My research for Autopsy of a Deceased Church indicates one of the factors that leads to the decline of a healthy church is its refusal to look like the community. If you compare the faces of a dying church with the faces of the people who live in the community where the church is located, you’ll often notice a significant difference.
In many of my consultations with dying churches I heard the same thing: In the “good old days,” the church was booming as residents in the community flocked to the church. The church reflected the community.
Then the community began to change. In some cases the change was ethnic or racial. In other cases it was age-related or socioeconomic. The change was real and the members of the church felt it. One by one, families in the church began to move to other areas of town. And the church failed to transition with the neighborhood.
Occasionally the church made faint attempts to reach out and ask the community to come to them. There was almost never any effort to go into the community. And often people in the community did not feel welcome in the church. Those in the church were more concerned about protecting the way they did church than reaching the residents of the community.
When a church ceases to have a heart and ministry for its community, it is on the path toward death. But it doesn’t have to end that way. Here are five steps your church can take to make sure it reflects your community. Read more
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