Part 1
This is a report from The Phantom Pew Sitter about the first sixty churches visited. It discusses the good, and there is much, the bad, and the ugly (regretfully there’s far more of this than the good) about those churches. It is in four parts so you will be able to move from one right into the next.
The next White Paper will discuss ways that these struggling churches (the bad and the ugly) and many other churches could turn themselves around and become bold—dynamic churches.
If you agree, disagree or just want to discuss some of this report or any other ideas be sure to email me at: ken@thekenjohnsongroup.com
Ken Johnson
The Ken Johnson Group, LLC
13606 E. Bates Ave., #205
Aurora, CO 80014
303/478-6131
www.thekenjohnsongroup.com
From February 2002 to March 2004 I visited sixty church worship services encompassing a variety of denominations and independent churches. All of these churches were located either in the Denver area or the Grand Junction area of Colorado. It has been interesting, exciting and depressing. Regretfully, I found that a majority of these churches are either dead or dying and the congregations don’t know it. My study wasn’t necessarily a scientific study but instead a way to see what is happening in churches today. I left a full-time ministry in February of 2002 after having served in a variety of ways for more than 40 years; therefore, I haven’t been able to visit many churches.
The churches I visited ranged from Pentecostal to Catholic. Attendance at these churches ranged from 60 to more than 6000. I tried to visit churches that had experienced high success at one point but today seem to be merely simmering. I went to others that never got hotter than a simmer and some that opened their doors within the last 20 years and are really cooking today. It became obvious that many churches are filled with people who go to church on Sunday because that’s what they’ve done for years. Dying churches are filled with people aged 55 and up and growing churches are comprised of people aged 45 or younger. I believe God’s “frozen chosen” inhabit many of today’s churches.
My purpose for visiting these churches was threefold:
1. To find welcoming churches.
2. To observe worship: was it warm and exciting or cold?
3. To ascertain if the church was a church that is sending people out into the ministry or is keeping them in house church.
Therefore, I graded on hospitality, upbeat worship, and active ministry. The grades are as follows:
(Grading system: 1 the lowest and 5 the highest)
5. I want to go back to this church today
4. This church is better than most churches but I can wait until next Sunday to go back.
3. This is a church that has potential but is luke warm and even though I might go back it would be to see if I could help them become a better church.
2. This is a church that I probably wouldn’t go back to but I do see some redeeming values.
1. This is a church that I would not return to and in all honesty it would be better if they just close it down and assimilated the members into other churches.
Yes I know that this sounds pretty harsh, but the ministry of the church would be better off if some of these churches did die.
Grading System 1 2 3 4 5
Churches
in each category 7 22 15 10 6
Percentage 11 37 25 17 10
The majority of the churches (73%) are either average or below and only a few of the churches (27%) are above average. Most of the churches that scored a four or a five were Evangelical and more contemporary as the following charts demonstrate. Granted, a few contemporary churches scored a one or a two, but that’s a small percentage.
Mainline (denominational) Churches:
Grading System 1 2 3 4 5
Churches in each category 6 19 8 1 1
Percentage 17 54 23 3 3
Evangelical Churches:
Grading System 1 2 3 4 5
Churches in each category 1 2 7 10 5
Percentage 4 8 28 40 20
During these two years, I visited several traditional churches that started, or are in the process of beginning contemporary services. It seems they concluded that contemporary churches only do well because they entertain people and do not minister to them. From what I see them providing as a praise team they have obviously decided not to entertain. The music with a few exceptions is dreadful. It was obvious the traditional churches I visited that are beginning contemporary services don’t understand what comprises a contemporary service.
It is clear that contemporary churches are growing because they expect their members to minister to the far corners of the earth. It is also a fact that evangelical churches are growing and these include evangelical churches within a mainline denomination.
Especially interesting and exciting during my visits was attending black churches. I only visited three, but I found a lot of life in those churches whether traditional or contemporary. All three of the black churches I visited scored a five. The mainline white congregations could learn a lot from their Christian brothers and sisters in these black congregations for they truly understand how to worship God which is obvious in everything they do.
The denominational churches I visited were UPCUSA, a variety of Lutheran churches, United Methodist, Episcopal and Catholic. Many of these congregations were filled with older people who resisted change to maintain peace and quiet—as in “don’t change the church while I’m still alive. I really don’t care if the church dies I want it to stay the same until I die and then you can do whatever you want.” It is interesting that, in their youth, these people fought to change the church and they won. They believe the changes they instigated were right, so they don’t see why change is needed. Those changes were right for the time but they aren’t right for today.
Another denomination, the relatively young Evangelical Presbyterian Church, is torn between toeing the denominational line and being creative. I visited six EPC churches and only found one instigating needed change. Incidentally, this church continues to grow. The other five each have unique stories. One, the offspring of the growing church, does well but struggles with its identity; the mother church of the first five is dying because of a lackluster pastor; one is stagnant because the founders did not purchase enough property to expand and hired a pastor who is more PCUSA than EPC; another, which is hard to find, is expanding but has already outgrown its property, including adequate parking; and the sixth church left the UPCUSA and joined the EPC retaining all the attributes of the UPCUSA. This last church has an older congregation that hired a “me” oriented pastor who isn’t capable of ministering to a larger group. The average score of these six churches is three, not where I would expect newer denominations to score. Regretfully, a number of them still espouse the traditional Presbyterian Church line.
The 11 independent or non-denominational churches I visited were obviously open to change but, mark my words, if the same people remain in those congregations they will eventually fight to continue the status quo. The Evangelical Presbyterian church, which began in the 1980s, is already beginning to disagree over the “essentials.” The independent/non-denominational churches scored an average of 3.8.
In light of these scores, a question needs to be asked: what is the primary purpose of the church according to the Bible?
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
in all Judea
and
Samaria,
and
to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1: 8b
This charge is clear. You need to begin at home and move out from there. It seems to me that many churches, especially the mainline churches, have either forgotten this charge or don’t believe that it is true. Of the 60 churches I visited only 17 showed any signs of ministering to anyone else but themselves and sending money to foreign missions.
My Philosophy
This is my philosophy of what the church should be about. The purpose of the church is to exalt Christ, bring people to him, bond people in Christ, build people up in Christ, and to send people into ministry for Christ. It’s vitally important that all Members of the congregation understand that they are ministers.
I realize this is my opinion, but I believe I have the background to make these kinds of choices. I have been in the ministry in a variety of ways both full-time and part-time for more than 40 years and have worked in churches with 60 members to more than 4000 members. These churches have included dying, plateauing and growing congregations. I have also ministered in both mainline (denominational) churches and independent/non-denominational churches.
Yes, there is still some life left out there in the Christian community, but it is surely dwindling in the Denver area as it is in other areas of the country. What can we do to change this trend?
It’s obvious that of the sixty churches I visited there weren’t many that were doing anything more than plateauing or dying. I’m sure that a large majority of the other churches in the area are doing the same. What can we do to change this trend?
In the second part of this series I will discuss the different styles of churches I attended, including concert churches, social churches, ministry churches and a variety of others.
Go to Part 2
© 2006, Ken Johnson, President and CEO of The Ken Johnson Group, LLC. To contact Ken, or for permission to reprint this article, send an e-mail to: ken@thekenjohnsongroup.com |
