Several weeks ago, I started a series of posts called Your Church Will Die in which I outlined the natural life cycle of a church. Since then, I’ve shared the concept with several individuals and groups which has clarified and expanded my thinking on this idea of natural progression of growth in a local church congregation. What I’d like to do today is roll out what I’m thinking and get your feedback.
First, let me define my terms. When I say YOUR CHURCH, I’m not implying that the church belongs to anyone but God or that the Church universal will die. I am referring to the local faith community you lead or belong to. My premise is that your church, the local body of believers you are attached to, has a natural life cycle that ends in some form of death.
For the following discussion, I’ve added one identifiable stage in a church’s life cycle:
Senior citizen: The congregation has aged and is no longer attracting or deploying young leaders. The focus turns to what will happen when the congregation can no longer support itself.
Core activity
At each stage, a church is engaged in a core activity to ensure health and growth.
| Stage | Activity |
| Child | Survival At this stage, the church plant is simply trying to become self-sustaining. Each week, the question is “Will we be here next week?” Attendance growth is crucial at this stage because the larger the baby, the more likely she will be viable. |
| Adult | Maturity As an adult, the church should be developing a clearly defined pathway for discipleship (linear or non-linear), a structure for community beyond the weekend service, and a strategic plan for local and global evangelism and transformation. |
| Parent | Multiplication The key activity for a parent is healthy reproduction. Is the church regularly giving birth and providing support to ensure the survival and maturity of her children? |
| Grandparent | Mentoring The key activity for a grandparent church is to leverage her experience and resources to encourage, resource, and strengthen younger churches. Grandparent churches often find ways to cooperate with other churches either in an informal or formal way to continue to plant new churches both domestically and internationally. |
| Senior Citizen | Legacy As a church begins to decline in attendance and giving, the focus turns either to survival (returning to the Child phase) or legacy (What will be our long-term contribution to the Kingdom?). |
