Lessons in Church Decline from a Once Thriving City
By Andrew Brian Williquette
On a recent road trip, I passed through a city in need of revitalization. I saw scores of abandoned businesses, houses falling apart, and graffiti lining hundred-year-old buildings. I began to wonder, what happened here? How did it get to this point? Is there hope for a brighter future in this place?
When I arrived home, I did some research, and I learned that this was once a thriving city with what looked like more prosperity in its future. But the city’s population peaked decades ago, and it’s been in a consistent decline every year since. Today it's marked by poverty and high crime rates.
As I thought more about that city and others like it around the country, I also thought about churches in cities like this one. Some may be growing and reaching people with the gospel, but others are declining, just a shell of what they once were. What happened to these churches? How did it get to this point? Is there hope for the future?
Here are three parallels I see between declining cities and declining churches.
Failure to Adapt
Church leaders often confuse adapting with compromise. But making changes can be necessary for a church to continue thriving. After all, change is essential to spiritual growth. Paul writes, “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18). Truth never changes; the lines of doctrinal fidelity shouldn’t be crossed. But traditions must be subject to change. A pastor once told me that the hardest thing he did as a pastor was to gatekeep and maintain the conservative culture in the church. How the conservative culture was defined however, was personal preferences in secondary matters. How is that church doing today? They have experienced a steady numerical decline over the years.
Playing the Blame Game
When answering the question “what has led to the decline of the city I visited”? In my research I discovered that some answers for this city are pointing in all sorts of directions. Previous mayors, other countries' development in production, and the best people moving out of the area are some of the answers you might receive to this question. There is not one singular answer for this city’s decline.
The same goes for churches. There could be several factors for their decline, including the area itself shrinking in population, but churches that resort to finger pointing will struggle to grow and thrive. “It’s the previous pastor’s fault”, “people in this area are not receptive to the gospel”, or “the younger generation does not hold to the values that my generation holds to” are some of the excuses you may hear. Are any of these valid reasons? Perhaps an honest evaluation of how the church has “abandoned the love (they) had at first” (Rev. 2:4) followed by genuine repentance would begin to reverse its demise.
Building on a Weak Foundation
Some churches that decline are built on a foundation that’s not sustainable. They’re built on a foundation other than “Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20). Just as there are American cities that were built up around one primary industry and declined following the exit of that industry, there are churches that are guilty of building on all sorts of foundations that don’t last. If we build our churches around the charisma of a pastor, the effectiveness of a ministry program, or a fancy church building, we won’t last. Only a church built on Jesus will.
Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). This promise must be the rallying cry for a church in decline. Every church can grow, but it’s on Christ that we put our hope. May the comfort of predictability or status quo not lead to the downfall of a church that could be being built faithfully for God’s glory.
As impossible as it may seem, just as it’s possible for declining cities to thrive again, it’s possible for declining churches to thrive. All is not lost. There are positive examples of this in many cities and churches all around the world. This requires hard conversations, change of priorities, and forgiveness for past failures, but there’s hope for the once thriving church.
Drew Williquette serves as Worship and Discipleship Pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Illinois. He has a love for pastoring through worship music and discipleship to help edify the body of Christ. He is also a current D.Min student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.