“In 2024, Lifeway Research estimates 3,800 new Protestant churches were started in the U.S., while 4,000 churches were closed. This is based on analysis of congregational information provided by 35 denominations or faith groups, representing 58% of all Protestant churches.” - Lifeway
“Decline will happen in the future, but my best guess is that the rate of decline is slowing.” - MinistryWatch
By Marshall Fant III
As ministers of the Gospel, it’s natural that we would want to preserve and revitalize the institutions that have accomplished God’s work in the past. But what do we do when we realize that a church has lost its effectiveness, and efforts to revitalize have failed? Should a church like that be kept alive at all cost?
“These six types of churches are described categorically, but the categories are not mutually exclusive. Many of these deceased churches fit most, if not all, of the categories. We have spoken with the leadership of these churches. The conversations were sad but enlightening.” - Thom Rainer
“There are reasons I think that the percentage would be much less for SBC, explained below. I don’t know if LifeWay Research does any prognostication about SBC church closures.” - SBC Voices
“Some 42 percent of multi-sites come by way of merger. The typical merger is a mainline church in decline merging with an evangelical, often non-denominational church” - Christian Examiner
“[W]hen church officials explain that there’s little point in heating a church that has no thermal insulation and high-arched ceilings every Sunday for just 10 churchgoers, these critics of closing churches are also left at a loss for what to say.”
