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1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 9:18
More than before, the issue of Church Migration has become a serious issue that today’s churches are considering with concern. A pastor I know very well recently waved my car down to speak with me. The first thing he spoke about is how his old members are departing from his church. A pastor close to us once lamented about how some new Pentecostal churches are “stealing” their members. The simple truth that I always point out is that people rarely leave a church; it is the pastor or the church leadership they are leaving. The members who leave you as their pastor will definitely go after other pastors; therefore, over the years, there are numerous reasons given by church migrants for their movements. As church leaders, most migration is often built around the issue of church leadership or system structure:
1. Pastor’s loss of Vision: When the pastor loses direction and vision, the people will not be willing to follow him anymore. When the leader loses the vision, then the church becomes sick, and people will depart. This becomes the case of a “struggling pastor, stagnant church”. How healthy is the vision of God in your life?
2. Painful hurt and bitterness: when pain and bitterness in the heart of the people is permitted to linger long without been attended to. The church is a place where the people seek comfort through the help of the Comforter (The Holy Spirit), but when we fail as a church to be “the balm of Gilead”, we lose our value, and people depart from our gathering.
2. Plateaued Church: When the glory is departing, a church that becomes stagnant will experience a loss of members. The members now speak of the good old days. What we now have in many of our churches are tales, men glorified center, obsolete to the move of God. (Psalms 74:9) “We see not our signs: there is no any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.”
3. Personal Relationship Conflict: This comes into play when two or more members get into an altercation with each other and decide to go to another church to worship. A pastor is expected to be vast when it comes to the issues of “Conflict and Crises resolution in Churches Today”
4. Poor Preaching: There are numerous teachers online that our members listen to. When you fail to develop your message delivery, people will be willing to move on. When you can’t change people, the people will change you. Transformational messages are what will keep them in our churches.
6. Poor Leadership Style: More than often, your leadership style affects the church immensely. How effective is your leadership style? Do you have a system that is well-inclusive, transformational and impactful? Jesus’s style of leadership is rooted in servant leadership, relational leadership, visionary leadership, empowerment, delegation, teaching, mentoring, compassion, and leading by example.
7. Personal Sins: Personal iniquity, which he/she does not want to part ways with, will begin to make them withdraw from the fellowship of the saints. When sin is repeatedly condemned, perpetual sinners become uncomfortable among us. Therefore, they have the option to either change or leave.
8. Poor Hospitality: Everyone might not have received the ministry of the pastor on a personal basis, but one has enjoyed the ministry of the hospitality and ushering department. Bad hospitality service from the church leadership to the service groups is big enough to chase members out of the church.
9. Power Tussle and Contention: When the leadership is disjointed, ministers contest and fight to gain control of the church leadership (I Corinthians 1:10-17). Crisis between the pastor and his associates, service group conflicts, etc.
10. Prayer Decay: the church is a spiritual entity, and the church is called “the house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7; Matthew 21:13; Luke 19:46). A church that can’t pray will be the devil’s prey. The church’s growth is the devil’s headache.
11. Powerlessness: The Church is built by Christ to withstand the advances of the gates of hell through the demonstration of His power. Apostle Paul encouraged the Ephesian Church in Ephesians 6:11: “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might”. We must, therefore, manifest the power of God. A powerless church is the devil’s playground.
12. Polluted Altar: When the Holy Spirit has become an alien in our midst. The move of the Holy Spirit becomes a stranger when we allow pollution to penetrate our altar. Ungodliness, immorality and godlessness have taken over our church, and we pollute the place of prayer.
13. Pastoral Care deficiency: The Church is built as a need-meeting centre through the leadership of a vibrant, effective and passionate pastor, but when the pastorate ignores the needs and care of her people, the people will leave to find alternatives. Many of our churches paid dearly for this after the pandemic. Churches that paid more attention to the needs of the people gained more members than those who ignored the needs of the people. If you want cheap growth in your churches, then improve your caring ministry. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care
14. People Problems: The church is built by God for His people and service unto people, but unfortunately, where there is human involvement, there also you will see the manifestation of individual traits of selfishness, envy and conflicts are bound to occur. When we fail as a church to train, develop and discipline our members, we are bound to experience the people’s problems, which can chase members away.
15. Pale Evangelism: The word for growth is evangelism. A dynamic go-ye church is a vibrant, growing church. But when our evangelical arm is pale, the church growth is condemned. A river that stops flowing will soon begin to stink. When evangelism is pale, growth is stunted, and decline is imminent (I Corinthians 9:16)
16. Permitting sin among the congregation: This is when the pastor not only knows about certain open sin in the church, but also chose not to confront it, for the fear of losing members. Simply ignoring sin is evidence of accepting it, which is evidence of evil influence. Such is found in churches where pastors celebrate drinking of alcohol, immoral vices in today’s churches, such church will lose members.
17. Primitive Church System: In a changing world, the church can’t afford to remain static in its approach to the church system. The constant factor is the principles of the word of God. Hebrews 1:1-3, we must be dynamic and creative in our operation and approach without violating the standard of God and His word.
18. Pastor’s Character and Integrity Failure: the ability to trust you as a pastor is a major contributor to the growth of any ministry. When you lose your integrity, you lose it all. Grace will take that ministry to the top, but you need godly character to maintain and retain it.
19. Pastor’s Abuse of Power: This has become the trending issue in our churches today. Misuse of power and privileges by many pastors has destroyed many believers. Taking undue advantage of the congregation for selfish gain and purposes. Pastors now misuse their position and gifts, imposing un-scriptural vices on the people; which is a misuse of influence (I Corinthians 9:18)
20. Pastor’s Private Failure: Many things we often overlook as pastors in our secret life will eventually scatter the ministry. Our personal struggles will soon become the ministry’s struggle. Failed marriage and failed parenting have adversely affected the ministry and churches of many pastors today.
Dr Niyi Oluwatuyi
crcinfo2004@gmail.com
+2348077814990
facebook.com/olaniyi.oluwatuyi
