By Jim Coggins

In two previous series on ‘The state of the Canadian church’ (available here), BCCN drew upon research by pollsters, academics and church leaders. This year, we will examine ‘The state of the local church’ – looking at some of the same issues, but from ‘the bottom up.’ We have consulted some of the same experts, but also a number of local church leaders.

‘FOR SALE. 45 year old, 250-seat church. $4.5 million.’

In the late 1950s, the United Church of Canada (UCC) aimed to have a church near every high school in Canada. Many of those congregations have dwindled. Some have closed, and their buildings are being sold.

In May, the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster approved a strategic plan called ‘Growing Communities of Faith in Jesus Christ, to serve God’s Mission in the World.’ The plan asserted that to be sustainable, a parish requires a minimum  weekly attendance of 70. Financially, a parish with a building and one priest requires $130,000 – $150,000 annually.

Judged by these criteria, the plan revealed that almost three-quarters of the parishes in the diocese may be unsustainable.

What does this mean for the local church? Is it a dying institution? Are disappearing churches further evidence of the decline of mainline denominations? Is the neighbourhood church being replaced by some other form of church?

Traditional decline

To some extent, local churches are victims of larger trends. Weekly church attendance has dropped from about 70 percent of the Canadian population in the 1950s to 20 percent today. There are not enough members to keep some churches open.

Peter Elliott, dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, said Christians look at the decline and see that as a problem. However, in Canadian history, it is the 1950s jump in attendance that is the aberration, not the current situation. Church attendance has simply returned to its normal levels.

Mainline Protestant attendance in Canada has dropped by a third in the past quarter-century, while evangelical churches have grown by 50 percent. “Mainline churches particularly expanded like crazy during the boom,” Elliott said; therefore it is not surprising that mainline churches are closing now.

Doug Goodwin of the UCC’s B.C. Conference suggested it may be harder for mainline churches – with buildings and established routines – to adapt to new circumstances. But, he added, the same is true for some evangelical churches.

Cam Roxburgh is senior leader of Southside Community Church and national director of Church Planting Canada. He noted that “the typical life cycle of a local church is about 70 years,” so evangelicals are not immune to problems.

“Over the past 10 years, we have planted more churches in Canada than have closed – but not by enough.”

“The institutional form of churches is changing,” said Elliott. The point of the Anglican study, he added, was not to mourn the death of the local church but to determine the form of church that will “serve God’s mission most effectively” in the future. That will mean some churches will merge or close, but it may also mean new churches will be started.

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Experimentation

Goodwin expects his denomination will “see some experimentation.” That may include deliberately smaller congregations, ministers serving more than one congregation and even buildingless churches.

David Horita, regional director of the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches in B.C. and Yukon, suggested it would be wrong to conclude the local church is in trouble just because some are closing. “Some churches are really struggling, and some are doing very well.”

Some churches are closing due to shifts in population, Elliott said, citing a comment by his bishop, Michael Ingham: “We have churches where we don’t need them.” There are many  close together in West Vancouver, but not enough in Surrey.

Another factor, Elliott suggested, is that many Protestant churches were founded “at a time when motor cars were not as prevalent and people went to neighbourhood churches.” Now “people don’t necessarily choose the church closest to them geographically.” Goodwin agreed, saying: “There are an increasing number of people going to ‘destination churches.’” These are often larger churches with “more vibrant music and more diverse programs,” said Elliott.

This does not mean only large churches will exist in the future. “We live in a more diverse and splintered society,” Horita said, and therefore we need “a lot of models of church.”

Elliott noted that while large churches have better programs, small churches are often more relational. Goodwin said, “Most people are looking for a church where they can be challenged to be better disciples, very basic things,” and even small churches can provide that.

Roxburgh observed, “In the past couple of generations there has been a push towards ‘bigger is better.’ But the neighbourhood model is far from obsolete.” There are increasing numbers of people who desire “a lifestyle where walking is good, and neighbourhoods are making a comeback.”

Horita said that while the form may change, “The local church is still God’s plan for changing the world.”

September 2009