“I have been involved in 17 church closures where we sold the properties to a secular company.”
Those words grieved me in two ways. First, I grieved that the ministry and mission presence of those 17 churches were no longer realities in their respective communities. Second, I grieved that the properties were no longer being used for local church ministries.
This post is not about a pleasant topic. It’s about churches that have declined to the point where their near term future is in doubt. And it’s about churches seriously considering allowing another church to takeover their property. It’s about churches going down the difficult but noble path of being acquired by another church. Allow me to elaborate with seven reasons why churches should consider this option.
- So a church presence in the community will not go away. We need more churches, not fewer churches. If your church has declined to the point where it looks like it may close, allow another church to acquire your property and re-start as a new church.
- Because re-plants have many of the same advantages of typical church plants. Simply stated, a re-planted church is able to start anew. Past challenges are in the rearview mirror, and new opportunities abound.
- Because real estate is becoming scarce and more expensive. From a stewardship perspective, it makes much more sense to give away the property of a dying church to a relatively healthy church. In some areas, land is scarce. In all areas, new buildings are expensive.
- So the work and ministry of your present church may have a legacy of continuation. Imagine the untold hours of ministry that have gone into the work of an existing church. Imagine the potentially millions of dollars that have been given through the church. If your church is on the precipice of closing, don’t let that work and sacrifice end abruptly. Allow another church to honor and continue that legacy.
- Because the ministry presence in the community will move from unhealthy to healthy. If your church will possibly close soon, it’s obviously not very healthy. Allow a new church to acquire your facilities to bring a healthy ministry presence to the community.
- Because sometimes a new start is needed to overcome negative perceptions in the community. If your church is on the verge of death, its reputation in the community is either negative or unknown. A re-plant will allow the new ministry presence to have a fresh start in the eyes of those in the community.
- Because often the acquiring church increases its ministry impact multifold through an acquisition. Many acquiring churches report greater health and ministry impact as they gain new campuses. And it’s usually not the simple addition of ministry impact with each additional campus. All locations of the acquiring church often become stronger and more effective in their respective communities.
I recently went over my updated will with my three sons. The son with the greatest level of mercy told me he was uncomfortable talking about my death. I get that. But death is a part of God’s glorious plan. I would rather plan for it than to leave my family struggling to take care of everything after my eternal departure.
Churches also die. But it’s so much better to be prepared for that death than to close the doors without further consideration.
Churches that allow themselves to be acquired are churches looking to a new future, a new hope, and a willingness to sacrifice to get there.
Sometimes the new group is more nimble and has better leadership than that of the dying church. It may be that the dying church was once nimble and had great leadership then became stagnant. History might just be repeating.
Excellent point, Mark.
WE need bible based preachers in our church.
Have a register of preachers to fill the pulpit of some dying congregations lest the church building is acquired for
another religion as is happening sadly.
Muslims love to acquire abandoned churches.
Presently I am doing research on the rural black church. Data from many of the studies dating back to the 1930 show many of the communities were over churched. With urban migration things have gotten worse. Many traditionalists want to hold on for the sake of holding on. Should the resources of those churches that while not struggling but making a difference be put in property or minintering to the community. Retail has the same problem. Too many stores. They are being repurposed also.
Excellent piece! From the Baptist Association side our association has been involved in 2 situations of this nature and both has great kingdom results. What I have learned about death (either a personal or a church) is this: There are two reasons we have funerals, 1) is for Closure, the living need to grieve that is part a health part of dealing with death, 2) is for Cleanliness, if you do not bury the dead they will make the living sick, and that is the situation sadly with many churches that continue to hang-on/around they are contaminating the field that healthy works are trying to impact and causing harm to the greater kingdom work.
Well said, Robert.
I served as pastor of an inner city church once. Many churches there closed, moved, or merged with another church. I kept hearing people refer to a church that merged with another church as “dying.” I spent a lot of time in prayer, thinking, and searching God’s Word for an answer to the question, “When does a church die”? My conclusion: A church dies when it ceases to accomplish God’s purpose for it. (Rev.3:1)
Very sad but true. If we as a church get distracted with many things but seeking Gods will firs, for us, as His Children, for the Church as the body of Christ, and for the Community as the field on which the Lord has planted us to serve, we Can easily become a social club… and we have plenty of those around.
Is there a New Testament model or example for one local church acquiring another? If not, why would one thing such a practice is worth considering?
In that light, I don’t think you can find a biblical model for multiple services, church buildings, or most programs
Is there a New Testament example of needing to do things only by New Testament example? Just curious as to why we would take this route. 🙂
Christianity was an illegal religion for a few centuries after its founding. Followers of Jesus might have met in a house on Sunday after dark or bribed a Roman soldier to turn his head and let them use an amphitheater.
