Word Count: 406 – Est Reading Time: <2 Minutes
What’s Up:
Many churches only panic about growth when the money runs out … and by then, it’s often too late.
So What:
Churches sitting on a healthy endowment or floating by on rental income, too often, mistake their budget bottom line for health. But financial stability doesn’t equal mission success.
The Point Is:
Comfort masks decline
Just because you’re not in the red doesn’t mean you’re not dying. Decline hides behind padded budgets.
Members aren’t worried
If there’s no money crisis, most members stay blind, apathetic, or unconcerned, even if the pews are nearly empty. This not only offers a sense of stability, it can foster a commitment to the status quo that keeps the church from growing.
Preach future reality
Start by casting the real future: empty pews and closed doors. Then cast God’s future if change is embraced. But if that doesn’t work (and it rarely does), then you may need to become a church growth catalyst … keep reading.
Grow a new church
The solution for a congregation married to status quo is to force a change. You may need to launch a fresh congregation inside your dying one. If the old guard won’t budge, then you’ll need to grow it from scratch by starting with a new small group.
And … ?
When a church thinks it’s fine because the bank balance says so, it’s headed for a rude awakening. There are too many churches today playing financial games of survival: renting space, cashing CDs, sitting pretty on endowments while the sanctuary gets quieter and the funerals stack up. The truth? Most church members see the church as for them and their friends. That’s not biblical. That’s a country club.
There are two real plays here. One, fight the good fight. Preach the reality. Show them the data. Draw out the bleak trajectory and beg for repentance. But let’s be honest: you’ll likely get polite nods and passive resistance. So two, get serious. Start a new group of new people. In some cases you may not want to even invite them to your Sunday worship yet. Grow a new nucleus. Build their ownership, energy, and shared vision. When they walk into the sanctuary together, it won’t be to visit. It’ll be to lead.
Action!
Run the math on your church’s trajectory. Then start the group that will rewrite it.
