Many of the mutations of, and manacles on, churches discussed below arise because pastors, congregational leaders, and denominations worry about declining membership numbers. The loss of members causes a panic, which tempts us to react with strategies conceived according to the device paradigm: What device should we institute in order to produce the commodity of higher numbers? We try various devices, including extreme changes in styles of worship, the initiation of multiple programs to attract the neighbors, marketing strategies, firing the present staff and hiring a more charismatic one, and so forth. Lametably, these devices mimc our culture’s behavior and thereby change the identity of the congregation so that it becomes merely a mirror of the society instead of an icon of God.
What is especially tragic about these panicked moves is that leaders don’t realize that churches’ declining numbers are part of a larger societal pattern manifested by almost every major social group.
i got to thinking of this when reading into john’s highlight of ‘the entertainment driven church’ which pulls from a post by michael patton & michael spencer. to speak to my quoted writing, michael patton speaks about one of his visits to another church.
I went to a church that was just the opposite. It was a popular
non-denominational Evangelical associated church. It was much more
alluring in its style, having a much more amplified voice with regards
to recognizing newcomers. From the moment we got in the parking lot,
there were signs welcoming us along with parking lot attendants waving.
These guys were so enthusiastic you would think that they had been
trained at Disney World. The signs pointed to valet parking for first
time guests. I would have taken them up on the offer, but pride always
rules (oh . . . and then there is that awkward feeling that you are
supposed to give them some money even when they say they don’t take
it).
which reminds me of this gem ‘king of the hill’ episode where the hills go church shopping.
note: is it odd that the only site i could find this video on, due to the removal from copyright infringement at most sites, is a claimed Christian site?
There’s so much to say on this concept, and so much of it is very personal to me. I’ve watched my home church, once a very welcome, warm, family-oriented midsized Mennonite church bring in a minister who had decided to go into the pastorate after 20 years in the scrap metal business.
That new pastor has applied a very Business Model overlay to the church in stages.
1. They dropped “Mennonite” from the church name, thinking it scared people off.
Result: A few curious folks came by. Attendence went up.
2. They switched to a Contemporary worship format.
Result: More young people came.
3. They used the influx of membership to leverage a large loan in order to soup up the church. A big remodel followed, with a state of the art gymnasium, posh classrooms, high-end sound and video equipment and a large church staff.
Result: More people came, but the church lost several of the older members. This was greeted with a “who needs ’em, we got THE NUMBERS!!” attitude.
As the church lost core members in favour of people who prefered “anonymous large crowd worship”, their income also dropped.
Why? Older members with more stable jobs, steadier income and a history of high giving to the church were replaced by drop-in-a-dollar casual attendees looking for entertainment.
This trade-down (hey, that’s what we call it in the business world) has meant that the church has to become MORE entertaining and more mass appealing. If you’ve got people who give $5 when they come instead of people who give $100 when they come, you have to have 20 instead of 1 in order to make the same amount of money.
Now, church shouldn’t be ABOUT money, but remember. We went and took out a huge loan to make our church more “seeker friendly”. (I.e., build the gym, etc.) So now the loan MUST be repaid.
The church is now in serious financial trouble.
And the thing is, I’m betting that my home church’s story is repeating itself all over the country. Every time I touch on the subject at my own place I hear a lot of “me toos!” from others who have been through the same experiences with their church model.
We have to put on a show to pay the bills.
Poor Christ.
There’s so much to say on this concept, and so much of it is very personal to me. I’ve watched my home church, once a very welcome, warm, family-oriented midsized Mennonite church bring in a minister who had decided to go into the pastorate after 20 years in the scrap metal business.
That new pastor has applied a very Business Model overlay to the church in stages.
1. They dropped “Mennonite” from the church name, thinking it scared people off.
Result: A few curious folks came by. Attendence went up.
2. They switched to a Contemporary worship format.
Result: More young people came.
3. They used the influx of membership to leverage a large loan in order to soup up the church. A big remodel followed, with a state of the art gymnasium, posh classrooms, high-end sound and video equipment and a large church staff.
Result: More people came, but the church lost several of the older members. This was greeted with a “who needs ’em, we got THE NUMBERS!!” attitude.
As the church lost core members in favour of people who prefered “anonymous large crowd worship”, their income also dropped.
Why? Older members with more stable jobs, steadier income and a history of high giving to the church were replaced by drop-in-a-dollar casual attendees looking for entertainment.
This trade-down (hey, that’s what we call it in the business world) has meant that the church has to become MORE entertaining and more mass appealing. If you’ve got people who give $5 when they come instead of people who give $100 when they come, you have to have 20 instead of 1 in order to make the same amount of money.
Now, church shouldn’t be ABOUT money, but remember. We went and took out a huge loan to make our church more “seeker friendly”. (I.e., build the gym, etc.) So now the loan MUST be repaid.
The church is now in serious financial trouble.
And the thing is, I’m betting that my home church’s story is repeating itself all over the country. Every time I touch on the subject at my own place I hear a lot of “me toos!” from others who have been through the same experiences with their church model.
We have to put on a show to pay the bills.
Poor Christ.
kat, i would say that sounds crazy & that i am sorry you all are going through that, but it probably is more the norm than the exception. interesting scenario with the finances. us young folks forget who really pays the bills (or just don’t know). i wish growth wasn’t at the expense of people, and maybe it isn’t when it is done faithfully & with the community in mind.
kat, i would say that sounds crazy & that i am sorry you all are going through that, but it probably is more the norm than the exception. interesting scenario with the finances. us young folks forget who really pays the bills (or just don’t know). i wish growth wasn’t at the expense of people, and maybe it isn’t when it is done faithfully & with the community in mind.