Dying Churches

Dying Churches: What NOT to Say

The Good Friday Collaborative wants to change the narrative about churches concluding ministry. So we’re examining common phrases people use when churches close, merge, or restart. Our language reveals our assumptions, fears, and anxieties.

The first blog in this series, Closing Churches: What to Say and What NOT to Say, suggested that “completion” and “conclusion” are good ways to describe church closure — but “failure” is not. 

The real test of how we view “congregations completing ministry” shows up in how we talk about congregations that are likely to conclude ministry. So this week we’re taking a step back to talk about churches that may be thinking about major changes — even if they’re not there yet.  

The category of what NOT to say is fairly easy.  

Always Avoid:

• “Failing Churches” 

• “Spiritually Dead Churches” or “Dead Churches”

  (see Revelation 3:1-6) 

• “Death Watch Churches”  

• “Terminal Churches” 

• “Decaying Churches”

We hesitated to include links with the above terms because we don’t think we should use these phrases at all — but decided that it’s important to show how these phrases are being used. Typically, this language is used by church growth consultants who play upon fears of church closure to motivate change. This approach uses closed churches as warnings, as in The Autopsy of a Deceased Church and its takeaways, like “The choice is simple: change or die.” 

This is not to dismiss the importance of the changes urged by congregational developers. Rather, our concern is with the rhetoric that is used to motivate those changes. When fear is used for motivation, it cuts off options for a church’s future. This leaves churches stuck. They may not be able to grow, and now they feel too much shame to move into legacy.

At the Good Friday Collaborative, we never want to imply that churches that conclude ministry have failed (or are failing). And we definitely don’t want to equate death with failure. This leads us to our next category — phrases to think about very carefully. 

Be Careful: 

• “Dying Churches” 

• “Hospice Churches” or “Churches on Hospice Care” 

Death is part of life, and hospice is an important ministry for both individuals and institutions. It should be possible to refer to “Dying Church” and “Congregational Hospice” without being pejorative. (Those links are two examples of it done well!)

Unfortunately, those phrases are rarely used that way — especially in casual conversation. When we hear it spoken, the terms come with the flip of a hand:

“Those hospice churches just need to close. They’re as good as dead.”

These labels disconnect the speaker from the lived experience of churches concluding ministry. The labels create disconnection — a moment of separation at a time when congregations deeply need connection to other Christians. Proclamations like “I refuse to lead a dying church!” further the isolation that end-of-life churches experience.

Consider the characterization in The Life Cycle and Stages of Congregational Development by Rev. George Bullard. In his widely-referenced dissertation, the “Old Age and Death stages” of a congregation's life are framed in this way:

“Often when congregations die, it is because they did not cherish life enough.”

This dismissal communicates judgment and distance from churches prayerfully making end-of-life decisions. It echoes unhelpful rhetoric about battling cancer that prevents individuals from receiving palliative care. 

Before you use terms like “Dying Church” or “Hospice Church,” ask yourself:

• What you believe about death?

• What assumptions will your audience bring?

• And how do these assumptions align with God’s good news? 

The fear of institutional death will transform phrases like “dying” and “hospice” from neutral descriptors to stigmatized terms.

At the Good Friday Collaborative, we want to destigmatize congregational hospice. We work for the day when the phrase “Dying Church” evokes empathy and understanding rather than judgment and fear. This compassionate approach to end-of-life care reflects our understanding of the gospel story. We hope this is your story, too.

This is the second in a three-part series on how to talk about congregations completing ministry. Read Part 1 on Closing Churches: What to Say and What NOT to Say and Part 3 on Struggling Churches: What to Say.

What are your best practices in talking about churches in transition? Join the conversation on the Good Friday Collaborative’s Facebook page!