Dying Churches

[Willing-heart]

I've recently moved to a new city, and the first two churches I've been too seems to be dying. In one of the churches, I was pretty much the only young person, and there was another young-looking woman with her child. I estimate that there were about 20 people in total in the church service, even though the actual church building is huge and could easily fit over 100 people. Although they both preach the gospel, I'm not sure it's wise to commit to a dying church. Should it matter? I know Jesus said where 2 or 3 people are gathered in my name, there I am. Any godly advice much appreciated.

 

[public hermit]

I attend a small country church. The members are all older than me, and many have gone to be with the Lord since I have been there. The reality is they need fellowship, too. Unless I have a life change that prevents me from doing so, I plan on being there until the end. Honestly, it makes me sad. The upside is, I get to hang out with people who have forgotten more than I know. Their wisdom and life experience is priceless.

 

[Albion]

If it's the church of your faith, I'd say to do your best to stay.

While 20 in attendance is very small and could probably be improved upon if you looked around, what you describe is common across denominations almost everywhere in the West--in Europe, the UK, North America, etc.

That isn't to say that every congregation is short of people and that the ones who attend are mainly older people, but the churches that are not so much this way tend to be the non-denominational chapels and Pentecostal kind which often go out of their way to cater to young people by minimizing doctrine and playing up a casual approach to worship, making the service more like a Christian music concert than anything else.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I've recently moved to a new city, and the first two churches I've been too seems to be dying. In one of the churches, I was pretty much the only young person, and there was another young-looking woman with her child. I estimate that there were about 20 people in total in the church service, even though the actual church building is huge and could easily fit over 100 people. Although they both preach the gospel, I'm not sure it's wise to commit to a dying church. Should it matter? I know Jesus said where 2 or 3 people are gathered in my name, there I am. Any godly advice much appreciated.

By "dying" do you simply mean that the congregants are aged and aging?

My church is largely the same, there's usually no more than 15-20 on a given Sunday, and around 90% are over the age of 50-60. I don't particularly see this as a problem though.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Willing-heart]

By "dying" do you simply mean that the congregants are aged and aging?

My church is largely the same, there's usually no more than 15-20 on a given Sunday, and around 90% are over the age of 50-60. I don't particularly see this as a problem though.

-CryptoLutheran

Not just age. One of the church has not had a pastor for years apparently, and only recently started looking for one. I just think it's important that a church has a stable pastor and not a visiting pastor from time to time. I also suspect the other one has been dying as a result of a split that happened several years ago...

 

[Albion]

Not just age. One of the church has not had a pastor for years apparently, and only recently started looking for one. I just think it's important that a church has a stable pastor and not a visiting pastor from time to time. I also suspect the other one has been dying as a result of a split that happened several years ago...

Well, these factors do paint a different picture, don't they?

 

[maintenance man]

Although they both preach the gospel, I'm not sure it's wise to commit to a dying church. Should it matter?

I like being a part of a vibrant growing church but I think the truth is it shouldn't matter. As long as everyone is there to worship God you're in the right place. If a deeper teaching of the Word is what you're looking for you can get that elsewhere.

It all depends on what you need from your church. If you just need a place to worship with others it doesn't matter.

 

[Silverback]

Not just age. One of the church has not had a pastor for years apparently, and only recently started looking for one. I just think it's important that a church has a stable pastor and not a visiting pastor from time to time. I also suspect the other one has been dying as a result of a split that happened several years ago...

I belonged to a small Lutheran Church that started out as a missionary congregation of a larger
Church in the area.

When we first started attending, it was packed, two services, 50-60 people each. However, the animosity between our Pastor, and the original churches Pastor started to shine through, and it was palpable.

Needless to say, the church closed. We were averaging around 20-22 people in attendance.

There were other reasons as well. The Church I attend now averaged around 200 per week, which is really good for a Lutheran Church in the deep south.

 

[Dave G.]

Churches starve for young adults and older teens these days. It takes a real cross section of worship music, sound doctrine yet keeping a light atmosphere to bring them in and keep them. There is so much out in the world to draw them now. And without the younger crowd who go on with families or bring more young into the church, it's just a natural attrition that wipes a church out by lack of membership.

