What to address when your church becomes STAGNANT?

I wrote this article for a church growth course a while back and thought it may be helpful for some:

What happens when a church stagnates?  The same thing that happens to water; it becomes polluted.  When thirsting for a drink while hiking in the woods anyone would rather come across a fresh moving stream that is teeming with life than a stagnate putrid pond that smells of death.  The same is true of those seeking a place of worship.  People are looking for vibrancy, freshness, and life.

So what should we do if we find ourselves in a church that is beginning to stagnate?  Here are 8 considerations for any church to address to avoid becoming a S-T-A-G-N-A-N-T church:  

S – STAFF:  The personal spiritual development of every leader is an absolute necessity. We all know that leaders cannot take a congregation to a place where they themselves have not been.  A congregation cannot over emphasize the need for the continued health and development of their ministerial staff.  If the leaders are going to be expected to pour themselves out each week into the lives of others they MUST be getting refilled regularly.  

T – TRADITION:  “We’ve always done it this way,” is not a good reason to keep doing something.  As the saying goes, “If the horse is dead, dismount.”  Likewise, the phrase, “We’ve never done it that way before,” is not a good reason to reject a new idea. Every church program, event or activity must go through an annual evaluation to be reaffirmed, refined, replaced or retired.

A – ATTITUDE:  Judgmental attitudes must be dealt with immediately.  It should surprise no one that the lost will act lost even when they visit your church.  Visitors shouldn’t feel they need to ‘clean themselves up’ before they are accepted and loved.  Teach the people to love the sinner and hate the sin, but never confuse the two.

Likewise, conflict among believers must be addressed.  “The Christ in you is never at conflict with the Christ in me,” thus if there is conflict between us then flesh is in the mix and the two must seek Christ’s direction.

G – GROUPS:  Relationships thrive in smaller numbers, so in order to grow numerically a church must put an emphasis on moving people to engage within smaller groups.  Small group leaders must be trained and equipped to recruit and send out new leaders to keep groups at an intimate and manageable size. 

The size of the facilities are important as well.  Studies show that once a room reaches about 70% capacity, something must change to accommodate growth.  Some suggest to get a bigger room, others say to start a new group.  Each congregation must decide what is best for their specific circumstance, but one thing is certain; if you do nothing the the group will stagnate over time.

N – NEGOTIABLES:  Practice Romans 14:1: "Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” There is nothing that will flat-line a church faster than inner turmoil and squabbles over frivolous matters.  Do not allow molehills to become mountains.  Know what is worth fighting for and what is better left alone. 

Carpet colors, music styles, room temperatures and other such surface level issues have done more to squelch kingdom growth than all the major in-depth theological disagreements combined.  It seems that many of these conflicts arise when such decisions are brought to the congregation, as if it is ever a good idea to allow large groups to make decisions regarding stylistic details and preferences?  Does anyone actually expect to get a church wide consensus regarding such matters?   I'd be worried if you did, because its probably an indication that either everyone in your church is just alike, or (more likely) that many are scared to say anything because of a dominate and opinionated individual exerting their will on the others...neither of which is healthy.

Save your church a lot of trouble and get qualified professionals to work with one or two appointed members to make those types of decisions and then stand behind those decisions as "completed and not up for dispute." Give an outlet for suggestions and feedback, but do not allow debates over such matters distract the congregation from what is most important.

A – APPEAL:  A church I worked with recently decided to paint the stark white walls a more warm and inviting color.  One of the men in the church protested, “A coat of paint ain’t gonna grow this church.”  He is right, it ain’t; but, it may help those who visit not feel like they just walked into a morgue. 

Men especially have a tendency to overlook the power of appeal.  We are typically more practical creatures who couldn’t care less about how nicely a place is decorated, but let’s just be honest, who is usually the one making the decision about where to attend church?  Right or wrong, the women have the greatest influence on where a family chooses to worship.  How does your church look through a woman’s eyes?  Can she tell your fellowship cares about the place of worship?

The consideration of the church’s appeal is much more than paint colors and decoration.  It is everything from the time a guest arrives in your parking lot to the time they drive away.  Was it difficult to park?  Were they greeted when they arrived?  Did they know where to go?  Were the bathrooms clean?  How do the childcare facilities look?  What about the worship service as a whole?  Was it applicable and relevant?  The worship service is typically the first and most important influence on visitors.  Therefore, the praise and worship should be appealing and the service should flow smoothly with seamless transitions.  The preaching should be engaging, applicable, and relevant.

N - NON-NEGOTIABLES:  Never sacrifice sound biblical doctrine for the sake of growing numerically.  Leaving out the ‘difficult’ doctrines concerning sin, judgment, and hell so as to appeal to the masses may be effective, but you risk making them “twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Matt. 23:15).  The church is not called to tickle their ears (2 Tim. 4:3), but to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15).  There is more than one way to pollute the church, so take care not to make a bigger mess while attempting to clean up another.

T – TARGETING:  Accept and love everyone, but understand no single local congregation can please all the people all the time.  Your church will appeal to some demographics and cultural groups more than another.  That is okay.  The message never changes but sometimes the methods do.  Choose whatever style best represents who you are as a congregation and do that with excellence.   Starting a new group or even a new church which is able to better relate and connect with different preferences is more effective than trying to please everyone.  Pray and ask the Father to provide your church creative ways to reach your community and be prepared to do some things outside the box. 

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