Our information at this point is both early and anecdotal, but we are hearing from numerous pastors that many church members who were frequent in their church attendance are now once-a-monthers. This observation lends itself to many questions. Is this trend temporary, one that will improve as COVID concerns wane?
New provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the U.S. birthrate dropping for a sixth consecutive year. But look at these additional eye-opening facts:
This reality is becoming increasingly common. More churches are losing pastors after only a brief tenure. Even more troubling, many of these same churches are seeing these patterns repeat themselves with each consecutive pastor.
I recently worked with one church that had six pastors in nine years. Not one of the pastors made it to the third year. They wanted my help to determine what was wrong with all these pastors. My suggestion that they might be the problem was not received well.
Though no two churches are alike, we are seeing common patterns and themes in these high pastor turnover churches. Here are five of the most common themes:
âIâm not getting fed.â
Itâs one of the most common complaints of church members looking for excuses to leave a church. The gripe is that the pastorâs sermons are not providing the person adequate spiritual growth. And most of the time itâs baloney.
Sure, there are a few pastors who preach borderline heretical sermons. And there are some who provide a spiritual pep talk each week instead of a biblical sermon. But, among the 450,000 pastors in North America, most of them are Bible-believing and Bible-preaching.Â
Most of the time âIâm not getting fedâ is a lame excuse to say the church is not catering to my desires and preferences. Itâs a clear indicator of the growing trend of church member consumerism, and it has been exacerbated by the pandemic.