What Happens When a Church Closes Down

What Happens When a Church Closes Down

Khen Lim




Image source: riveroflifehome.com

If you’ve spent much of your life attending the one church, you’d value the soulful attachment. If you’ve been deeply involved in the running of its ministries or certain related affairs, you’d know the feeling of being at one with the church. If much of what you do with your time invariably involves the church in one way or another, you’d understand how inseparable you have become. In fact you are so much a part of the church that the church becomes the force of your life.

Believe it or not, every church has a ‘use-by’ date. It doesn’t matter how unlikely you think that applies to your church because in truth, nothing lasts on this Earth and that includes churches. When you consider all the churches that Paul was associated with in the New Testament and then realise all of them no longer exists today, you’d get the idea. You can also surf the Internet and read some of the articles about churches closing down – you might be surprised but the inevitable and unavoidable facts are all there.

No matter though, every church harbours its own dreams and visions of growth and health and no one ever joins a church thinking it would ever close in the same way that no couple should ever get married by preparing for divorce and arming themselves with prenuptial agreements. We all imagine our churches filling the pews every Sunday, equipped with ministries that are chock full of people getting involved, celebrating calendar events with joy and purpose, carrying out missions to take the Gospel far and wide, to save and make fishers of men. And if we’re renting premises, then without a doubt, many of us would picture the day that our churches would buy their own property, build on them and then call it their own.

But what happens when all these dreams and visions prematurely die on us? What happens when every idea we’ve pictured in our heads cease to bear fruit or never bore fruit? What do we do when the cracks on the wall tell us that no matter what we do, our church will close sooner than we think? How would you feel when you realise that there is nothing you can do to prevent your church from closing?

There are many factors that cause a church to close its doors and from these arise equally as many if not more issues that affect the congregation in so many different ways. One of the most heartbreaking issues we will have to deal with is how the closure of a church can affect the various individuals and families of the congregation. When these individuals and families have invested much of their labour, passion and lives’ efforts, the impact will be most significantly felt. These are the people we must take heed and where we must help habilitate in their need to move on and leave the hurt behind.

Any closing of a church will always be painful. Perhaps not all but there will be people who will be hurt by its closure. Some might be traumatised at least for a period of their lives before they could be encouraged to get on and find a new church of their liking. Just when the pain of closure stings us where we hurt the most, many if not the whole congregation will invariably look to its pastoral ministry not just for answers but also for much-sought-after care and comfort. But if the pastors don’t care for themselves, how then can we expect them to properly care for those who are in need of their services?  

In this article, I hope to look into how we can sort ourselves out when a church shuts down for good. I certainly don’t profess to know it all and neither can I assure effectiveness but hopefully then, I can at least get you started on believing that you can do to deal with such an issue.

So here are ten things you need to consider doing if your church decides to close down:

1. Seek God

At a time of deep crisis like a church closing, there are among us those who prefer to be left alone to curl up in a dark corner. Believe me that is not unacceptable. In fact, we empathise with them. Don’t not believe that some of them think no one appreciates the hurt they’re suffering. For them, the closing of the church precipitates the collapse of their lives.

Of course none of this is true because God does understand and value how we feel. We ourselves may not have a clue but God does. In fact the more significant the crisis is, the more we are in need of Him. It is not wrong for many to say that we should care for ourselves first but by the same token, it is impossible for any of us to meet all our own needs all of the time. We have neither the wisdom nor the objectivity to get us past our emotionally mired view of our own crumbling church. Therefore, don’t make God our last resort. Instead put Him first. As Matthew 6:33 says, seek Him first.

Proverbs 18:10 (NIV) says “Unless we draw strength and wisdom from God Himself, we will not come through well.” There is no better help available to us than the God whose creation we are, whom we serve and who called us into His ministry and to the church in which now, a threatening crisis is at hand and we have no choice but to face up to it.

2. Go into prayer

It is only through prayer that we can seek God’s peace and grace, strength and wisdom. Through prayer, we are divinely insulated like a reassuring blanket covering over us to help distance us from the emotional and personal impact such a crisis can bring about. Remember that whatever that undermines our integrity, whatever that takes away our ability to hold on and stand up are also the works of the evil one.

