Three Common Reasons Churches Go Through Big Valleys

​What Happened?

Over the course of this last year, I've spoken with numerous ministers whose churches are struggling. I often ask them, "What happened?" For those of us dealing with declining churches, it seems like just yesterday we were doing fine. The "what happened" question should really be "what just happened?" Indeed, most churches in America right now are struggling. Many are in decline and many are in danger of closing within the next five to seven years. Good churches struggle for many reasons. Small and large churches are battling a culture in America that is bent toward worldly and very ungodly values. The values in America have moved far away from strong Christlike values. When I was young — in the 60's and 70's — people would feel guilty if they skipped church on Sunday to do something else. Now, we are lucky if people are even considering church as an option on Sunday. And if they do not come, they feel no guilt for missing. Good churches are seeking to serve communities and reach people who are far from God with the Gospel. 

1.) Leadership change brings new challenges in times of decline.

When a new pastor or staff member is hired, a church will naturally experience changes. Some of the changes are good, some are neither good or bad, and some will inevitably be bad. Changes are hard for church members. The stability of a church and its routines is something that most members rely upon. In fact, the argument could be made within the context of church development that routines create a healthy stability that families need in the midst of culture that is changing so rapidly. (I will have a future blog addressing this concern.) When something changes in the church, either a specific program or activity,  or even a change in tone by leadership, it can bring stress to regular church members. Leaders need to communicate the reasons and meanings behind the changes. New leaders need to work on relational connections. The best way to address change is to communicate, communicate, communicate and to ​visit, visit, visit. 

2.) Internal conflicts impact its attendance.

Whether it's tension brought on by personality differences, or specific issues, or teams upsetting one another, the internal conflict can easily grow. Sometimes groups pit themselves against one another. A ladies fellowship group may not like the way that the youth group or men's group used the "church tables." A millennial group may not like the way a senior pastor or worship leader consistently uses hymns in the service. A group of longtime attending seniors may not like the way that the stage platform has been redecorated for the sake of younger attendees. Internal conflicts are always abundant in churches of every size. Smaller churches deal with them often. In small churches, it's common for everyone to have a sense of ownership of the facilities, programs, and even the personnel. While natural ownership of the facilities can be good in some ways, encouraging it can be dangerous. Leaders and lay leaders need to communicate key important values. The value of a table or tables being worn out is not as important as the growth and excitement of the youth group that is using the tables. Everyone enjoying a good time of worship and a Christ-centered sermon is the higher value needed over the kind of decorations or lighting we have on our stages. 

​3.) Cultural phenomenon can put trauma and stress on a local church.

Sometimes a local or national trend can impact a local church. In the last few years, cultural changes have been happening rapidly. A social media video that goes viral can now make an entire community focus on one issue. Bullying might get extreme attention in the culture for a few weeks. I've had a parent ask me what our church's policy was on "bullying." We run less than 100 folks on any given Sunday and our youth and children's groups are small, well taken care of, and well connected. We do not have an official "policy" on bullying except that we should not tolerate it for any reason. If some church in your community gets attention for doing a same-sex wedding, it will very likely bring questions and/or conversations into your church family. People may begin to take sides and form alliances around the emotional energy generated by the cultural issue. Those with spiritual gifts of mercy long for everyone to get along and those with the gifts of prophecy want to point out the dangers in drawing lines between groups. Pastors need to focus on biblical values and biblical responses to people in sin or those who have differing opinions. Teaching your people how to love one another and love the lost — while being anchored in biblical values themselves — is vital when the culture begins to pull on your church family. 

Closing thoughts 

6.14 Ministries exists to help good churches stay open longer and become stronger and healthier. We exist to rescue churches and encourage pastors, and to move churches from decline to stability as the Lord leads. We long to help churches be effective within their local communities. Our goal is to bring support and encouragement to the staff and lay leaders. After 38 years of ministry, I know how it feels to be a leader in need of support and encouragement. I know specifically how it feels to not have the financial resources to get evaluation or good leaders to come alongside and advise or help. Sometimes you just want to share your story and experiences with a fellow minister who has similar battle scars. We can offer everything from prayer support to leadership training.

We long to help without bringing any additional stress, so we do our best to serve your ministry with little to no cost. Send us an e-mail or contact us through our site and let us know how we can help your church, staff, or ministry. We love serving the local church! Thanks for reading our blogs. We encourage you to share our blogs and media with others, particularly your fellow staff members and church family. We long to encourage full-time staff, lay leaders, and volunteers so that no one will get lost in the shuffle and give up.