A Call for a Bold Research Agenda among CCCU Colleges and Universities to Understand and Create Solutions to the Crisis in Smaller Church Closings
For Communication to Presenters & Mentors
ddaake@olivet.edu
Project Type
Faculty Scholarship
Scholarship Domain(s)
Scholarship of Discovery, Scholarship of Interdisciplinary Integration, Scholarship of Community Application
Presentation Type
Presentation
Abstract
For the last 50 years, considerable attention has been given to church growth. Numerous books and consulting groups have been formed to assist. New church plants, revitalization, and mergers of denominations have presented both opportunities and challenges.
However, in 2024, many churches, especially smaller ones, are in trouble due to numerous variables, including spiritual, economic, sociological, political, and demographic.
A rare large-scale 2023 empirical study “The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?" provides shocking statistics. For example, a couple of decades ago, there were 4,000 starts and 3,000 closings each year. Presently those numbers have reversed to 4000 closings and 3,000 startups. Denominational schools are facing a steep decline in student numbers from their churches. A decline in the number of churches will only exacerbate that trend.
Most CCCU schools have not studied this issue in a rigorous empirical way. What research has been done has primarily come out of departments of religion or theology. The presentation makes the case for a broader scholarly research program among key institutions regarding the dynamics behind the closing of mid-size to smaller churches in their affiliated denominations. This would employ other disciplines such a psychology, sociology, communication and business that could create tools of survival and revitalization.
Ultimately, this research could help prepare future generations of pastors, members, and leaders to understand and reverse these troubling trends. Numerous exploratory hypotheses, causal mapping, and continuums will be presented and discussed.
Permission Type
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
A Call for a Bold Research Agenda among CCCU Colleges and Universities to Understand and Create Solutions to the Crisis in Smaller Church Closings
Fishbowl
For the last 50 years, considerable attention has been given to church growth. Numerous books and consulting groups have been formed to assist. New church plants, revitalization, and mergers of denominations have presented both opportunities and challenges.
However, in 2024, many churches, especially smaller ones, are in trouble due to numerous variables, including spiritual, economic, sociological, political, and demographic.
A rare large-scale 2023 empirical study “The Great Dechurching: Who’s Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?" provides shocking statistics. For example, a couple of decades ago, there were 4,000 starts and 3,000 closings each year. Presently those numbers have reversed to 4000 closings and 3,000 startups. Denominational schools are facing a steep decline in student numbers from their churches. A decline in the number of churches will only exacerbate that trend.
Most CCCU schools have not studied this issue in a rigorous empirical way. What research has been done has primarily come out of departments of religion or theology. The presentation makes the case for a broader scholarly research program among key institutions regarding the dynamics behind the closing of mid-size to smaller churches in their affiliated denominations. This would employ other disciplines such a psychology, sociology, communication and business that could create tools of survival and revitalization.
Ultimately, this research could help prepare future generations of pastors, members, and leaders to understand and reverse these troubling trends. Numerous exploratory hypotheses, causal mapping, and continuums will be presented and discussed.