Closing Doors

I know of a church here in Europe that is barely hanging on. They need money for building repairs that aren’t affordable to a congregation of retirees. Doctrinally they believe the same things I do about God and Jesus, at least as far as I’ve encountered. But their lives are radically different from mine.  Some rich church could hear about their need, and send them the money to fix their building, but would some repairs really fix the problem? What is the problem?

My parents’ church has reached the point where the money that is given to the church doesn’t match the amount that needs to go to upkeep, personnel, and to the missionaries they support. They’re talking about selling their current building and getting a smaller one to meet in. It’s been 12 years since the building was full during a Sunday service. Most Sundays since then, the attendance has only been one tenth of the facility’s capacity. Truthfully, they could all meet in someone’s home without being that crowded.

I know of a missionary who has become the pastor of a dwindling congregation in this part of the world.  He’s waiting for enough of the congregation to die off so that he can do things the way he wants.  They are all older and resistant to changing anything about the way they do church, but they want a pastor.  The missionary thinks he needs a building and facilities in order to reach the area.  I wish I were making this up.

For me, these situations pose questions.  But what are the answers?