Denominational Resources for Closing and Merging Churches
To jump directly to the Denominational Resource list, click here: bit.ly/DenominationalResources
Ecumenical Approaches to Church Closure and Merger
Each year thousands of congregations close their doors permanently. These closing churches cover the political and theological spectrum. Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal churches all conclude ministry. “Liberal” churches that affirm all genders and sexual orientations close; “conservative” churches that maintain strict gender roles also close. Quaker meetings are laid down. Established national churches deconsecrate ancient sanctuaries. Fiercely independent churches merge or consolidate. Young church plants fail to charter. Historic congregations sell their buildings and restart in a new place. Churches in every tradition face uncertain futures. What differs is how each tradition approaches decisions like closure.
Centralized Denominations
Centralized polities (like the Uniting Church of Australia or the Church of Scotland) may impose closures, mergers, amalgamations, consolidations, or restarts from the top-down. This can be opposed by parishioners and pastors and result in protracted legal battles. At their best, centralized denominations have clear policies, procedures, and resources so that local church leaders don’t have to make things up as they go along.
Congregational Churches
Congregational polities (like the United Church of Christ or Cooperative Baptist Fellowship) are guided by their own particular bylaws, and local leaders may feel adrift in figuring out every step of the process. Some congregations resist the presence of outsiders encouraging them to consider their future. It is possible for these congregations to delay making decisions until long after they need to take action. At their best, their authority over their own future gives them a sense of agency that eases their grief, and some national settings offer non-prescriptive resources that can benefit churches in every tradition.
Ecumenical Resources from Good Friday Collaborative
In every polity, churches concluding ministry need support and encouragement. The Good Friday Collaborative’s denominational resource list compiles currently available online resources for the following denominations:
African Methodist Episcopal (AME)
Anglican Church of Canada (ACC)
Anglican Church of Australia
Baptists Together (Baptist Union of Great Britain)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME)
Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA)
Church of England
Church of Scotland
Episcopal Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
Methodist Church in Britain
Orthodox Church in America
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church in Canada
Reformed Church in America (RCA)
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Roman Catholic Church
Salvation Army
Seventh-Day Adventist
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)
Unitarian Universalist Association (UU)
United Church of Canada
United Church of Christ (UCC)
United Methodist Church (UMC)
Uniting Church in Australia (UCA)
These resources include liturgies, rules, best practices, case studies, books, articles, and guidance for congregations concluding ministry. We also include a few resources from the Union for Reform Judaism.
To access these free resources, click bit.ly/DenominationalResources or the button below:
Are you a leader in a local church?
Review what’s available for your denomination and then contact your judicatory leaders (synod, conference, region, diocese, district, etc). Not all denominations post their information online, and still others may rely on oral histories of how they’ve seen others do it.
Then contact us for personal connection with people who have led congregations concluding ministry. We will help you to navigate whatever system you’re in. We provide peer, collaborative ministry that builds on existing institutional offerings.
Are you a denominational leader?
We can help you identify resources and best practices from across denominational traditions. We can help start hard conversations with congregations that need to discuss multiple possibilities for their future.
Contact us for custom proposals designed for your context, which may include: customized workshops, retreats, group coaching, and supporting you behind the scenes. No matter what you need, the Good Friday Collaborative is your partner in sacred endings.
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