However when we go into prayer, we move ourselves into a spiritual realm in which we are guaranteed of God listening to the needs of our hearts and minds. In prayer also lies the assurance that God will bless us and our families and those whom we have been serving in church now and in the future.

If you are a ministry leader, you may be expected to know about praying, since those of your ilk often pray for others but not for your own selves. The privilege has always been that they pray in the midst of tests among the people they serve. But then this will be a good time for those of us in leadership to pray for ourselves and our families and then to pray for those we serve.

Pray that the crisis is manageable. Pray that good decision-making will materialise. Pray that matters are carried out sensitively and with due consideration for everyone. If we can include those who regularly visit our church, that would be even better. Pray also that even the tiniest details are not left undone but instead treated with the same attention as the key issues.

And while you’re at it, pray that the service on the last day will be memorable, beautiful and purposeful. Remember that there is no such thing as praying too much.

3. Be spiritually disciplined

Knowing your church will close its doors for the last time is one thing but doing so with utmost respect and with a desire to make the day successful is another. What this means is that closing the church properly demands our best of spiritual health. We can’t just roll up on the last day, looking miserable and feeling like we’re not in the mood to be nice. Neither can we be so sullen and sombre that no one dares to speak to us.

To avoid all this, we must therefore be spiritually disciplined, meaning we must remember to pray, fast, read, study and diligently meditate on God’s Word. We must continue to praise and worship Him through song and through the way of our lives. We must also regularly confess our sins before Christ. Only when we look after our spiritual worth can we then offer invaluable assistance to the others in our congregation. Still, don’t ever forget that amidst the trauma and struggles associated with closing the church, we must find time to care for our own personal spiritual welfare.

For all the preaching and sharing in our ministry and cell groups over the years, it is times like this that we are called to stand and demonstrate what they are now all worth. A situation like the closing of the church basically demands that we prove beyond mere words the quality of all the sermons and Bible studies that are taught and learned in church.

To do all this, vitality and vigour must not only define our spiritual health but also our demeanour as we seek to avert the spiritual attacks that are certain to undermine us at such a vulnerable and critical time. It is now that we realise “we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12, NLT).

4. Look after yourself

Thus far we have been persistently centring on the importance of looking after our own selves. Nothing changes here and in fact, this is when we want to emphasise that while spiritual discipline is vital, we must also mind the mental, emotional and physical aspects of our lives. We cannot afford to wear ourselves down mentally but taking on other people’s anguish but have no care for our own. We cannot stretch ourselves beyond what we can emotionally cope. This can happen when we listen incessantly to others’ hurt and pain but not realise that we could end up struggling within ourselves. We cannot run around exhaustively without taking into account our physical limitations.

A physical body that is completely fatigued will certainly lead to dispiritedness and a broken mind. To avoid this, what we all need is to maintain ourselves in an optimal shape. This means we must eat well and rest enough. We must also have an outlet to unwind ourselves be it a good walk in the park or a day a week at the gym. It would be even better if we can all find the opportunity for a family escapade where we can retreat to somewhere where everyone can chill out and enjoy one another’s company. Nothing much beats indulgence in good family therapy and it doesn’t have to be anything glamorous or exclusive – a simple little excursion will often be worth a million bucks by the time we all return fresh and ready once more.

When we think of self-care, we must also remind ourselves that a completely worn self becomes so susceptible that unless we give the issue the attention it urgently needs, we inadvertently invite spiritual attacks like bees to honey. When that happens, don’t be surprise if some of us experience anything ranging from uncontrolled frustration and discouragement to outright mental depression and emotional breakdown.

5. Reject the sense of failure

In the event we ignore all the signs of personal wear-and-tear, depression will likely set in, taking on different forms like mood swings, defeatism, sudden outbursts and a foreboding sense of guilt. In all of this, the people closest to us will be the most affected, from members of our own families to close friends and peers who work alongside us. As we hurt, we transfer that hurt to others as well and in this dangerous closed loop, the effects worsen as they progressively amplify unless we put a stop to it.

