Another Funeral

 Don't let the title mislead you. I am not referring to the death of a person. What is weighing heavy on my mind this morning is the death of churches. Every single day another six churches closes their doors in North America. It is estimated that over 6,000 churches die and close the doors every year. Preliminary predictions from a researcher is that North America will lose as many as 15,000 churches this year. 

Think about that. Somebody somewhere got a burden and a call from God to start a church somewhere. They began that church with prayerful resolve and vigor to reach people. The church grew. Maybe they even built facilities. Over the years people and pastors came and went. The church continued to grow and flourish. Each church had a hey day. The height of their ministerial effectiveness. 

In time, people moved off, some died, and beloved pastors left to follow God to their next assignment. In time, the attendance and the finances dwindled. The congregation aged. Once younger couples became senior adults. They no longer had the energy they once had to keep things going. The attendance dwindled to just a faithful few. Eventually the day arrived when they could not financially afford to keep the church going. The cost of insurance, utilities, and trying to pay a pastor a small salary became too burdensome. The painful and difficult decision to disband as a church was reached. They met for their tearful last Sunday and with that conclusion they became another statistic. Sadly, this seems to be happening more frequently. 

Some churches are dysfunctional and unhealthy. They do not honor God with all their fussing and fighting. Constant divisions and church splits seal their fate in time. It is tragic. Healthy churches can face this ultimate end with people who love one another and have a heart for God. Time changed and things that used to work in ministry were no longer work. These stalwart people of the church were unwilling to change and clung tenaciously to ministries that no longer work. The proof is in the pudding as they say with dwindling attendance and tired saints who little left to give to turn the church around. 

So what am I saying? Each church is doomed. Not all. Not if those churches prayerfully seek God for a fresh vision. Not if those churches will surrender to God's leadership and make reaching lost souls their focus. Churches often grow through what we call transfer growth. Christians move their membership to other churches for various reasons. The God ordained way for churches to grow primarily is through conversion growth. New people trusting Jesus for salvation. This is how the church grew in Acts 2:47. When people trust God desperately, get serious about reaching the lost, and will devote themselves to prayer, God can do something miraculous. 

It saddens my heart when I drive by an abandoned church building. May we seek God fervently and live on mission for Him so that our local church does not become one of  those statistics. The fields are ripe unto harvest, so let us pray God will raise and send laborers into that harvest. [Matt 9:37-38] May He do a fresh work in all churches.