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The Death of a Congregation Overview This article explores the tenth of ten stages of development in the life cycle and stages of congregational development: Death. 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 Death stage appropriately it is necessary to look at the transition from the Old Age stage, understand the place of the organizing principles in the Death stage, review the characteristics of the Death stage, understand when Death is not necessarily recorded as Death, and begin to understand what happens after Death. 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 anytime. 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. Yet death is not necessarily the end. What is the Place of the Organizing Principles in the Death Stage? Death is that period when none of the four organizing principles is dominant. Vision, relationships, and programs are no longer even present. Management is the only organizing principle left, and its role is brief and confined. The purpose of management at death is to handle an orderly transition of the resources of the congregation. Resources at this juncture may include, but not be limited to, facilities, equipment, materials, remaining financial reserves, the membership rolls of the congregation, and historical items. For review, here is the general function of the four organizing principles. Relationships are the spiritual and relational processes by which persons are brought to faith in God through Jesus Christ, become connected to 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. 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. 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 Death Stage? At Death a congregation ceases to exist as a community of worship, discipleship, and fellowship. The desire is gone to meet regularly to worship God, to engage in spiritual growth activities, and to actively organize for fellowship and mutual support. Probably all three of these need to exist in some regular form for congregational life to be viable. What dies when these three are not present is the congregational movement. Separate, in a sense, from the congregational movement may still be a corporation or institution in existence with which someone must deal. It is like the difference between a person dying, or life being gone, and the need to address the issues of a remaining temporal body. Just as a funeral would typically be held for a person, with their body being the center of human focus, so it is appropriate to engage in a ceremony that commemorates the rites of passage related to a congregational body. Many spiritual rites of passages have occurred within that congregational body. It is appropriate to celebrate these, and to help people deal with their grief. Just as dealing with the loss of a friend or family member is hard, dealing with the loss of a congregation and its facilities is hard. During the latter stages of congregational life many members and regular attendees probably deepened their inability to divide their faith in Christ from the cultural practices of a specific congregation in a specific location. Death is not inevitable for any congregation. The life cycle and stages of development are not deterministic; that is, if a congregation has a Birth, it is not inevitable that it will have a Death. Congregations can and do redevelop and move forward to a new partial life cycle that may last a minimum of seven to nine years. Congregations at Death can have a Resurrection. Having said that Death is not inevitable, congregations who are aging, are dysfunctional, and who wait until Phase Five: Late Aging to seek a turnaround are unlikely to experience a positive, successful future. They may not avoid Death. Early intervention in the life of congregations is needed. Often when congregations die, it is because they did not cherish life enough. When is Death Not Necessarily Recorded as Death? The death of a congregation is not always recorded as death. At times actions are taken during Retirement or Old Age that help a congregation to escape death, but without this rescue the congregation would have died. Rescues include, but are not limited to, the following:
What Happens After the Death Stage? Is Death the End? Death is the end for this particular congregation. However, a congregation that has experienced Death can live on in a resurrected form. Resurrection is one of the Redevelopment strategies that will be discussed in future editions of Congregational Passages. As a preview, here is a list of some ways congregations who experience Death can live through a Resurrection:
Humanly we would call many of these an organ donation. In a spiritual sense they are in the spirit of a Resurrection. | 
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