How can we tell the difference between temporary declines or fatal flaws? It’s important to recognize the signs of a dying church — that your church may be on the path to decline. Misdiagnosing the real issues is difficult, but there are some sure indicators of a dying church.
First, though, we should acknowledge that there is a difference between your church:
- Being small and dying.
- Plateauing and dying.
- Declining and dying.
- Merging and dying.
- Being large and healthy.
- Being large and reaching the lost.
- Being large and having a lengthy future.
The truth is, for a church, only dying is dying. But we can look for certain signs that a church is in trouble.
5 Signs of a Dying Church
1. Leadership is gridlocked.
If leadership is hopelessly fractured and there is no real plan to fix the issue, it could be one of the signs of a dying church.
If no one is willing to step down, and leadership is unable or unwilling to self-correct—either by removing someone or agreeing to disagree—it could be a dangerous direction for the life of your church.
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2. No real growth for the last five years.
By “real” growth, I mean a year where attendance has increased by at least 10 percent.
Unless your church is in a rural context, this could mean you are no longer reaching new people with the Gospel, or you’re losing more people than you’re bringing in—and it has continued for five years. Recognizing this reality is the first step toward working and praying for real solutions.
3. Your vision is in the rearview mirror, not the windshield.
I call this “rearview vision.” Whenever vision is discussed, the focus is more on returning to the past rather than pursuing a new future.
This happens when the pain of change makes leadership subconsciously prefer the past—believing that if it worked then, it will work now.
“Rearview vision” is among the signs of a dying church when leadership prioritizes keeping the congregation happy over reaching new people with the Gospel. While churches should care for their members, if this becomes a way of life, vision gets stuck in the past.
