6 in 10.
That's the number put out last year by Lifeway Research concerning the number of churches in North America that are plateaued or declining in number. That's grim news.
The majority of Protestant churches are seeing no growth at all, or worse, they are getting smaller as the years go by. What is more, unless things change, that number will get worse before it gets better. We are at the front of a wave, yet to crest, concerning church decline.
We need to pause for a moment, however, and consider why that's so important.
Renewal is a Gospel Opportunity
In many cases, these churches have done the hard work of establishing a footprint in their community. Some of these declining churches are in neighborhoods that may just be the hardest to reach places in our country. Some now reside in neighborhoods where it would be nearly impossible for a new church to secure a meeting space. In certain urban corridors and areas that are rapidly gentrifying, real estate comes at a premium that outpaces even the most financially stable church plants. Empty meeting space is often unattainable in these neighborhoods, and as they fill back up with people, the need for gospel witness is ever more pressing.
If you assume that most dying churches are out in small, country towns, think again. Last year, Mark Clifton of the North American Mission Board noted that roughly 75% of the churches Southern Baptists lost in 2016 were in cities with a population higher than 50,000. The majority of dying churches are actually in the places with the most people, not the least.
This is by no means the most important consideration. After all, churches aren't footprints, they are not a building or a collection of assets; they're people.
Every church in decline is more than a building or a budget. These churches are not a calendar of events; they are a community of believers. When we do not concern ourselves with the health and welfare of these churches, we unintentionally agree with the world's misunderstanding of the church. We teach with our inaction that a declining church is just a list of programs or a dilapidated building.
The book of Acts records for us the astonishing birth of the church and the first 30 years of its mission. In its pages though, we find no mention of buildings or budgets. The church as an institution takes a back seat to a more important growth that Luke recounts over and over as he tells his story. Throughout Acts, Luke stops repeatedly to summarize the events taking place in and through the rapid expansion of the church, and one thing is clearly on his mind: the growth of the gospel.
That the word of the Lord, the message of the gospel, would increase was foremost on Luke's mind. The same should be said of us. That's why church decline matters. We do not mourn church decline because of a loss of power, prominence, or prestige. We mourn the 6 in 10 because of the loss of gospel witness.
The growth of the gospel in a region requires healthy, vibrant churches in cities and towns. Of course, we could just let the majority of churches go. We could have a "fend for yourself" attitude and merely focus all of our attention on new churches. To do so would be regrettable, because there is great gospel opportunity in our established churches.
Church Renewal is Spiritual Rebirth
The gospel is a story of resurrection. It is the promise of God that, like Christ, dead bones can live again. If a church is only the sum total of its resources, then perhaps it makes sense to overlook the ones in decline. If a church is a group of people, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, then its welfare is of eternal significance, no matter the size of its building or budget.
Church renewal is a testimony to the gospel at work in a people. When vitality returns to a congregation, it once again shines a light into its neighborhood. However, for vitality to return, sacrifices must be made. Church renewal does not occur because of adjusted programs, modernized logos, and signage, or a repaved parking lot. Vitality is first and foremost a spiritual matter.
The first and most important sacrifice in church renewal was the one made by Christ. By his stripes, we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). We, the church, were dead in our trespasses, but God, rich in mercy, made us alive (Ephesians 2:1-10). What is true of the individual soul is true of the church body as a whole. The Spirit, brought by the sacrifice of Christ, breathes life into churches.
It is that prior sacrifice which makes possible all of the little sacrifices necessary to see renewal occur in a church. Church renewal is not adjusted programs or updated logos, but true renewal creates the humility necessary to sacrifice all of those things in the name of serving Christ and his mission. A church experiences renewal first in its heart and then begins to lay on the altar those preferences that have become an obstacle to making new disciples in their community.
Let us pray for the Spirit to breathe new life into many of our established churches. Let us pray for those who labor to see it so that a wave of church renewal may replace this wave of church decline.
Keelan Cook is a Missiology professor and the Associate Director of the Center for Great Commission Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His primary areas of ministry focus include urban missiology, church planting, church revitalization, and unreached people groups.
What kind of metrics can help signal renewal in a declining church?