Does the rural church have a future?
The Macomb Eagle, my former employer, reported this week that after 177 years of ministry, Tennessee United Methodist Church has closed its doors. The Tennessee, Ill. congregation’s final service was held Sunday, April 26; the building is now for sale.
Dwindling attendance and a decrease in financial contributions were cited as factors in the church board’s decision to call it quits. Pastor Gina Sheridan said only 17-18 people attended on a regular basis, and acting treasurer Donna Wetzel (a very sweet lady I came to know during my days as an Eagle reporter) said giving was $500-$600 short of covering expenses each month, forcing the church to cannibalize its savings.
You probably have never heard of Tennessee United Methodist Church, and you’re no doubt asking why you should give a flip about its demise. Well, I’m not a Methodist, but it saddens me any time a church is forced to cease operations.
I also believe a lot more rural churches – including rural Apostolic congregations – could face a similar fate. In many rural Apostolic churches membership is aging as young folks move to the city; consequently, attendance and giving both are fading away with the blue hairs.
Increasingly, the pastors of those churches also are AARP-eligible. Jarrid Younkin, Academic Dean at Christian Life College in Stockton, Calif. (a UPCI-endorsed Bible college), wrote in the most recent edition of the Forward that UPCI organizational reports show the smallest number of ministerial constituents is between the ages of 18 and 30. Younkin also states that the total enrollment in all UPCI endorsed Bible colleges is “significantly less than 1,000.” Since UPCI Bible Colleges seem to be a significant source of future UPCI clergy, it appears we could be headed for real shortage of ministers in the near future. (Some would argue we’re already there.)
What’s the answer? I’m really not sure, but I think the United Methodist Church might be on to something. Even though her Tennessee congregation bit the dust, Sheridan isn’t out of a job. She’s still the pastor of nearby Colchester United Methodist Church, where several of the Tennessee Methodists now worship. The Eagle reports that Colchester UMC boasts an average Sunday attendance of 70-80, a much more viable number.
A few years back I interviewed the former pastor of the Colchester UMC. He and his wife were both licensed UMC ministers; together, the couple oversaw five rural congregations. Could this be the future for many UPCI clergymen too?
Some UPCI pastors already lead more than one congregation. I wish I had statistics to throw at you; I do not, but whatever the number, I believe it could be on the increase as the older generation of ministers goes on to their eternal reward.
The Macomb Eagle did end with the following admonition from Sheridan. I believe she nails the real solution to the problem of declining attendance, offerings and licensed clergy:
As the church closed its doors for the last time, Sheridan offered words of wisdom for small-town churches in similar circumstances. “What happens with small churches or ones that end up dying…they start focusing inward instead of remembering our mission is to go into all the world and preach the gospel and make disciples for Jesus Christ, not keep our churches open,” she said. “There’s still service to God beyond that.”
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