Pastor Kevorkian
This post is from the defunct blog “Dying Church”
What about euthanizing churches? A couple of times I have seen (including first hand) decisions to euthanize an existing church, often in order to pool resources with other dying churches and create something new. I find that this sort of decision is incredibly brave and inspiring from churches – particularly where people have a strong connection with the history of the place.
I pastored a church for seven years that was really too small to sustain. I tried to lead them to consider this very thing, but they weren't interested. I went back a couple of weeks ago to their 74th anniversary. They're still getting by, and the pastor mentioned a few times how great it is to still have the doors open. I'm just not sure anymore that keeping the doors open is a valid reason for existing as a church. I'd be curious to hear of any stories of churches that willingly took the step of dying, not because they had to, but because they felt God was calling them to.
