Bill Ingram: What We Learned From a Failed Church Merger

It wasn't easy, but it taught us a lot.

Our church, Journey of Faith, has served the South Bay for over 100 years. We've always had a commitment to reach those who do not know Jesus Christ, both here and abroad. It was that commitment which led us to try and help New Joy, a struggling and dying church in nearby Bellflower, California.

New Joy, for numerous reasons, had been steadily declining since 1962. They had around 250 people back then, but had dwindled to 49 in 2008, having been without a senior pastor since 2005. Journey of Faith wanted to turn New Joy into a satellite campus for the main campus in Manhattan Beach, California. The plan was four-fold: fix the facilities, provide high quality worship, provide a weekly message on High Definition DVD, and provide a campus pastor who could shepherd the congregation and develop new ministries to reach the community.

Five years later, sadly, Journey of Faith decided to no longer support the Bellflower campus. The Bellflower campus never lived up to the expectations of Journey of Faith. Bellflower did not break the 100 person average Sunday morning attendance, has not shown signs that it will be able to become self-sufficient, and seems irrelevant to the community. So after much prayer, the Bellflower campus was launched as an independent church again.

The difficult journey of separating one church back into two has been filled with heartache, disappointments, and many tears; yet, we learned many lessons. Key to them were the differences in big church vs. small church thinking. For us, these lessons will guide our future endeavors to help struggling churches turn around and reach their community and world for Christ. Keep reading