The sense of failure is a powerful one and without a doubt, it unfailingly rears its ugly head when the church closes. Just as predictable is that at least some will personally bring themselves to the sword, convinced that he or she must be held accountable. In other words, the conviction surrounds the failure not as a group but an individual even if there is no clear evidence of such. No matter what, such a sense of failure is often real enough to bring any of us willingly down to our knees.

I know pastors who think they’re a failure simply because the church did not grow during their tenure or the congregation became increasingly smaller in numbers. Try as they might, they weren’t able to arrest the decline. If it’s any consolation, more churches around the world are closing than they’re opening. Churches are falling out of fashion as quickly as people are becoming more atheistic. The movement that is sweeping churches asunder is not the fault of pastors alone if at all. It is as much a sign of the times as it is an eschatological warning.

Then again too, the Bible relates to us the patriarchs who laboured so much to bring the burden of truth to the people in a hope that they may have a positive change of heart towards God. Not all of them got to see the fruits of their promise because they died before any change came to pass.

I personally recall a close friend whom I often shared the Gospel with over the years that he was my personal hairdresser. After he closed his business and moved interstate, I rarely heard from him. Some years later, he returned home and we bumped into each other at a café where he happily told me he was baptised. The joy of sharing such wonderful news was indescribable for me. I might not have known this had we not accidentally met at that café. A few months later, he collapsed in the shower with a heart attack and died.

From the biblical perspective, a good case to reflect on at this point is Abraham whose life the average reader of the Bible would be familiar with but perhaps if we see it from a slightly different dimension, we may also realise that his life was not an easy one. In fact, it was quite the opposite because along the way, he underwent deep frustrations, discouragements, physical hardships and spiritual challenges that almost broke him. He was made to wait for ninety years before an heir was possible and by then, even his wife scoffed at such an improbable possibility.

Abraham also encountered more than a fair share of personal losses. He was witness to the extravagance of Egyptian royalty in his days of famine. He smelled the smoke of God’s retribution from the ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah. Even though he distinctly heard the voice of God, he succumbed to the flesh and lied to save his own skin. He was forced to surrender his firstborn, Ishmael, whom he loved and had him exiled with his conniving mother, Hagar. It was an act he neither wanted nor agreed to and it broke his heart to watch their backs disappear into the arid wilderness. He never saw Hagar again and not much later, in his ultimate sadness, he buried his wife, Sarah.

In all of his 175 years, he packed a lot and lived a full life. No matter what transpired though, even in the very worst of his trials, Abraham remained a man of great faith. He might not get to see how wonderful things could unfold before his eyes but he never lost sight of the God who called him out from Ur one-hundred years earlier. And because of his undying faith, Abraham was satisfied with what he had done for God and he remain guiltless until the day he died.

Under ordinary eyes, perhaps Abraham might view himself as a failure because despite his longevity, he did not live long enough to see the reality of the title God gave him – father of all nations. In fact, for him to justify earning that title, he would have had to live as long if not even longer than Methuselah before him. As it turned out, Abraham, the father of all nations, fulfilled what God needed him to and that was all that truly mattered. In him, there was no sense of failure. He did his part and he succeeded. 

Many pastors of failing churches may go through their own fiery trials and tribulations. Many have stared failure in the eyes and felt the ever increasing burden of all that could go wrong actually turn pear shape with their parishes. And invariably, many may not even get to see the fruits of all they have done, believing then that they failed. Abraham’s story lays proof to all of us that we have nothing to complain about. What we don’t see with our eyes do not necessarily mean we fail. We only get to see what God allows us to. What we aren’t to see, we go by faith that all is well that ends well.

The Christian faith is akin to a relay race where one generation passes the baton of God’s truth to another. As a parent, I have a sacred responsibility to ensure that my faith gets passed down to my two children and if I live long enough, I’d like to see that relayed down to my grandchildren and further down our genealogical line. Pastors alike seek to earnestly impart God’s truth and promise so that the congregation can pass it down to others. The opportunity to fan out the Gospel and boldly proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ is vested in our Christian desire to do what God has called upon us to.

