Four Pivotal Questions for a Dying Church

If you're reading, you probably find yourself somehow connected to what you believe is a dying church. While I could give you the statistics on healthy, plateaued, and dying churches, that's not what you're looking for by reading this because you already feel the painful reality of those figures; in fact, you're probably living them. You want an answer to the practical question, "How can I turn all this around?" 

You already know that there's no silver bullet approach. You already know that one plants, one waters, and God gives the increase. You know you can't do it alone; instead, you need a team to help you. You see all of this, and probably so much more, but you desperately want to know how to start the process.

The real question you may be asking is, "How do I get the dying church I'm in to see the seriousness of their condition and their need for change before it's too late? How can I get members to see that our church is sick and needs a change?" 

First, this has to be said; otherwise, someone will think I'm presenting a plug-and-play formula for the church, which I'm not. First of all, you need to pray. Desperately cry out to God for a clear path forward, divinely appointed conversations in the hallway or meetings, sermon texts, and teaching opportunities. Pray for opportunities to lovingly lead your people to see the reality of the situation. Pray wholeheartedly and desperately for God to move on those for whom he sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross.

But while you're doing that, there is an action you can take. There is something that you CAN do to shock the congregation to consider life, and that something begins by merely asking them questions. 

By asking them the four essential questions below, you're attempting to LEAD your congregation to their OWN understanding that things need to change. This is key: Lead them to understand that the situation has to change. 

Here is when Jesus' words to His disciples are especially applicable to us as pastors and leaders, "be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves." Your goal as the under-shepherd of God's flock is to lovingly lead the people of God where he would have you to take them. Please note that these questions must repeatedly be asked in various formats over an extended period before people begin to "get it" and are willing to embrace the reality that changes must happen.

1. Whose Church is This?

Over an extended period, church members begin to identify the church as the building instead of the interdependent parts that make up the whole of the body of Christ, also known as the children of God. However, this is a satanic attack on a mental level to shift the church's thinking from a living organism view to a complete organizational view of the church and render them ineffective and operating more like a country club instead of a body of Christ-followers. This viewpoint is detrimental to the mission of the true church, the bride of Christ, because people view the weekly activities as obligations to fulfill instead of opportunities for faithfulness. Church activities become stagnant. Methods become outdated. A lackluster enthusiasm passes from the church to the guests. Worship becomes a monotonous requirement that is devoid of joy and genuine praise. Soon the weekly proceedings are dry and empty of any life. Those frustrated with the arid climate begin looking for the back door, and those left behind cling to what's always been because it's what they know and fears taking a risk because they don't want to lose the people they have left.     

For years, pastors and church leaders go into these churches, work the stony ground, toil over the dry earth, and attempt to plant new vegetation. Unfortunately, change is often met with resistance because of fear of failure, loss, or fear of the new/unknown. In most churches, the mentality is it is better to walk with an increasingly infected limb than amputate. But, pastor and church leader, there is a better way forward, and it begins with you asking the question, "Whose church is this?" When you ask this question, you're something strategic:

You're asking people to verbalize who is in charge.

When people verbalize who is in charge, the opportunity for a mover and shaker to work behind the scenes becomes much more difficult. Those movers and shakers antagonistic toward the church transitioning forward and becoming an outwardly facing church will often work from behind the curtain to keep things "the way they've always been." These individuals may have the best motives, but often they fail to recognize the obvious signs that something is wrong with the current status quo, and they believe "if people (those outside of the church) will return to the values of yesteryear, then our church will become what it was before, successful." They are of the mindset that we don't need to change anything because when those people that left come back, we want them to feel right at home again. 

Without going too deep into that mentality, these "resistant to change" movers and shakers will drop hidden anchors (in conversations, on the phone, while fishing, in the hallways, over breakfast) among the church body to prevent the church from making the necessary next steps. They do this by doubting the direction, remembering the good ole days thinking they will return, "worrying" about the money for the new program/initiative, or questioning if risking what they have is worth it.    

But by asking, "Who is in charge?",

You're providing people an opportunity to remember that God is our leader, not someone who's been here for 40-70 years.

It's not our church; we're HIS church, and our God is able! Then, and this part is essential, you need those movers and shakers to publicly agree and announce that they, too, believe that God is in charge of His church. They may not, deep down, feel like it's God's church, but most people will not say that flat out because to do so is blasphemy.

When you ask, "Whose church is this?"

You're providing an opportunity to educate the congregation on what the Bible says about the church.

After people begin to acknowledge it is God's church, you then get an opportunity to teach them, from a biblical standpoint, what is right about the church. Take them to the book of Acts and share with them the beloved plan God has for his church, how God is fully invested in His people and desires to do great things with them and for them. Remember, this church is dying, and you're reminding them that God has a purpose for them. That reality should encourage them.

