Relevant Church

Tony Morgan—author, church strategist, and pastor of ministries at West Ridge Church in Atlanta—recently remembered a conversation he had with a denominational leader about the attributes of a declining church. Morgan remarked, “When I work with churches for the first time, sometimes they’re frustrated with me because I’m not willing to help them fix something specific...churches can become convinced that they know why their church isn’t growing.” Morgan said these five foundational aspects have to come first:

• Lack of mission and vision clarity
• Failure to define a concise strategy to help newcomers become fully devoted followers of Christ
• A complex structure
• Inward-focus with little connection to the community
• Weak leadership, especially in the senior pastor role

Morgan also said he was surprised by the number of churches that “would rather close their doors than make the necessary changes” to avoid decline. He concluded by saying churches unwilling to address these elements will not shift their decline, no matter how hard they try.

I have observed this myself in some of our neighboring churches. I was called one day to meet with the pastor and chairman of deacons of a church in our county that was just barely able to keep the doors open. They had heard about the growth and excitement surrounding MVC and wanted to see if we might be able to help them. After talking to the pastor for a few minutes, I discovered that church attendance on Sunday mornings averaged 12-13 attendees. And no one could remember the last time someone was saved or baptized. I shared with them the experiences we had gone through as a church and offered a few recommendations for change. But after sharing my opinion about how they could grow, reach their neighborhood, and attract new members, they completely refused to change the way they were doing things. Pretty sad, but unfortunately, it's reality for numerous churches around the world.

Folks, I pray that MVC never gets that way and refuses to change in order to reach the lost people around us. In fact, that's the reason we intentionally try to be different. Our focus is outward, not inward. We will do whatever it takes to remain relevant and realistic in our approach to ministry. Like Pastor Craig Groeschel once said, “In order to reach the people no one else is reaching we must be willing to do the things that no one else is doing.” But we can't rest on our laurels and stay where we are right now. If we do, our church can also easily get stuck in our methods, styles, and tactics and become a declining church of tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming series about church. We're going to take a look at the vision, strategies and mission of MVC and discuss how we will remain a relevant and growing church for years to come. I hope you're planning to join us and bring along a friend or two!!!
Love you all... kb

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