However, after a years worth of time, the deacons' new church was put up for sale while the congregation at the old church was stronger then ever.
This leaves me with a question; when does a church finally come to the conclusion that it is time to lock the doors, turn off the utilities, close out the bank accounts, and shut down the church? At what point does a pastor/ church/ congregation finally realize that the time has finally come to stop holding services?
I ask this because to some churches the decision comes easy while for others its a long drawn out process that can take upwards of years to complete. A process that is almost forced by denominational associations or conferences.
For the aforementioned church the decision to open and close was made within a year as attendance and donations were never enough to keep the church running. Yet, for some congregations the will to survive on the bare minimum keeps them going from week to week.
So, without posting a poll, what factors must present themselves for a church/ pastor to finally toss in the towel and shut down?
Just a side question; if these dying churches did shut their doors do you think we would be better off with fewer but healthier churches?
Honestly, we have too many churches that stay open far longer than they should. The towel being thrown in should really have nothing to do with money or numbers, it should be about whether the church is growing spiritually. Closing your building should not effect your "church" if you are truly trying to live out the biblical definition of "the church". If you run out of money to afford the building-you meet in a home. God will still work in a community at home. We all have jobs to do in the church. When we become complacent and become consumers rather than participants, our church is losing it's effectiveness and should consider changing or closing. What good is it to have a church that is dead?
ReplyDeleteSo I think we should have as many churches as are spirit filled churches. If that means smaller and more of them-good. If it means less of them, but healthier-good. A building is nothing. Dry services that offer nothing but a place to hang out-like a social club hurt God's plan more than help it.