There are at least two reasons why there is no Biblical record of church acquisition:
1. The Book of Acts only covered about 35 years of church history. Most of the churches that die and are acquired are older than 35 years.
2. There was not much to acquire. No church buildings. No other properties. No sound systems, furnishings, etc.
In addition
As churches age, they sometimes face problems that challenge their existence that rarely exist in younger churches, (less than 35 years old) such as:
1. Aging congregations
2. Changing neighborhoods, typically white people unwilling or unprepared to transition to ethnically or socio-economically diverse congregations and church leadership.
3. Changing economies in their areas, i.e., people moving out to find work.
Good points!
I became the pastor of a post fragmentation church in SW Florida in 1988 and remained there for over 20 years. The church had lost momentum and had a huge investment in a community that was changing rapidly. After much prayerful reflection and long range planning by a wonderful group of members, we voted to relocate to the growth-edge of our city and to sell our property at a fraction of what had been invested to a newer congregation that was already geared up for ministry in that community. We actually financed it for them, interest free, for 7 years to enable their acquisition of our rather large facility. A wonderful partnership developed between the congregations and the Lord blessed our intent. In time we acquired a 79 acre tract on a major east-west corridor, less than a mile from I-75. As God blessed, we experienced tremendous growth in our new location, built a beautiful but not overstated facility, and saw God impact many lives. I am convinced that none of that would have happened had we refused move as God was leading. Some chose not to take that journey with us and that season required of me a costly kind of leadership. But God blessed. The motto we used was, “The church is people, not property.” Some believed I was crazy for asking our church to sell, dwell in a middle school complex until we could build, and for replanting an existing church. But no one in that city today questions that decision. Where God leads He provides. By grace, I learned as a young pastor there to never let real estate get confused with the gospel!
Great story, Tony!
Thank for the story we are walking through that decision right now!
Well, all this sounds nice in an ideal situation. I recently merged two United Methodist churches and we put the property of the one church up for sale. We were hoping that a local Church of God or Presbyterian congregation would purchase the building, but neither one was interested. No other church came forward to express interest in the property. So, rather than continue paying insurance, utilities, lawn care, and the like, we decided to put the church building and property up for auction. We would liked to have seen the church building continued to be used as a house of worship. But we really had no other option.
One church that I know well, might close pretty soon.
It is the only congregation in a town that had 92 people according to the last census, and has no longer a grocery store not a gas station. The newest home was built almost 50 years ago.
This congregation still ministering to their area. This week they have 35 kids in VBS, that is much more than the total people in attendance on most Sundays.
I don’t consider this church unhealthy. It is healthier than many much larger churches I know.
The area has always been and is still agricultural, but nowadays farming requires a tiny fraction of the number of people than it once did while yielding more than ever. Not many new jobs are to be found close by
I am sure there are many congregations in comparable situations.
Please, don’t look down upon their faithfulness.
Critically important direction. Our current church acquired a rural church that had died in a nearby town. Four years later the church, with a bi-vocational pastor and no budget runs 50-60 in attendance and has VBS and other children and youth ministries. This is more than the church has seen in 25 years!
When our association has been deeded dead churches they have merely sold the properties and desert the town.
These are not really new concepts. Thirty years ago I pastored three rural Arizona churches that had been closed. Today, one of them runs over 1,000 in attendance and all three are still in existence.
To God be the Glory, Great Things He has done.
Critically important direction. Our current church acquired a rural church that had died in a nearby town. Four years later the church, with a bi-vocational pastor and no budget runs 50-60 in attendance and has VBS and other children and youth ministries. This is more than the church has seen in 25 years!
When our association has been deeded dead churches they have merely sold the properties and desert the town.
These are not really new concepts. Thirty years ago I pastored three rural Arizona churches that had been closed. Today, one of them runs over 1,000 in attendance and all three are still in existence.
To God be the Glory, Great Things He has done.
Our church body is now deciding whether or not to sell our very expensive property. Our body is thriving, but it is because new pastor came and did revitalization, However, even with 7 yrs of growth, we can no longer carry our multi-million dollar note.
I would like to hear from others who have sold their property. Our options seem to be:
1. take any proceeds and relaunch – we can relaunch as a brand new church or as the same church located elsewhere
2. take the proceeds and give it to another ministry and disband
3. take the proceeds and our people and merge with another church (just for background, we have tried to merge with other churches and KEEP the property – but all have been dissuaded by the large property debt our church has – everyone wants the property but no one wants to pay for it!).
There’s some good examples of this happening in the United Kingdom in a planned way – particularly a partnership called PioneerConnexion https://pioneerconnexion.com between The Methodist Church and the Pioneer movement of newer churches. It was observed by the partnership that often The Methodists have a place but not the people for ministry and Pioneer have the people but not the place for ministry, so a number of churches have been reborn or relocated with great fruitfulness…