All that does not mean we are accountable for what people decide to do with the truth they are told. They may or may not pass it on and we wouldn’t know especially if we do not see them regularly in our lives. Even when I pass my faith on to my children, it doesn’t mean I can answer for them. However we will be held accountable for doing all we can in ensuring that God’s truth and promise of salvation is passed along to others and in that way, the Christian faith may continue for as long as there is time in this world (2 Tim 2:2).

In other words, for all we may know, we may have succeeded and not realise it. We may not be the abject failure that we thought we are. Even in the event that our church closes, we can be satisfied that we have done all we can to serve God in passing down His truth and promise but whether people have listened and moved is something else altogether and it is also something we have no control of. Instead of asking, “What good am I to anyone?” or “Who will ever want me?” let us be assured that we did not lose sight of God and through thick and thin, we clung on and delivered on our calling.

So, should our church close, does that mean all of us useless? Or are we still good in God’s eyes despite the crisis? Of course, we are good. Christ was an unreservedly Good Shepherd even if His followers betrayed Him, denied Him and deserted Him. Remember the day at Mount Calvary? Can there ever be a grimmer scene of failure than to look despairingly at the Cross?

6. Seek counselling

In the event that you are very saddened by the closure of your church and not know how to think or what next to do, seek out those whose judgement you respect and trust. These people may or may not necessarily be from your church but it is important that they must have ample experience in faith counselling. Earnestly seek out their sincere advice. They could end up doing two things for you. Firstly they may uncover the very issues in which they can help clarify with better objectivity for you. And secondly, they may also assist you in coping with your depression if you’re afflicted, that is.  

Encouragement can come in different ways from different people in your circle of friends and family but so long as the advice is spiritually appropriate, you may find yourself getting ready to move beyond those awful and undeserved pangs of failure. “What will people think of me?” will change to “When can I share the Gospel again?” if we reinvent ourselves by allowing others to help us instead of locking ourselves within the confines of a needless self-inflicted crisis.

7. Reach out for your family

If your whole family is involved in church ministries, then you should feel the consolation that they remain a faith team supportive of the way you feel and they will continue to be part of a family for Christ. Still, don’t take them for granted. As we experience the burden of a church closing, we should not allow it to resonate through our family. If we are traumatised by it all, watch out that it doesn’t afflict them.

Instead shield them from whatever difficulties we’re encountering as best as possible. Having said so, at some point, our families may get to feel the same hurt and pain we’re going through ourselves. A very common mistake at this juncture for church leaders is how we let congregational upheavals take precedence over those of our families in their time of need to get through the church crisis. In fact, the more we ignore the home-borne issues, the more the discontentment grows in the family and the more explosive it may become before we know it.

When we go firefighting in church and ignore our own families, we dilute their importance by abandoning our priorities. Our families may end up believing that we don’t care for them as much as we care for our church. This ignorance can turn into alienation and polarisation and if not addressed soon enough, permanent problems might snare us.

A better thing to do is to keep our families in the loop by keeping them abreast with what’s happening in the church during its closing process. And where issues in church concern the involvement of our families, draw them near and discuss what decisions all of us can make as a whole. When we have our families listen to what we can tell them concerning the church, it will also be a good time and opportunity to demonstrate responsible spiritual leadership with a healthy dose of optimism and hope. That way, our families can be better buffered from exposure to the perils of discouragement, frustration, negativity and pessimism that such a crisis potentially creates.

8. Where to now?

So the church is definitely closing. There is no way of backing out now. It is as grim as we feared earlier on. Now that the worse is confirmed, what do we do next?

We may identify a number of possible options but bear in mind that we should by now prayerfully offer them up to God to decide for us. At the same time, keep our families in the loop by consulting them and taking their needs into account as well. For example, if you’re thinking of moving to another city or interstate, consider what your other family members might need especially if education and employment prospects are involved.

Many of us can get so caught up feeling that with the church closing, our ministry opportunities end with it as well. What we of course fail to realise is that when one opportunity closes, another opens. In Acts 16:6-9, Paul and Silas were on the second missionary journey from Antioch when he encountered some closed doors but just when it looked awry, God then opens another for them. Remember, nothing in Scripture tells us that something like a church closing will put an end to our vocational ministry. It may appear so in our eyes but God will always open new vistas for us to embark on.

