Part of the key is to remember that we should not see the death of a church as a failure. Even the churches in the New Testament died and were restarted (or, were not, in some places). Why not make the death of your church a strategic decision rather than an unfortunate accident?

It is better for denomination or network leaders to be prepared to respond to dying churches rather than to react to the despair of confused churchless members as churches move toward closure.

Many churches will reach the end of their life cycle without making the necessary moves to experience real change. Those churches that do not comeback will eventually close—it is inevitable.

Today, most denomination or network leaders react to the closing of churches. In the future, wise leaders must anticipate and prepare for the closure of churches. They will facilitate a dignified death for congregations, much like Hospice facilitates sick individuals in anticipation of their passing.

Be honest about the reality of death of churches.

Let’s consider a Hospice ministry for churches.

Obviously we need to realize that most churches die. It is a part of the life cycle.

Jesus sent messages to the churches in the book of Revelation. I’ve been to all seven of the places where those churches were. None of them are there anymore. Churches die.

I think churches should die well rather than live poorly. As a Star Trek nerd, I remember the Klingons would dream of dying in battle—dying well. I think the dream of a church should be to die and let the battle continue through the resources they have the their support for other churches.

It is difficult for a church to die and at the same time release its resources to another group to continue the mission. After all, the new church may play different style worship music in our building. What if they don’t have Sunday School? Can we give our building to a new church that may remove the pews? Yes, these are crucial questions for some.

At the end of the day, leaders of denominations or networks must be able to help churches get through this process.

Recognize the signs that death is near.

We have to help people in dying churches to recognize some signs that it’s time for their church to die, and that it’s okay to die sometimes. So, what are some of the signs?

There are many, but I’d say that a lack of interest in leadership positions is a sign that death is near—the congregation has been demoralized to the point that there’s no one willing to lead the efforts to right the ship. Without a leader, a church will die.

Another sign is when pastoral leadership has come to the place where they simply have no plan other than to try to ride it into the ground. If the plan for a church is, “We’re just going to hang on as long as we can,” death is likely imminent.

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