Every organization has a life cycle that includes initial growth and accomplishing its original vision. Once that vision is completed, the organization starts to plateau, and unless it can reenvision for the next ministry run, it goes into a long, slow decline. This plateau and decline are often not recognized because, like the frog in the kettle, it can be subtle, and the collective memory of the organization is its former glory days that members mistakenly think still define them.
There are key signs that a church is on the downward slope of its life cycle. Here are eleven such indicators.
There is no clear definition of who the church is or where it is going. Lack of clarity is a sign that an organization is in significant jeopardy. A church that cannot clarify who it is and where it is going will simply wander without a missional agenda or clear purpose. By clarity, I am not referring to something defined in the bylaws that no one can remember but a compelling mission, clear guiding principles, a defined culture, and an understanding of what we are about every day. If staff cannot clearly articulate this and if the congregation does not understand it, there is not adequate clarity.
The church lacks internal alignment. This is a natural result of a lack of clarity. Without clarity, different staff and ministries of the church simply do their own thing without any internal cohesion and often at cross purposes with other ministries. This allows individuals and staff to pursue their agenda rather than a common and aligned agenda of the church. Any time a ministry cannot answer the question: "How does this ministry contribute to the mission and goals of the church as a whole," it lacks alignment.
No one asks hard questions, or if they do, they are marginalized. In healthy, vibrant organizations, challenging questions are welcomed because they help the organization stay on its mission. When one can no longer ask those hard questions without being marginalized, it is a sign that the organization is now in a preservation mode rather than a growth mode.
There is a steady leak of people out the back door. People often leave a church when they sense there is no longer a compelling mission and vision. They usually go quietly, but when people who have previously been engaged leave and it becomes a trend, take notice.
The church guards its money. Healthy churches tend to be generous, while those who have moved from missional to institutional tend to protect their resources, and a scarcity mentality sets in.
Meetings and bureaucracy replace action and outward-focused ministry. In their growth phases, congregations are outward-focused, while in their plateaued or declining phases, they tend to be inward and self-focused. As this happens, congregations make it hard to start new outward-looking ministries.
The congregation and its leaders are comfortable. Comfort means that change is resisted, the familiar is embraced, innovation is difficult and rare, and the focus becomes far more internal than external. This is an essential indicator because missional churches value ministry results over personal comfort, while the opposite is true when a church has plateaued or is on a downward slope.
There is a collective memory of the congregation's "best days." For people who have been around for a time, there is a memory of the period when the church was at its best and perhaps its most significant. What is interesting is that these same people often believe that this is who they still are. They need to recognize that the times have changed, ministry opportunities have changed, the neighborhood has often changed, and they need to change. In reality, they live in the past rather than the present or the future.
While organizational life cycles are predictable, one does not need to settle for a plateau or a downward slope. To change the game, however, leaders must reenvision the congregation for the next ministry season and live opposite of the eight indicators listed above. Churches that remain vital and healthy:
- Have a clear vision and mission
- Insist on the internal alignment of all ministries around that vision and mission.
- Invite hard questions to challenge the way things are done and help the organization get better.
- Close their back door and find out why people leave
- Are generous with meeting needs outside the church
- Are outward ministry-focused rather than internally focused
- Intentionally live in the uncomfortable ministry zone rather than the comfort zone
- Rather than live in the past, they honor the past but plan for the future