Perhaps this may be a very good time to not just take a brief sabbatical but to think things through about what our next steps might be. Seeking God is often the best way although it isn’t always the easiest to do especially when it comes to discerning the voice of the Spirit. There’ll be lots of (sometimes confusing) suggestions coming our way from well-intended friends and family members but keep God in mind and rely on signs coming from Him. Our priority is to search the heart of God and fully rely on His special guidance.

9. Stop the blame game

Earlier, we talked about not taking up the guilt trip. This one is about not pointing the finger, which is equally as easy to do. When the church decides to close, the likeliest tendency in our frustration and anger is to find someone to heap the blame on. Some in the congregation might be quick to fire off some missives at the pastor, asking, “Would something like this happen if you were better at your job?” On the other hand, some pastors might deflect it back and say, “If only you people were more responsive and did the things I’ve asked you to, this might not have to happen at all.” None of this is productive and none of them would have panned out no matter how clouded things look because of our anger.

Instead a better question for everyone in church to ask honestly could well be, “Am I to blame for this church closing?” And the answer should be, “No, it’s not my fault.” How so!? Somebody has to be made accountable, right!? Wrong.

Someone years ago said in an off-handed way to me, “Aren’t we little arrogant Napoleons for thinking that a church stands or falls because of us?” Perhaps after all, despite all the horrible finger pointing back and forth, maybe it’s not any of us. Maybe, just maybe, the cracks were already on the wall before or after our arrival. Maybe the circumstances had long entrenched themselves within the works of the church. Perhaps as early as its inception? Perhaps at some discrete point in its history and we didn’t know enough to detect it?

If not, then we must then ask whether or not any of these relate directly to our ministry work. Have we been guilty of some serious errors or negligence leading to sin in our respective ministries? If we answer in the affirmative, then perhaps this is as good a time as any to address these faults before we move on. But of course, even as we rectify these faults, it doesn’t reverse the closing of the church. That process is by now a foregone conclusion and it will come to pass. Our rectification is to assuage our own desire to learn and to allow us to leave this behind. It is to fully deal with our sin and make sure it doesn’t recur.

Having considered all the above, the chances are that the closure of the church has little to nothing to do with any of us individually. No matter the mistakes we made on our own, they couldn’t have brought the whole church down unless it is something ‘beyond extraordinary,’ something that none of us could ever imagine. As such, I don’t know what it could even be!

10. Go for a happy ending

The idea to begin and run a church comes from God. We are the custodians and as such, we play the stewarding role of keeping the idea alive, which is why it would be most excruciating to lay that idea back on the feet of the Master and say, “Oh Lord, have I tried and tried. I cower before You in shame and defeat. I am truly sorry that I must now hand that idea back to You.”

In other words, the church is and remains a divine idea. It never once belonged to us. None of us ever owned it. Through this idea that He had given us to run, only He knows the specific purposes of which He may or may not choose to reveal in part or otherwise. Only He knows how the church has fulfilled His purposes even as it faces closure now. Only He knows how purposeful it has thus far been in changing and fashioning our hearts and lives and in transforming us to His pleasure.

Believe it or not, each of us has been purified even in the brief history of our church. Remember that we came to church because we were deeply aggrieved in one way or another. As the church is closing now, it is God who used His church to heal us of our hurt and to renew our broken spirits through the Holy Spirit.

When the last day of service commences, lay down our weapons of hostility (blame). Lighten our burdens (grief) at the front door before we enter. Brighten our hearts (hope) as we seize the opportunities to lend a courageous thought to those in need (love).

Seek out our brothers and sisters in Christ not just to our right and left but extend to the far reaches of the entire congregation (inclusiveness). Hug them tightly and warmly (gratitude). Exchange quiet words of support and encouragement and thank them for who they have been in all our lives (remembrance).

Wish everyone a happy ending, knowing that even as we move on, we will still have that effect in building one another up because of the opportunities that this closing church has given all of us. We will one day know that in the church closing, many of us will bear its true success.