Side info : Did you know that right now in the US that organized Paganism, so called white witches have bigger numbers than the Presbyterian church does in the US ? I caught that article from the side bar that came in with one of my daily devotionals the other day. We have a first time in history, I think in Detroit, an official sanctioned/approved by law makers satanic temple which had a full dedication to Satan with people standing holding American flags. I caught that in a you tube video and it was enough to give me a chill. The entrance to this thing is like a cathedral entrance.

It's getting confusing for the young out there, public school teaches safe sex, anything goes gender identification, anything goes religion as long as Christ is never mentioned. Most young are not churched and we are going into second generations of kids that may well have never stepped inside a church. So no wonder it's hard to attract them when they begin stepping out on their own.

In short ( sorry long post) stick it out if you can.

 

[Halbhh]

I've recently moved to a new city, and the first two churches I've been too seems to be dying. In one of the churches, I was pretty much the only young person, and there was another young-looking woman with her child. I estimate that there were about 20 people in total in the church service, even though the actual church building is huge and could easily fit over 100 people. Although they both preach the gospel, I'm not sure it's wise to commit to a dying church. Should it matter? I know Jesus said where 2 or 3 people are gathered in my name, there I am. Any godly advice much appreciated.

Not just age. One of the church has not had a pastor for years apparently, and only recently started looking for one. I just think it's important that a church has a stable pastor and not a visiting pastor from time to time. I also suspect the other one has been dying as a result of a split that happened several years ago...

Well, I'd not use an intellectual decision myself personally, but instead more of paying attention to any sense about whether to come back. There might be a clear sense that comes to go back. Or not.

About visiting pastors, during our transition between pastors we had a lot of sermons by visiting pastors, and that was actually very good(!). Really. Even though I really like our new pastor as a pastor, I will miss having so many different visiting preachers I think.

 

[bèlla]

Greetings,

I don’t think anyone can answer that for you. I prefer stable environments and large congregations with a mixture of ages. The diversity of experiences is invigorating and I appreciate the unique opportunities that arise. I look for churches whose community involvement and welcoming spirit is well-known.

~Bella

 

[Halbhh]

I've recently moved to a new city, and the first two churches I've been too seems to be dying. In one of the churches, I was pretty much the only young person, and there was another young-looking woman with her child. I estimate that there were about 20 people in total in the church service, even though the actual church building is huge and could easily fit over 100 people. Although they both preach the gospel, I'm not sure it's wise to commit to a dying church. Should it matter? I know Jesus said where 2 or 3 people are gathered in my name, there I am. Any godly advice much appreciated.

One more piece i left out above. Some said they thought this church here we joined when we moved about 8 years ago was 'dying' (a few said that in the church).

But, to my neutral eye, someone that did not grow up in this church...

I can see easily and plainly, with a clear eye, that we have roughly tripled the number of young children 5th grade and under in our Sunday school classes since we joined.

Tripled. So, this makes the picture look sorta different, to my eye, than to those people saying they thought it was 'dying'. I think it's more up to Him, than to us.

 

[Albion]

Side info : Did you know that right now in the US that organized Paganism, so called white witches have bigger numbers than the Presbyterian church does in the US ? I caught that article from the side bar that came in with one of my daily devotionals the other day.

When I first caught sight of that news release I wondered why they picked on the Presbyterian church. There are actually quite a number of well-known church bodies that have no more membership these days than the PCUSA does.

 

[Halbhh]

Greetings,

I don’t think anyone can answer that for you. I prefer stable environments and large congregations with a mixture of ages. The diversity of experiences is invigorating and I appreciate the unique opportunities that arise. I look for churches whose community involvement and welcoming spirit is well-known.

~Bella

Well, any church with...several families (I don't want to say just what is enough as if a rigid number) has that. Certainly once you get quite a variety of people, then...well, you have quite a variety of people. So, I just want to point out that 'smaller' churches with say 100 attending, or 40 or whatever (not some exact number of course)....can be very wonderful.

