dying church
Articles

The Day We Visited a Dying Church

Tony Morgan visits a dated, traditional ministry:

It’s hard to believe, but it was over ten years ago. Our family was out of town. While we were away, we went to a service at a church that was very different than our church. We had three kids at the time. All three were under the age of ten.

Our kids were used to ministry environments with lots of energy, today’s music, video, relevant teaching and lots and lots of new people (including many of their friends). So, needless to say, I was very interested to see how they would respond to this experience.

The church we visited had been around for over 100 years. You could tell that at one time the church was very vibrant with many young families. By the time we visited, though, there were very few people our age. The facility was dated. The music was very traditional. And the message was boring for my kids…and for me.

Like I said, this was ten years ago. My son, Jacob, was only six at the time. As we were walking out of the church together after the service, Jacob tugged on my sleeve to get my attention. Then he quietly said what everyone else in the family was thinking, “Dad, this church is never going to grow.”

Continue reading.

Sign up to receive weekly WorshipIdeas every Tuesday morning in your email:








Share this article:
Don Chapman Worshipideas
Don Chapman

A prolific arranger and songwriter, Don has had songs published by Word, Integrity Music, G3worship and Worship Today, and has orchestrated music for several Christian artists. He serves as the arranger for Hymncharts.com and Worshiphymns.com. He’s been featured on the 700 Club, has been quoted in USAToday and has been a guest lecturer at Liberty University.

You Might Also Like

Seacoast
Articles

The Next Big Thing

What would happen if Rick Warren started a church in your town? Would it suck the life out of other…
Seacoast
Articles

The Next Big Thing Part 2

Last week we talked about the new multi-site church movement that’s happening all over the country, and specifically about Seacoast…

worshipideas:

Essential reading for worship leaders since 2002.

 

Get the latest worship news, ideas and a list

of the top CCLI songs delivered every Tuesday... for FREE!