how they can serve in the kingdom, help them develop those talents and then give them opportunities to do meaningful kingdom work (I Peter 4:10). We must take care of our kids.
Churches decline because they fight and divide.
This is another common thread that connects declining churches. They have a history of internal conflict. Often these conflicts are over matters of judgment that have no real consequence. In some cases they escalate to the point of division, leaving in their wake two weak groups struggling to survive. This kind of division dramatically accelerates decline (Galatians 5:13-15).
This kind of senseless squabbling is evil. It is contrary to the love God says that we are to have for each other (John 13:34-35). It works against the unity Jesus desires for us (John 17:20-21). It impedes (and often completely stops) the primary mission of God’s people (Matthew 28:18-20).
If we want to avoid the decline that afflicts many churches, then we need to work really hard to get along (Ephesians 4:1-3). There will be times when we must battle over issues of truth and error. Because that is true, let’s be sure that we do not waste our energy and allow ourselves to be distracted by petty things.
To avoid the dreadful process of decline that we see all around us, we must identify the factors that contribute to decline and get busy eliminating those problems among us.
