Gail Cafferata, in an article for Pastoral Psychology, noted that for any clergy member, closing a church was a life-changing experience.
Marcel Berrios, in their 2024 Doctoral Thesis, noted that the emotional, mental, and psychological impacts of church closure on pastors are significant. Local church leaders often get credit for achieving great gains, but they also get blamed when things go wrong. Many pastors struggle with the emotions of loss and being seen by colleagues or themselves as failures.
When a church is heading for closure, often the focus is on the financial, legal, and business aspects. Numerous decisions need to be made. Then there are the church members, who are walking through unfamiliar feelings and stages of grief. Who cares for them?
As a pastoral leader, you shoulder the weight of these issues. This causes you to also experience significant stress and emotional issues, and you often do not have any place to go.
If you find yourself in a declining or dying church, here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Do I have the ability, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, and financially, to continue to pastor this declining church?
- Does my family have the ability to continue to live and serve in this declining church?
- What support system do I have from my denomination or association?
- What support system do I have from friends and ministry colleagues as I continue to pastor this church?
- Should I stay here?
- Since Cafferata says that closing a church is a life-changing event, am I ready to face such an event?
After prayer, thought, and discussion with your spouse or others, you may answer “No” to many of these questions. The next questions are, what now and what next? Maybe you answered “Yes” to these questions. The next questions are, what now and what next?
If we can assist you in processing them, please reach out to us.