There is no question that most view the concept of a dying church as one that is losing members, and those that remain are seniors looking for a resting place on Sunday mornings. A family member of ours attends a large, inner-city church that has an endowment in the millions. They have no financial issues and show little sign of reaching out to the community. Sunday attendance is down to around 30 people with no young couples and no children. This is the pastor’s last church, and he is sliding into retirement. But that is only one form of a “dead church.”

Below is a list of signs of a dead or dying church:

1. No tangible ongoing focus on sharing the gospel in the community.
2. The facilities are used as a social meeting place with little difference from a nightclub.
3. Pastors’ outside activities are limited to visiting the sick and acting as pseudo psychologists for the members.
4. Programs are geared toward food and social events for fellowship among the congregants.
5. Little thought is given to growth or future goals. It’s all about those glory days of the past and keeping everyone happy.
6. Little or no expectation of daily Bible study or prayer. Sunday mornings are for God, not the weekdays.
7. Group gatherings include a perfunctory quick prayer before food with no desire to build deep relationships or offer any form of accountability between members.
8. Infighting, backbiting, and general disunity are just below the surface, with long-time members holding grudges. There is little compassion or love between members and even less for those who fall outside the church walls.
9. Member conversations revolve around criticism of the pastor, the staff, the sermons, the finances, the choir, the choice of music, and, of course, the color of the carpet.
10. At best, Sunday morning sermons are either safe topical studies or nonconfrontational Bible verses that are intended to pacify rather than challenge attenders. At worst, teachings are subjugated by the social, prosperity, or self-promoting (warm and fuzzy) gospel, and the Bible, taken at face value, is considered a flawed document.
11. An acceptance without complaint from the staff on rotation of member attendance on Sunday mornings and other spiritual-based events. Twice a month is best case for most congregants.
12. A lack of entheusasum in the form of Christ-centered worship or coming forward for prayer or salvation at the end of the service.
13. No expectation of the need for a regular new members class.
14. The pastor functions day-to-day, expecting no movement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of his flock. No salvations, no baptisms, no passion, and no encouragement. Long ago, it became a job to pay the bills rather than a calling.
15. The finance committee holds sway over the church to a much greater degree than does the mission committee, if there even is one.
16. Unchanging rituals form the status quo on Sunday mornings. Every week, brief announcements, two traditional songs, responsive reading or a Bible verse, another song, a sermon lasting less than 45 minutes, another song, a prayer, and then a rush for lunch.
17. The pastor and his staff are not the spiritual or practical leaders of the church. The church is run by one or more longtime families.
18. Little opportunities for discipleship during the week. What groups do meet are more social in nature.
19. Little or no public prayer other than the pastor as required.
20. The church leans toward legalism at one extreme or an acceptance of promiscuity at the other, with no Biblical Statement of Faith or church discipline.

Any of these sound familiar?