Autopsy of a Deceased Church

Ten Warning Signs from Churches that Closed their Doors

God’s Church Endures Forever. But Local Congregations Sometimes Die.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:18 that his church will endure forever. After hearing Peter publicly declare that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus encouraged Peter with these words about the future of the church:

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” -Matthew 16:18, NIV

Jesus tells us here that there is no power in Hell or on earth that will be able to overcome his church. But if that’s the case, why do so many churches end up having to close their doors?

The answer is that Jesus’s words in Matthew 16 apply to the universal church, not individual congregations. Jesus promises that his eternal, universal church that transcends time, language, culture, and human organizational systems will endure forever. But local congregations are not automatically entitled to health and longevity. Sustained health is something that requires intention effort (and lots of prayer!).

Autopsy of a Deceased Church

The painful reality is that individual congregations can and do die. The universal church endures forever, but recent numbers suggest that around 5,000 local congregations close every year.

Thom Rainer wrote a book about what went wrong in several of those congregations that had to close. He called his book an autopsy because his goal was to understand what went wrong in those unhealthy churches so that churches that were beginning to show signs of decline would know the warning signs to watch out for.

Here’s how Thom Rainer explains it in his book:

“The trauma of observing an autopsy is only beneficial if it is received as a warning to the living. This book is not about dwelling on the past, but bearing fruit in the future.” -Autopsy of a Deceased Church (Introduction)

Today’s post is a short summary of the ten things Thom Rainer noticed were common traits among churches that died. My prayer is that these will be a powerful wake up call for all of us!

Ten Things That Went Wrong in Deceased Churches

1. They Experienced Slow Erosion — There was a very gradual decline in overall attendance over a period of several years.

“It is rare for a long-term church member to see erosion in his or her church. Growth may come rapidly, but decline is usually slow, imperceptibly slow. This slow erosion is the worst type of decline for churches, because the members have no sense of urgency to change. They see the church on a regular basis; they don’t see the gradual decline that is taking place before their eyes.” -Thom Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church

2. They Turned the Past into a Hero — They were overly nostalgic about the way things used to be. They idealized what happened in the past and felt like the methods and programs that brought them success twenty or thirty years ago were the key to continued success in the future.

3. The Church Refused to Look Like the Community — The church became too disconnected from the community around them. They did not keep up with the changing demographics in the area, which made it difficult for them to reach out to their immediate neighbors.

4. The Budget Moved Inward — When contributions declined and budget cuts needed to be made, the first cuts were for programs and ministries that benefited outsiders (outreach, evangelism, missions). The budget items that were last to be cut were things that benefited church members.

5. The Great Commission Became the Great Omission — The church stopped making the Great Commission a priority.

6. They Became a Preference-Driven Church — The key attitude was “I Want” instead of “I Will.” Church members came to expect the church to meet their needs and preferences.

“Every one of the fourteen autopsied churches had some level of this problem before they died. A significant number of the members moved the focus from others to themselves. And when a church moves in that direction, it is headed for decline then death. The decline may be protracted, and the death may be delayed. But it is inevitable. The church will die.” -Thom Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church

7. The Church Experienced High Turnover Among the Ministry Staff — Churches hired ministers to bring fresh ideas, but resisted their efforts to make any meaningful changes. Ministers got burned out trying to revitalize churches that didn’t want anything to change.

8. The Church Rarely Prayed Together — Prayer was an appetizer, but never the main course.

9. The Church Had No Clear Purpose — If anything, the only compelling reason for continuing to exist was the fear of closing. They fought tooth and nail to protect and preserve the church. Ironically, this only accelerated their decline. The fear of death isn’t the same as having a compelling reason to live.

10. The Church Obsessed About its Facilities — The church building became an object of obsession and endless debates. Time and effort was diverted away from more important priorities like the Great Commission.

Death Was Not Inevitable.

There’s a lot to chew on here. What’s something that stood out to you about this list? Why do you think these churches refused to take corrective action? And do you think there are any other common characteristics of dying churches that you would add to the list?

Perhaps the most sobering part of this book for me was the realization that these churches had plenty of opportunities to revitalize. They just refused to accept reality.

“There were several points where these churches could have reversed the decline they were experiencing. But the remaining members in the church refused to see reality.” -Thom Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church

We don’t want the same words to be said of us (and our local churches) one day. So let’s take some time to think and pray about the positive changes we can make in our local congregations to ensure we move towards greater health.

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Watch the Class

I recently talked through these ten warning signs with a Sunday morning Bible Class at Southwest Church of Christ. You can listen to the recording of that session on YouTube using the link below.