Quote:
Originally Posted by markbarbera
The declining congregations for a lot of these older inner city churches have been deferring repairs to try to keep afloat. This doesn't come without an increasing cost to eventual repairs and an advanced state of deterioration. We will probably see more of this situation as financially strapped congregations put their neglected churches on the real estate market. It is a sad state of affairs but I fear it will become more prevalent in the coming years without an active, well financed preservation strategy. Simply tagging a building with a heritage designation will not prevent deterioration and eventual collapse.
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It’s a huge problem. Very few congregations have somehow (I don’t think there’s one magic formula) managed to maintain their numbers, but most are in decline, particularly in core areas. These are also the congregations who are stewarding the most beautiful buildings, and the most difficult to care for.
When my wife and I decided to switch from the church in the city we used to live in, we went to James Baptist by chance on a week shortly following their decision to sell the building. It was obviously pretty emotional for them, and there was a lot of division- even those who had apparently supported trying to preserve the church and talked very passionately about the congregation’s duty to preserve its heritage, admitted that it would be an overwhelming challenge to try to raise funds, and that that would probably be extremely divisive for the congregation as well.
It’s a self-enforcing cycle, too. We’ve also attended Stanley Baptist a few times (another shrinking congregation in an old building whose maintenance costs will likely go up), but I think a lot of prospective members look at a congregation and want to make sure that it’s still a going concern. I think that there’s a tipping point beyond which a declining congregation finds it hard to attract younger members and preserve its numbers, when it needs to do so the most.
Big challenge. It’s great to hear when people are so aware of it, that’s the first step to addressing it appropriately (I have no idea how).
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