Does Our Church Have a Future?

In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, there is a scene where some of the Fellowship of the Ring has to travel through the land of the Ents, tree-people in order to get to the Black Gate and Mount Doom in order to return the Ring to the Lake of Fire. The problem is they don’t have a map and as they goes further and further into the forest, the path gets less clear and the way less obvious. Like so many stories of forest travel, a good map and some outside help would be a great relief to the travelers.

That is a good picture of where many in churches find themselves. There once was a vision and obedience of some of Jesus’ followers to birth a church, but over time the vision has been lost in the struggles and the unexpected obstacles. Soon the choices seem limited. The existing congregation does not feel it can do ministry. Other churches seem to be doing really well or at least better than ours is. It’s clear: something needs to be different. But instead of reaching out for help, a church either tries to be like another church or turns more inward, becoming more isolated from the community and their sister churches. Discouragement, tension among longtime friends, frustration, anxiety and an underlying layer of blame and criticism creeps into the church’s life. What emerges is a well-intended but false idea that the congregation’s energy should be spent on surviving. Surviving replaces what God says could be.

Where that tendency comes from is beyond the scope of this short article. However, it is most important to say clearly and joyfully that in our past, it was expected that a church would turn to sister Baptist churches for advice, guidance and support. Seeking others out for counsel was natural and healthy. There are numerous examples of churches requesting help from other churches. This wisdom in our past life together is a part of our present and future mission together.

Today the Region—ABC/Northwest—is the work of the churches together to promote the ministry of local churches to reach people with the Good News of Jesus and make disciples. One of the tools available to help churches get more clarity about their particular vision is an assessment – which helps identify strengths to build on for the near future. (If you’d like more information about this very helpful tool that has been used in over 20 of our churches, see Assessments)

But what if your congregation needs to have a painful, even terrifying conversation about (dare it be asked!?)… staying open? Is there some way to ask for help with this very heart-rending but needed question without embarrassment, judgment and especially jumping to conclusions?

Absolutely. And asking for this kind of help sooner than later keeps more options on the table.

No Formula

So what does that kind of help look like? What does it entail?

To say that there is a “formula” for this kind of work would be rather misleading. However, there are some typical elements and some are found in the assessment work. These elements include looking at recent history in terms of attendance, giving, and kinds of ministries the congregation has been involved in. However, the more essential part of the work is face-to-face, prayerful discussions about what the congregation and its pastor and leaders believe God is calling them to do and to be. There are no predetermined decisions, and we urge everyone to participate with a sense of openness to what God wants next for the congregation and the ministry that has been entrusted to it. Everything is put on the table – hopes, fears, frustrations, and expectations. In looking God’s answers and His strength to follow and be obedient, we try to see the forest and our way through it, and not just the trees.

Examples

If that sounds rather messy and unnerving, that’s because it is. But you need to know that some of your sister churches have engaged in such a process, assisted by region staff and other church leaders. God has blessed their willingness to step out in faith. Arco Community Church in Arco, Idaho, and Immanuel Baptist Church in Spokane, Washington are two of our sister churches who have stepped out on this path. Arco Community is in rural southern Idaho and Immanuel Baptist is a neighborhood church in northwest Spokane. Both gathered their history and their present situation and talked honestly and prayed earnestly for what God wanted next of them. Half-time ministry? Pulpit supply and very minimal ministry? Close the ministry and the church? To be sure, these were not “fun” discussions. People’s patience with each other was pushed, sometimes to what seemed like a breaking point. But they prayed. And kept praying. And prayed some more. Immanuel Baptist had at least one time where people took turns and came to the church and prayed around the clock for an entire weekend. At one point, one of Immanuel’s key leaders had such a massive heartache that he wasn’t expected to live. Yet he recovered fully, chaired the search committee and enjoys traveling – because of prayer. Arco’s leaders met for prayer as a council and in two’s and three’s. Both groups were asking this: Lord, what do YOU want? Lord, would please lead us together to know what YOU want us to be and do? Both looked their realities square in the face, and both came to the place they felt God has another chapter to write in their ministries. Today, Arco has full-time pastoral leadership in Pastor Mike and Ellen Harris. Immanuel Baptist is looking forward to the beginning of the next chapter of their church’s ministry with the call of Mark and Tamara Flippen.

Was it an easy path? No. Has everything gone really well? No. In fact, each church experienced some difficulties on the path. Is everything sweetness and roses? No. There is still difficult work to be done. Can we guarantee similar outcomes for your congregation if you choose to do this kind of work together? Again, no. If we could, it would not be a step of faith in response to God’s leading and working in our lives, which is pleasing to our Lord (Heb. 11:6) . But it is my sincere belief that the Lord has a work for all of us to do here in the Northwest to bring a renewal and revival to this part of the country – one that has not previously happened. I believe God has a particular role for us in the ABC Northwest churches to play, but only as we are willing to follow where and how God leads, trusting our personal ideas and dreams to the One who wants more for us that we can imagine for ourselves (Ephesians 3:20).

We would like to see these stories repeated a hundred times in our region.

If this is the kind of conversation you and your leaders would like to have, contact us.