In fact, I can know almost everyone in our church, even though we have 2 services(!) each Sunday morning. Why? Because there is a common social time between services where we can visit, and also that occasionally we attend that 2nd service, and those older people are very friendly.

 

[bèlla]

So, I just want to point out that 'smaller' churches with say 100 attending, or 40 or whatever (not some exact number of course)....can be very wonderful.

I’m not a small church person. There’s nothing wrong with them. I’m more at home in a different environment. Large and mega churches are hubs of energy that I really enjoy.

~Bella

 

[Halbhh]

I’m not a small church person. There’s nothing wrong with them. I’m more at home in a different environment. Large and mega churches are hubs of energy that I really enjoy.

~Bella

I can respect that. To me...somewhere north of about 500 starts feeling like it's just...social circles of groups, separate. Separate groups.

I sorta like knowing just about everyone (though some may feel I flit around too much, talking to so many different people). Admittedly I only know about 1/2 of the members really well, and there are dozens I'm only barely acquainted with. But there are on the other hand many I feel I know better though I talk to them only like once in a year perhaps. And still I have the few dozen I know really well like a comfortable old shoe with a lot of love, so I got all of the worlds. But I like that feeling of knowing just about all the people. How do you handle the feeling of those people across the way you never met (say, if you have thousands). To me when I visit a really big church, it feels like people are slipping out without being loved.

 

[bèlla]

I sorta like knowing just about everyone (though some may feel I flit around too much, talking to so many different people).

I am interested in God ordained intentional connections. I don’t need to be acquainted with every church member. What’s most important are the relationships I’ve been led to form and the mutual investments made.

I differentiate between acquaintance and knowing. A familiar face and brief exchange isn’t knowing. The latter are the souls I’m walking beside. It’s impossible for 500 people to know me personally or my innards. I am too discriminating.

We fellowship in the Lord. But I don’t engage with the idea of socializing or becoming well-known. I allow the Lord to build my network and our purposeful interactions are better.

For example, I’m having my kitchen remodeled and one of the workers is a believer and entrepreneur. We hit it off immediately and encouraged one another. I’d have to do a lot of chatting to find a digital entrepreneur in the church who shares my interests and life season.

But I prayed for specific people related to my calling and needs and that’s who often shows up. We serve the other well.

~Bella

 

[AvisG]

I haven't regularly attended church in decades. When I married my Russian wife, a devout Baptist, ten years ago we attended a local Southern Baptist church for a year in our small town and both agreed it was doing more harm than good to our relationship with God. She no longer has any interest in attending any American church, which is exactly what her Baptist pastor in Russia warned her would happen. Conversely, I attended her Baptist church in Russia and truly came away thinking "This may be the first time I've ever been in a real church." The entire atmosphere was so utterly different, so completely devout and worshipful, that it made any American church I've ever been in look like a bad TV sitcom.

On another very conservative, evangelical site, we were polled as to how many attend church. I thought I'd be the Lone Ranger, but more than 90% answered no.

Churches are dying partly because they no longer function or even try to function as houses of worship. People can see the shallowness, the "try too hard to please and be relevant" atmosphere. They are also dying because the veneer of religion that existed 50 years ago has crumbled. Attending church used to be important to social acceptance within the community, business success, etc. There was motivation to attend even for those who didn't really believe. Now the opposite is true.

 

[Willing-heart]

Thank you all for your input on this topic. I think it is really sad that churches are dying all around in the west. And although there are lots of churches growing in Africa, a lot of them are rampantly business, and all about the church leaders making money by any means (including witchcraft)...

I think I will keep attending one of the small church for the time being, and will ultimately seek the Lord guidance as I look to make a decision (e.g. becoming a committed church member). God bless you all.

 

[bekkilyn]

Attending church used to be important to social acceptance within the community, business success, etc. There was motivation to attend even for those who didn't really believe. Now the opposite is true.

What you say here is big when it comes to reasons why church attendance is so low. Changes in the economy, particularly in rural areas, can be a significant factor, but if you don't really believe in anything, why go to church if it's not going to help you socially or financially? No need to pretend to be religious anymore.