Four Key Reasons Why Folks Leave the Church

When we think of leaving the church, we may envision folks being angry at a meeting that was held or even perhaps something that the minister said. While these are all viable reasons why people leave the church, one thing is for sure; there is always a revolving door to this sacred institution. Some pastors perplex themselves over why a member leaves or may even pass judgment on whether or not the member should have left. Whatever the reasons are, losing church members is not something that excites any church leader nor do they ever want to experience it. Nevertheless, it is a fact of life. But, in an effort to help avoid member turnover, I offer four key reasons why folks leave the church. While this list may not be all-inclusive or even agreeable to some, it is my experience that these reasons are a few of the main reasons why churches experience negative growth.

The vision of the church is not defined or followed through. This means that if a church has had a building fund going for over 30 years, chances are the members will begin to wonder if there will ever be a building built. If the vision of the church involves carrying out an action, it is important to follow through. Not following through can cause existing members to doubt leadership and will discourage potential members from joining. Don't insult their intelligence by telling them the building will be built "very soon; have faith!" No. Build it!

The pastor is caught in improprieties. Being caught in the improprieties is not so much the issue, but being dishonest about it after the evidence has shown it is the issue. Church members hate to be insulted by having the obvious downplayed. There have been mass exoduses in many churches because of this issue.

Having "too much" faith. What?! Too much? Yes, too much. What is meant by that is church members being told to have faith without being taught faith. Asking members to "stretch out" on faith without showing them through scripture or lessons on the how's and why's of faith. What will happen is the church member will mimic what they see and when they fail, they will attribute it to their lack of faith. This is too much faith because they are overshooting their faith and where they are for the moment. When they fail, they're embarrassed and they usually leave the church. Proper teaching will help eliminate this issue.

Disorganization! This is a very key reason on why churches lose members. If things are not done consistently or with clear, defined reasons, church members will seek this in another assembly or just drift away from the church. Have things done and executed orderly, fashionably and timely.

While these reasons are not ALL the reasons, if care is taken to avoid even one of them, the local assembly may start to experience growth and become a content congregation.