When is a church no longer a church?

[OLD SARGE]

Is God Sustaining Your Church

 

[OLD SARGE]

Grow Of Close The Doors

 

[OLD SARGE]

Polishing Doorknobs

 

[Ben1445]

Let It Die

It is an interesting thought.
I don’t give this information for independent Baptist pride. It doesn’t fit the narrative of the article.
Our church was started after revival meetings in 1839. There have been independent and associated times in the church history, mostly independent. At a glance through the church records, it was when the church was at its best (I don’t mean attendance) that it joined an association. What it appears to me is that they became involved with the structure of churches, hierarchy and programs, instead of the purpose of churches, God’s Word.
In the last 5 years, we have moved from the dying church in the article to a steady growth three times in size, still small, but growing. People still come to our 130 year old building and they do it because of the value of the Bible. Churches die when they leave their first love. They have been called back. If they will return there is life in God’s Word and God will take care of His churches.
We don’t advertise our age as a reason to come. We don’t put quippy quotes on the sign hoping to get visitors because someone laughs at our sign. (It doesn’t bother me that anyone else does.) We put Scripture and biblical thoughts on the sign.
I don’t know if anyone has ever come because of the sign, but if they are reading it, they will know what goes on in our church.
There is hope for churches when they are more concerned with their Saviour than the saving of their building.

 

[OLD SARGE]

It is an interesting thought.
I don’t give this information for independent Baptist pride. It doesn’t fit the narrative of the article.
Our church was started after revival meetings in 1839. There have been independent and associated times in the church history, mostly independent. At a glance through the church records, it was when the church was at its best (I don’t mean attendance) that it joined an association. What it appears to me is that they became involved with the structure of churches, hierarchy and programs, instead of the purpose of churches, God’s Word.
In the last 5 years, we have moved from the dying church in the article to a steady growth three times in size, still small, but growing. People still come to our 130 year old building and they do it because of the value of the Bible. Churches die when they leave their first love. They have been called back. If they will return there is life in God’s Word and God will take care of His churches.
We don’t advertise our age as a reason to come. We don’t put quippy quotes on the sign hoping to get visitors because someone laughs at our sign. (It doesn’t bother me that anyone else does.) We put Scripture and biblical thoughts on the sign.
I don’t know if anyone has ever come because of the sign, but if they are reading it, they will know what goes on in our church.
There is hope for churches when they are more concerned with their Saviour than the saving of their building.

There are always exceptions, but my experience has been that once a church gets to a certain point it is past the point of no return. I just recently moved and there were four churches without pastors in town. The one I looked into had 40 members, but the mean age was mid 80s with on the Youth minister being below 40. They had a young pastor for 4 years and he could do nothing with it. When I asked one of the members what would they do if this was a business and the reply was "file bankruptcy." Likely the other three were in the same situation. Suggest a merger and you would have thought I denied the Virgin Birth.

Most churches start because of a split, not a real need for a biblical church. That steam will die out and people will stand in the building until the last man or until the building falls down. We did have a couple of churches condemned. One was an IFB church that had "sired" two other churches in town and one of the offspring has now closed. Only the first-born remains and is at least stable and maybe growing slightly.

I wish you the best, but I would say that you are a rare situation! Maranatha!