When you ask, "Whose church is this"

You're reminding people that God cares for His church and doesn't desire it to die.

I'll never forget Henry Blackaby's observation at a Church Revitalization Conference I attended a few months ago, "How can a floundering church bring glory to God? It can't." Blackaby understood that a spiraling church doesn't bring glory to God because a spiraling church is heading for a crash, and He doesn't desire for His church to crash. By asking the question, "Whose church is this," you're reminding the people that the author of all creation cares what is happening with his bride and that he cares for us.     

Let me ask you, "Would you want to see your family, the people you sacrificed for and invested and cared for; would you want to see those destroyed?" The obvious answer is, "No." Even more, than us, God doesn't desire to see his people scattered and destroyed. He doesn't wish to see lighthouse after lighthouse extinguished from the communities in which he has placed them. God desires to see his people growing and flourishing and reaching more significant and deeper levels of intimacy with him. He desires the church to be what it was in the book of Acts, a powerful force of impact and evangelism to reach the uttermost parts of the earth. He desires to see lighthouses working together to fill this world with the glorious light of the gospel. He desires to add to their number daily. This leads us to our second question

2. What is God's Mission For The Church?

Once people understand that God is in charge of His church, you provide a logical path to lead them down. It's almost like you've all gathered at the starting point on a map, and now you're ready to begin the journey, and that logical journey starts with the question, "Since God is in charge of his church, then he must have a plan for his church, so what is it?" By asking them this question, you're reminding them that God has a mission that he has laid out for his people, and His Word reveals that plan.

Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20

That is God's plan. God plans that his people, his church, would rest in HIS authority and make disciples who observe (obey) everything he commanded. This is God's plan, and this is God's purpose for the church. Obviously, there's a great deal more that could be said, but in a nutshell, that's it. And, He's even given us a strategy to accomplish his plan:

In these two passages, we're given his purpose, his plan, and his strategy. Fill the world with the glorious light of the gospel by loving Him and Loving others. Love is an action. It's a movement. It's more than an emotional or mental accent; it is something that moves us beyond where we're standing today.

This is God's Mission for the church. Your congregation, his church, coming to grips with this reality is vital because they then need to hear the follow-up question; our third question:

3. Are We Accomplishing God's Mission through Our Methods?

When the time comes that you ask this question, especially in a church that's been struggling to keep its head above water, expect an overwhelming silence to fill the room. It's powerful. It's palpable. It's necessary. 

By asking them this third question, after lovingly asking them the other two, you're allowing them to evaluate the what, why, and how of what they are currently doing. What are we presently doing on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday? Why are we doing it? How are we making disciples and filling the world with the light of the gospel through what we're currently doing?     

At this moment, some people are going to try to justify what they've always done in an attempt to save it. But the painful reality they must lovingly be confronted with is that something isn't working because the church is dying. Regardless of what worked twenty-five to fifty-five years ago, it's not working today because the church is floundering.  

The truth of a situation is hard to face but facing the painful reality is the only way to get through it. A dying church that puts its head in the sand to ignore the truth of its situation is like a person who freezes to death because they’re too stubborn to walk in the warm house that's five feet away. It's just ridiculous.   

In and through Jesus Christ, we're connected to the God of the universe. He desires to see his church thriving and growing; if we're not thriving and growing, it's because we've determined that OUR methods are more important than his message. His message is life-giving. His message is powerful. His word brings that which is dead to life. If we let go of our methodology and embrace his message, we, too, can see our church restored to the glorious lighthouse God created. But your congregation must be willing to honestly assess if it is accomplishing His unique disciple-making vision through our methods. If it isn't achieving His mission through the processes being utilized, then a final question must be asked.

4. What are Our Options?

Once a body of believers have come to grips with what they've been doing or what they're currently doing is no longer working, they must evaluate how they will proceed. There are only two choices in this matter:

Continue our current trajectory even though we now realize that we're not accomplishing his mission through our methods or make a change.

What that change looks like will vary based on your current cultural context. How that change takes place will depend on where your church is at from a body-health standpoint. The speed and pace of what must change will depend on the severity of the current situation. But to stay the same is no longer a sinless option; it's willful disobedience.

Our dream through the Prism Journey for Churches is to see churches empowered on a congregational journey that is both spiritual and strategic in nature that pulls them forward into accomplishing His purposes. Your church is uniquely fit together by God to fulfill His divine purposes in your context. We desire to see your congregation moving toward fulfilling the Kingdom potential that is part of God's redemptive plan. Imagine what could happen in your community if your church began being pulled forward by God's future story of ministry for them as a congregation on mission. As your church lived into its Future Story of Missional Ministry as a congregational movement, you would see families restored, relationships mended, communities made whole, and eternal kingdom impact for years to come. 

If you're interested in starting a conversation about what Missional Vitality in your context could look like, we'd love to have a conversation with you.