Blockbuster and mom and pop video stores, once in every town, are now gone. Seeming overnight our viewing habits changed and today the buildings have been repurposed or sitting empty. Blockbuster couldn’t compete with new technologies and quickly became obsolete.
What does this have to do with the Church of the Nazarene? You can probably guess. Is your church like Blockbuster? Some are predicting that in the next twenty years, 100,000 churches in America will close their doors. How many of that 100,000 will be Nazarene churches? (You can read about the church emptying phenomenon here).
Unlike Blockbuster, not all the churches will close. There will still be a lot of churches in twenty years. The questions for the Church of the Nazarene are:
- What will the USA Church of the Nazarene look like if 25% of the churches close?
- What will happen to the global church which relies on the USA churches’ investment in the World Evangelism Fund (95% of WEF comes from USA/Canada)?
- How might the Church of the Nazarene repurpose buildings or utilize the funds from closed churches?
- More personal, will your church be one of those that closes its doors forever?
It’s an easy math equation. Look at everyone in your congregation, add twenty years to the ages of the folks sitting in the pews and if nothing changes you can draw your conclusion.
“If nothing changes… “ What needs to change? Clearly, the Church of the Nazarene needs young people coming through the doors. What will it take to get younger people? These ingredients:
1) Young people like Jesus. Preach Jesus.
2) Young people don’t need flashy. They need authentic. Young people can spot a phony a mile away. Be real.
3) Young people need to know you love them. Love without exception.
4) Young People need ownership. Don’t be afraid to give young people key roles and leadership. Listen to them. Help them. Teach them.
5) Young People aren’t perfect (neither are you). Don’t expect perfection. Leave room for errors, mistakes and outright failure. Keep trying. Don’t stop trying.
6) Young People want their communities to flourish. Be the best neighbor.
I recently heard of a young alcoholic who had a Nazarene upbringing and went to a Nazarene college, then walked away from faith. Finally the prodigal made the good, hard decision to enter rehab. The Christian employers responded by telling this struggling addict not to worry about a job. It would be there after rehab. There were bigger matters at hand. “Get better” was the message from the owners (Way to go!). Blown away, the on-the-way-back-to-faith addict was grateful for their love and response. Their reaction spoke more volumes than a thousand sermons. The business owners were acting like Jesus. That’s our hope in a nut shell.
Have a church full of people who love, sacrifice, and are committed to Jesus – and one need not worry about shuttering the doors. The life-changing message of Jesus is still compelling!
My Two Cent Offering 
Thank you Pastor Rob for being so honest about a subject that I have been seeing taking place in front of me for years, yet whenever I have mentioned it to any “Nazarene Leader” i.e. DS, GS, or Pastors of a bigger church they have told me to basically be quiet and stop being negative. I keep seeing articles from Nazarene publications that state things have never been more bright and good in our churches. I am one of those (what would be called “Old Time Nazarenes”) that grew up in an “Old Time Nazarene: atmosphere of “Praise, and the Glory coming down” type churches. Running the aisles, white hankies waving in the air, & tear filled testimonies etc. I still believe that the best way to re-claim our youth is through “Strong Bible Expositional Preaching.” I applaud you for your courage to write this article. We need to stop turning our churches into entertainment venues, rock n’ roll shows, and feel good psycho centers and start to come back to The BIBLE. The Old Way is still The Best Way – see Jeremiah 6:16 ”Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient (old) paths, ask where the good way is and walk therein.”
The Church of the Nazarene will flourish if 1. It seeks revival and not nostalgia and 2. Accept that growth and comfort do not make for a great relationship. Growth takes hard work and the ability to change where change is necessary.
In 2011, when I assumed the pastoral role at Beaverton Nazarene, the congregation was in the midst of a 15-year decline. Sunday Worship attendance had plummeted to its lowest point in half a century. The challenges seemed daunting, but the former pastor reminded me that there was no shortage of sinners in this community.
Over the next five years, through diligent effort and unwavering commitment, we witnessed a remarkable transformation. Attendance doubled, breathing new life into this church community. However, this progress was not without its setbacks.
I made the difficult decision to step away from my role at Beaverton Nazarene for a year and a half to take on a different church in Indiana. Upon my return, once again, we experienced a surge in attendance.
Just as we were gaining momentum, the unforeseen challenge of COVID-19 struck. Like many others, our church community was not immune to its effects. Attendance was halved as we navigated the uncertainties of lockdowns and social distancing measures.
Over the past three years, we have weathered the storm together, emerging stronger and more united than ever before. Through innovative approaches, outreach initiatives, and a renewed sense of purpose, we have rebuilt our congregation from the ground up.
Today, as I reflect on the journey from decline to resilience, I am filled with gratitude for the unwavering faith and dedication of our church community. Together, we have demonstrated the power of hope, perseverance, and the boundless capacity for renewal. Our story serves as a testament to the transformative potential of a church who only desires to serve the Lord, and the enduring strength of community in the face of adversity.
We have adopted a team ministry approach. Our Outreach Team, First Impression Team, Worship Team, Follow-up Team, and Children’s & Youth Ministry Teams have been diligently working together to ensure that our Easter service is not only memorable but also deeply impactful for our community.
It’s incredible to witness the unity and synergy among our teams as we prepare to welcome approximately 500 individuals to our service. In a town of 1000, this represents a significant portion of the community, and it underscores the importance of our collective mission to reach out and make a difference.
Beaverton Nazarene is far from the perfect church but we have great things happening.
Thank you for writing this, I agree with you.
Why Don’t people come to church? Do they have a reason to come? Do they see it as time well spent? Can they get what the church gives somewhere else?
Does the church have any idea why they don’t come?
Churches spend countless hours creating and implementing programs to “serve their community”. Seeker-driven models advise churches to determine what people want and offer it to them. The idea is to get them into church, fill some personal need, and then lead them to spiritual enlightenment. Usually this ends with programs of charitable service, entertainment, education etc.
This presents challenges. Try to be more entertaining than Hollywood. Try to be a better charity than the Social Services department. Try to be more educational than schools or the internet. Unless your church is a multi-million dollar institution, you’ll have a hard time competing.
Another approach, perhaps better, is to provide something that they can’t find elsewhere.
Peace of mind, Salvation, Contentment, Spiritual Comfort and the Hope of Heaven are a few things that come to mind.
Churches who try to compete with the secular world on it’s own turf usually don’t come out too well! Those who do succeed usually ride on the charisma of their leaders and begin to fail when those leaders are gone. (Examples: Cathedral of Tomorrow, Chrystal Cathedral etc.)
Why not compete directly with the Devil?
He has temporary fun / eternal torture.
He has temporary excitement / permanent regret.
He has temporary thrills / eternal misery.
He has temporary power / permanent subjection.
WE CAN COMPETE WITH THAT!
Our job is to offer humanity an alternative to sin and it’s results. Sales of Prozac and the need for rehabilitation speak of the misery that sin brings. We need to identify sin, help people to understand God’s plan of redemption, describe and demonstrate the freedom that forgiveness brings.
The New Birth is an absolutely riveting story. Not many hear it any more. Let’s take down the signs offering a version of what’s available almost anywhere and start advertising the good news. We have that market cornered!
That’s the Gospel!