CHURCH MERGERS
In the past few months i have been doing lots of research on this very subject. Give some thought to this. Why is it we have churches in our communities dying but no one is willing to join forces, why is it we have churches needing space but no other churches will donate their space, why is it we work for the same goal but compete against one another.
I know these thoughts are not popular but really, what keeps us from joining hands with other churches to accomplish Kingdom Expansion. Why is it we have churches in our districts that suffer and we continue to put a Pastor there and they stay a year or two then move on. There is simply one word for it. They are UNHEALTHY. Why can't we merge these churches with other churches to create and environment to create healthy environments instead of just keeping the doors open with a few people, so they can have everything their way??
Read the insert below that i have copied for your thoughts from:
Churches Embrace Mergers through Multi-site Movement by Jim Tomberlin
According to church experts, the majority of churches in America have plateaued or are dying. Hundreds of congregations close their doors every year. The majority of Americans are essentially unchurched. Imagine the results if thousands of struggling congregations in desperate need of vibrant ministry could join the small number of energetic congregations in desperate need of space. Imagine if local congregations decided they could reach more people and serve their communities better by uniting as one church in multiple locations. We could see a revitalized Church that could have a profound impact upon the social landscape across the nation.
In the fall of 2006, The Chapel of Lake County, Ill., became a multisite church in four new locations. Three of those locations were pre-existing churches, but each one had a different merger story. One was a church building for sale without a congregation. A second was a struggling congregation of 50 without a pastor. The third was a solid congregation of 800 whose founding senior pastor was ready to make a ministry transition. Each one had a different journey, but all three transitioned into successful, strong local congregations who are healthier than before their merger.
So why to we continue to operate UNHEALTHY church environments that are not producing Fruit??
Are we afraid to shut down churches or to merge them with a thriving church at the risk of having less churches to count?? But really should we count them if they are not producing??
Tough questions, but it is time to ask these questions!!!
EDDIE,
ReplyDeleteHome Run question my friend. I have this same discussion with a few minister friends in and out of my district. Instead of havung 70 churches why not merge, sell of properties and re-invest etc. Wouldn't 50 healthy churches be better than 70+ ave or below average churches with just a few healthy.
Here lies the question that divides us so greatly.
Q. What is a healthy church and what does it look like?
Until we can agree, it will be tough to convive others of the need to merge!
Thoughts?
Excellent though-provoking questions. Todd is speaking tremendous insight. Defining health is critical to these questions. What does a healthy church look like? That is what must be determined.
ReplyDeleteHowever, multi-site churches are becoming more and more effective. Would a church be more effective to have one location with 2,000 people? Or, four locations with 500 people? I would lean toward the latter.
We cannot lose sight of this as we ponder the question Eddie raised. For a long time the PCG has been known as a minister's organization. This has led to a paradigm that having our pulpits filled in our districts is a good thing. Church health needs to be addressed, but ministerial health needs to be addressed as well. Perhaps the reason we don't have healthy churches is rooted in the fact that we have unhealthy ministers in those churches or to go a step further, ministers who really aren't Pastors trying to function outside their gifting.
ReplyDeletePersonally I believe our district boards have to step to the plate in helping ministers identify their true calling and skill set (gifting). If this is done, we are taking the first step toward healthy churches. Maybe then we could be more free to address the issue of merging churches with layers of leadership that reflect the giftings of our ministers. It's outside the box, but I do agree with Todd that 50 healthy churches may be better than 70 churches where 20 are struggling to breathe.
Love the question! In short, I'd say, "Control, control, control!" As a church gets smaller, the trend I've witnessed is that church boards and church members get a negative ownership. They guard and sit on their assets while their a______es sit! (Pardon me!) They ask, "Why doesn't anyone want to fellowship with us", when they tell the newcomer to scoot over because they are sitting in their favorite pew. They become the victim while ignoring the unchurched in their city.
ReplyDeleteAnother question might be, "How can we more efficiently govern our churches so that boards don't take control when a church is dying?"
Denominations may be afraid to give too much by-law protection (often viewed as power)to their pastors. Why? They don't want to lose control.
It's a viscous cycle. We need to define "health" at all levels. Health between denominational leaders & pastors, pastors and people, church boards and church staff, etc... But, the truth is, if a pastor is healthy, his or her church has potential to become healthy. WOW EDDIE! YOU'VE GOT US TALKING TODAY!
what a thoughtful insight; Todd what a qustion; I believe defining a healthy church first needs to define the location of the church i.e. south; midwest; west; northwest, etc. What works in NY may not work here in Ar. and I'm pretty sure what works here in Ar. would not work in say OR. Jon you also hit the nail on the head. Many people want to steer the ship and have never even stepped on the boat before. That's not to say people cannot get saved, called, and equipped at the same time, but if we were to be brutally honest most people at conversion need lots of mentoring and training before taking the helm themselves. PJ living in the south and having a board that "run" the church before I came it has been a tough challenge and the ones who "run" the church now don't really care, because their name is not on it or its not done their way. They are more concerned about their name or having it done their way than getting in done "FOR HIM". Whether we merge, or not we must move in the direction of making everything we do done for him and His kingdom and that must be the driving force in whatever we do.
ReplyDelete