Will Your Congregation Still Exist in 10 Years?

George Bullard, is strategic coordinator for The Columbia Partnership, and has been a consultant and coach for congregations and denominations for 35 years. He was elected this summer as general secretary for the North American Baptist Fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance.

He shares this opinion page with the Associated Baptist Press:


North America has at least 350,000 religious congregations. Every year about one percent of them die. That means that 10 years from now, 35,000 congregations will no longer exist. Will your church be one of them?

What is the “survivability quotient” of your congregation?

Congregations die for various reasons--not just from old age and the lack of attendance and resources, although these may be the biggest contributors. Out of new congregations or church plants, a significant number always fail. Some die within the first two years, while others survive 6 to 10 years before they are declared unsuccessful. In some cases merger is an option. When two or three congregations merge, the result is one or two fewer congregations.

What if we were to expand the definition of “exist”? What if it included not only churches that are no longer alive, but also those that have lost their vitality?...
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Bullard goes on to talk about the “vitality quotient” and the “vibrancy quotient” of congregations.

For the full commentary, click here.