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The Old Age of a Congregation Overview This article explores the ninth of ten stages of development in the life cycle and stages of congregational development: Old Age. The ten stages are grouped into five phases. Phase Five: Late Aging involves an indefinable number of years in the life of a congregation. It includes the Old Age and Death stages. To understand the Old Age stage appropriately it is necessary to look at the transition from the Retirement stage, understand the place of the organizing principles in the Old Age stage, review the characteristics of this stage, and determine how a congregation makes the passage to the Death stage. How Does a Congregation Make the Passage from Retirement to Old Age? Congregations in Retirement may repeat this stage several times before redeveloping, or moving on to the next stage, Old Age. How many times the congregation aborts attempts at redevelopment does not have a consistent pattern. It will vary from congregation to congregation. A congregation in Retirement is like a truck without four-wheel drive stuck in mud to its axles, and it cannot get out without help. At some point the congregation gives up hope, or runs out of resources to mount a change and transition effort. Rather than give permission for a new round of programmatic efforts to redevelop the congregation, they give up. When this happens the congregation slips quietly into Old Age. This may occur following a split, or following the leaving of a pastor they felt would be able to lead them forward, but instead he gave up. Old Age comes when the congregation is at rest. The congregation becomes a preaching station or chaplaincy ministry. What is the Place of the Organizing Principles in the Old Age Stage? Old Age is that period when management is the only one of the four organizing principles which is dominant. Vision, relationships, and programs are no longer dominant. Management is the only thing left to control the direction of the congregation. Congregations in Old Age are no longer living out the vision that God has given them for a congregation that ought to be present in a certain place or target group of people. Vision is the fuel or energy that will drive the congregation forward throughout the growth side of the life cycle. Vision is the current understanding of God’s spiritual strategic direction for a congregation that is cast by leadership and owned by membership. The last efforts from inside the congregation to be revitalized or renewed by programs have failed. During Retirement several valiant efforts were made to renew the congregation, but they were not sustained long enough to bring about true transformational change. Programs are the functional attempts to provide projects, ministries, services, activities, and training for people connected to the congregation by membership, fellowship, or through relationship processes. Relationships are no longer happening in the congregation. This factor was wounded during Retirement, and is now dormant. Relationships extend primarily to the people who have been members of the congregation for many years, plus their extended family members or long-term friends. Relationships are the spiritual and relational processes by which persons are brought to faith in God through Jesus Christ, become connected a local New Testament congregation, are assimilated into the fellowship life and care ministry of a congregation, have opportunities for spiritual growth and leadership development, and are mentored to use their gifts and skills through Kingdom involvement. Management, which includes the formal and informal culture of the congregation, is the only thing bringing ongoing life to the congregation. Management may find itself struggling with issues of the congregational resources. These include the facilities, the finances, and the pastor and any remaining staff. The primary role of management is to provide the systems and structures that work in an integrative pattern to under gird the fulfillment of vision, and the implementation of relationships and programs. What are the Characteristics of the Old Age Stage? Old Age is that stage of a congregation’s life cycle when it is functioning on fumes rather than being fueled by vision. The habit or pattern of gathering for worship and fellowship is the primary factor keeping the congregation going. The congregation is now at subsistence level. It is a preaching station, or a chaplaincy ministry. Death is not necessarily nearby, but proactive meaningful congregation life that is generating new energy is gone. Worship life is full of precious memories. Homecomings and anniversaries still play an important part in the life of the congregation. Memorial gifts to the congregation almost become the object of worship rather than instruments or enhancements of worship. The Jonah Syndrome controls fellowship life in the congregation. This is a fear of being swallowed up. So the congregation is afraid to take any risks that might diminish the precious few resources it has left. The most significant numbers counted in Old Age congregations are the number of funerals, and the number of people who are homebound or in the nursing section of senior adult housing. If the congregation moved to Old Age following a conflict, which may have included a split in the fellowship, then it carries a lot of bitterness into this stage. This bitterness is actually energy that can be used to help the congregation do some significant Kingdom work during this stage. Any positive, proactive ministry of the congregation will probably come from its management resources. For example, if its facilities are in relatively good shape, then they may become an incubation center for new congregations [particularly non-English language/culture], a community center for neighborhood organizations, or a source of income for a merger or relocation. If the congregation now has low expectation of internal ministry, and is not burdened by salaries and facilities expenses, then it may be providing significant dollars to missions work, or community ministry projects. If the demands on the full-time pastor are not high, then he may become meaningfully engaged in community or denominational ministries. It is also possible that this type of congregation will provide meaningful on-the-job training for persons new to pastoral or staff ministry. Many of these latter people will be bi-vocational. How Does a Congregation Make the Passage to Death? Death is not necessarily imminent or inevitable for Old Age congregations. It is not imminent in that Old Age congregations generally have the ability and resources to survive long past any viable, proactive ministry life. Particularly congregations in town and country areas where the context is not changing much can survive for generations at a subsistence level. Death is not inevitable in that a radical turnaround process in a context with potential is possible at any time. To give up on Old Age congregations is to suggest a limit to God’s ability. However, when the resources of the congregation cannot sustain the life of the congregation, it may die. When the people who are the core group of the congregation no longer wish to continue the congregation, it will probably die. When community change and transition eliminate the residential community around the facilities, or when the facilities are taken for community development projects, then the congregation will die—at least in this setting. It may live in another form in another setting. In some cases, when a denomination with the authority to do so chooses to close down the congregation, then it dies. But death is not necessarily the end. | 
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