Eclectic Christian

By Michael Bell

Here is the Intro, Part 1, and Part 2.

Distractions from the Gospel – Part 3: Church Contentment

A few years ago I helped administer a survey of the members and adherents of the church that we were attending. One thing that we were able to determine from the survey was that by and large people were quite happy with ministries of the church, and weren’t looking to make and significant changes. When we shared these results with the District Superintendent (think Bishop), he cautioned us. “Let me be prophetic here”, he said, “Churches which are largely content with the way things are, and are not open to change, tend to stagnate, plateau, and even die.” Indeed he was rather prophetic, and within three years the church had closed its doors.

I am experiencing a similar situation in the church that I currently attend. Surveys conducted of the members and adherents also show a high level of satisfaction with the way things are going. On the positive side of things is that the Pastors are fully cognizant of this and are hoping to counter some of the complacency. The issue showed itself recently when the elders recruited in the congregation to form an evangelism committee of sorts. It was an open invitation, with certain people specifically asked. When push came to shove, although over half of the church is over the age of 50, only one person over the age of 35 came to the meetings. I believe it was because the older people have had as much change as they would like, are happy in the relationships they have in the church, and don’t see a huge need to be building new relationships in the community.

Another friend of mine is the Pastor of a church that resisted change for decades. As a result of this they have very few people in their church under the age of 60. When he came in as Pastor he warned them that he did not come just to lock the doors in 10 years time and that this would be the result if they continued on their present course. To their credit, they are starting to accept change. Time will tell whether or not it is too late for the church to start growing again.

The fact is, contentment and complacency destroys churches. We are warned of this in Revelation 2:5b.

Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Almost all churches start with an excitement, a desire to share the gospel, a desire to reach out to others. My church started with a heart and a desire to reach German immigrants, and it was very effective at that. A loving community was built. That generation, however, is all in its retirement years. Contentment and complacency has set in. What we need a new vision and a new direction for the younger generation.

Proverbs 29:18 states: “Where there is no vision the people perish.” And where there is no vision, churches perish. It may not be immediately noticeable, but if a church fails to live by the great commission, it will slowly die. Its dying members will not be replaced by new converts.

What is your church’s vision for the future? Where does God want you to go? Are you content with where things are at, or do you want to see God do much more in and through your church. How you answer these question will ultimately determine the future of your church.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 12:20 am and is filed under church growth, church life, Gospel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.