This past January, the church I pastor, Pleasant Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, had its own “come to Jesus” moment during our Annual Church Meeting.  I had done my due diligence all year — studying the latest data regarding church growth trends and reading articles that examined societal shifts impacting congregations across the country. 

Not much of what I read painted a positive picture. 

In April 2018, a Christian publishing company posted an article by Rick Chromey entitled, “When Giants Fall: What the Church Can Learn From Sears.”  In it, Chromey details the the missteps made by the former retail giant and makes the argument that churches will find themselves in a similar failing state if they don’t reinvent themselves and put their finger on the pulse of the culture around them. 

Seven months later it would seem that the message wasn’t heard as The Atlantic published an article by Jonathan Merritt describing, “America’s Epidemic of Empty Churches.”  Merritt writes, “Many of our nation’s churches can no longer afford to maintain their structures—6,000 to 10,000 churches die each year in America—and that number will likely grow.” 

Certainly these aren’t the only two articles describing this sad state of affairs for many churches.  A simple Google search will show millions more, all trying to get a handle on what’s happening and why many congregations are facing the steady drip of decline.  

However, many pastors and church leaders don’t need articles to understand the reality of empty churches. We face the reality of changes happening right before our eyes in our own congregations.  The pews are a bit more sparse, congregational energy is harder to sustain and fewer and fewer people are stepping forward to volunteer in important church roles.