Church Growth Isn’t Easy. Here Are Four Things That Can Stop It

It’s no secret that many churches are struggling to grow right now. According to a report by Barna, a couple of years after the pandemic, 16% of previous churchgoers had stopped attending, while a further 23% had church hopped or were attending at multiple places.

The uncertainty and instability are having an impact on churches everywhere. The Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability (ECFA) reports that 70% of member churches are struggling simply to keep up with inflation. 

With a growing number of challenges facing churches across America, it’s easy for leadership to slip into an anti-growth mindset. The worst part is that they often don’t even realize that’s the way they’re thinking. After all, no one sets out to reject church growth. But it’s those emotional knee-jerk reactions and unthought-out decisions that can quietly undercut a church’s ability to flourish.

At Ministry Solutions Group, we’ve seen plenty of anti-growth thought processes, and over the years, we’ve identified a few specific things that consistently keep churches from saying yes to growth. Here are four of the biggest ones to watch out for.

A Lack of Vision

You might have a mission at the core of everything that your church does, but is that mission actively pouring into the short-, medium-, and long-term vision that you have for your ministry moving forward? Is it guiding decisions, influencing prayers, and helping you plan?

When you lack vision, you lack a plan for growth. You can’t see where God is taking you, and you remove yourself from the equation — even if he’s calling you into something bigger. To be clear, vision is different from micromanaging. You don’t need to see every step of what is coming. You need a vision that orients you in a specific, God-given direction and helps you work toward a specific set of goals.

Lack of vision can make a calling feel like a burden rather than an opportunity. Everyone loves the SMART goals acronym, which has had several iterations at this point. This is a perfect way to challenge your sense of purpose as a church. Is your vision:

• Specific and strategic?

• Measurable and meaningful?

• Achievable, actionable, and attainable?

• Realistic, reachable, and relevant?

• Time-based and time-sensitive?

If you lack vision as an organization, it could be getting in the way of healthy growth. When that’s the case, take steps to get your vision back on the straight and narrow.

Financial Pressure

This is a big one. When asked, the majority of churches reported struggling to keep up with inflation. When that’s the case, it can put pressure on the natural costs that come with growth (bigger facilities, more equipment, larger staff, etc.). It’s hard to plan for a growing church when you’re struggling to pay your bills in the here and now. 

Another way to look at this is a chronic lack of resources. The ECFA found that giving dropped in 2024 for the second year in a row. If a significant portion of your shrinking tithes and offerings are going toward maintaining your building or paying off a mortgage, it can hold you back from investing in other areas.

This is where Ministry Solutions Group’s Building Activation approach to church real estate and finances can be a game changer. This is the process of transforming under-utilized areas of church space into community-focused facilities and programs, like daycare centers and coffee shops. This is a strategic and effective way to generate income to offset expenses while addressing genuine needs in your local community — and even improving your church’s outreach at the same time!

Resistance to Change

This one goes along the same lines as the first takeaway. However, instead of a lack of forward momentum, some churches struggle with active resistance to change. This is normal. We humans love consistency and predictability, but life doesn’t always oblige — including at church.

The massive migration toward online tools, products, and activities in the church space in recent years has forced many to adapt to change. Others have dug in their heels and tried to return to the way things were before. 

Again, our team understands the reluctance. We know that digital engagement can be confusing. It’s easy to keep doing things the way you’ve always done them. However, that doesn’t set you up for growth. On the contrary, we’ve seen countless scenarios where it stunts any chance you have of growth.

Remember, the “status quo” that you’re comfortable with now was once a dramatic shift. Those wireless headsets and streaming setups are only a few decades old. Wired microphones and speakers aren’t much older in the grand scheme of things. Change is normal. Should you embrace it with wisdom and prayer? Of course. But resisting it can be detrimental to your church’s health.

An Unhealthy Focus on Operations

Finally, when you obsess over the practical, logistical, and administrative elements of your church, it can indirectly undercut your ability to grow. The reasoning here is straightforward. Church is supposed to be about growing closer to God as a community. While that manifests with practical things like building maintenance, utility bills, and parking lots, that doesn’t mean those should be the focus. When operational clarity usurps spiritual health, it will stop a church’s growth dead in its tracks.

Again, Building Activation is helpful here. It offers a way to make the most of a church’s assets and minimize its costs, not as the primary focus of your organization but as a way to minimize expenses and naturally steward a church’s finances. Add in the fact that it can feed into important things like community outreach and ministry impact, and it ends up supercharging your operations without compromising your vision.

Removing Blocks to Church Growth

Every church wants to grow. What is holding your church back? If you’re struggling to create a clear vision, manage your operations, relieve financial pressure, or address ongoing change, we want to talk. 

Our team at Ministry Solutions Group has shepherded faith-based organizations of all sizes, from portable churches to multisite ministries, as they’ve attempted to spark and manage growth. If that’s your goal and you need an experienced, faith-focused partner to walk through the process with you, let’s connect for a free initial analysis to see what steps you can take to help your church start growing again.