People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Merging Isn’t a Growth Strategy!
by James W. Moss, Sr.We live in the age of mergers. Many companies have merged with others. It may be a surprise to realize that the merger didn’t necessarily result in increased profits. In fact the merged companies frequently make less money than the stronger of the two companies before the merger. Some of the companies have come to understand that bigger is not better as they have begun to divest themselves of some of the divisions that had come about because of the merging.
Merging is not a growth strategy
It takes tremendous expenditure of energy and resources to pull off a merger. The effort is not unlike a building program for a church where the people are nearly prostrate till the conclusion of the program. When the feat is accomplished, people are ready to lay back and rest for a while. Momentum is lost. Sometimes it is never regained.
You’ll never know how many times a well meaning person has come to me and said, "Why don’t we take these five little churches and merge them into one and have a large church." First of all, selling the concept of merging to five churches is no small task by itself. But even if you successfully promote the concept, the feat is not necessarily accomplished.
Consider these examples
Mt. Tabor averages 51 in worship. Mt. Zion averages 93. Mt. Tabor and Mt. Zion are to be merged. Mt. Zion has the larger facility. The people from Mt. Tabor are urged to go to Mt. Zion. Right up front, only 80% of the people make the move. Within 15 months, the average attendance of the merged church is 97. This represents a loss of 47 per Sunday.
Mt. Union Church has two worship services. The leadership has a bright idea. We only need one service. Let’s put the two together then we can have a real time of celebration. The idea is sold. The 8:30 service averages 48. The 10:45 service averages 76. They move the new service to 10:00 o’clock. One year later the merged service is running 81. The net loss is 43 per Sunday.
Mt. Nebo Church has two adult classes. A decision is made to merge the two classes to make it simpler to find teachers. Pathfinders Class averages 21. The Seekers Class averages 11. One year later the merged class is averaging 19. This is a loss of 13 per Sunday.
The above illustrations are very typical. There have been exceptions. There are exceptions to every illustration. However, the above response is much more typical of the realities of life than the exceptions.
Closing isn't always bad
I am opposed to the closing of churches, services, or Sunday school classes. This concept implies the decision for closure is being made by those outside the entity being closed. It is not nearly so difficult for me to make a decision to close something I am not an integral part of. I can vote to close your church, your service, or your SS class without the same heartburn that I will have to vote to close my church, or my service, or my SS class. In fact, a closing that is perceived as forced will communicate to the people that they are not important or not wanted.
I am not opposed to the closings when the people who are a part of the closed entity make the decision for closure. The people of a church or group may decide they no longer have the energy or resources to continue. I watched as an older class diminished by death and ill health decided they no longer had the strength to continue as a class and voluntarily, without pressure, merged into another group. I have watched as the people of a very small church without outside pressure came to the conclusion that they could not continue on. This I understand and fully appreciate.
Remember, a vote to merge is not the final word
The participants will ultimately vote with their attendance. It will take anywhere from 1-5 years to realize the full impact of a merger for a church. A shorter time frame will tell the tale of smaller ministry segments. There may be other reasons to merge, but growth is not one of them. In fact, mergers are generally followed by losses.
Also see:
 | Church Mergers by Dan Reiland |
_____________________
Read about Jim's seminars and books.
_____________________
September 6, 2001. Volume 4, Issue 10. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way with proper credit. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.