Reversing Decline in the Episcopal Church and Other Denominations

By Ken Howard

 

The Problem

Most dioceses of the Episcopal Church are declining in membership, struggle to meet operations, and do not have sufficient funds to make significant investments in growth.

The Question

How can dioceses make an immediate headway toward reversing their rate of decline while making available additional funds to invest in growth?

A Possible Solution

Strategic Reallocation

Let’s assume that a typical healthy diocese looks like this.

Because even in a healthy diocese, at any point in time,
16–17% of the congregations will be in rapid-to-moderate decline.

Why?

Because all congregations have a natural life cycle:
from birth, to growth, to stability, to decline, to death.

Churches are living things, and ultimately, all living things die.

Which means
that even relatively healthy dioceses have to grapple with the issue
of how to deal with declining congregations

But the reality in most dioceses is worse.

The tail on the declining end
is significantly shorter
than the tail on the growth end.

Which means that the percentage of congregations experiencing decline
is significantly higher than the percentage experiencing growth.

So what steps can we take to address this problem?

Step 1 – Transfer Dollars

CLOSE
parishes that are in moderate to rapid decline
and have reached unsustainable membership levels, then…

CONSOLIDATE
Pastorally help the people come to terms
with the death of their congregation,
and find new worshiping communities, and…

SELL & REINVEST
Sell property and invest the proceeds and endowments into:
–Researching why some parishes are growing
(especially, how they engage their neighborhoods)
–Redeveloping at-risk congregations
–Starting new congregations and ministries

Step 2 – Transfer Knowledge

RESEARCH
What makes your vital and growing parishes
vital and growing

DEVELOPMENT
Invest that knowledge into:
–Redeveloping at-risk congregations and revitalizing stagnant ministries

 

---

Objections

I anticipate there will be some objections to this modest proposal.

Objection #1

It’s
UN-PASTORAL
to close parishes in which people still worship

 

Response #1

UN-PASTORAL
is allowing congregations
to sink deeper and deeper into ineffective unsustainability

PASTORAL
is helping members come to terms
with the fact that their congregation is dying
and that it’s not their fault
(and perhaps helping them find a new place to worship with a more vital congregation)

 

---

Objection #2

It’s
BAD OUTREACH
to close parishes which serve the community

 

Response #2

BUILDING ≠ MINISTRY

EFFECTIVE OUTREACH
does not require a building
(a building may even hinder it)

 

---

Objection #3

It’s
BAD STEWARDSHIP
to sell a kingdom resource

Response #3

BAD STEWARDSHIP
is putting money into building maintenance
at the expense of ministry

GOOD STEWARDSHIP
is putting money where it will do the most good
in support of God’s ministry

 

---

How this modest proposal be received?

Hard to say.
It’s quite possible that my “modest proposal”
may receive no better a reception
than Jonathan Swift’s original satirical tracts of the same name,
because many bishop’s view the churches of their dioceses as their babies,
so many may view closing church buildings
with the same distaste as Swift’s proposal
to fight hunger by eating the babies of poor people.

For those who do, this post describes
THE END

But for those who choose the harder yet more faithful road, this post describes
THE BEGINNING