Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” Luke 12:48

This passage ought to strike terror in the hearts of every church leader but especially for those of us in American Churches.  According to data from the U.S. census Bureau and The Barna Group, in 1991, 49% of the people in the US attended church.  I realize that the term “attended church” is somewhat vague.  By 2006 that number had dropped to 47%.  I honestly have my doubts about those percentages. In surveys people tend to over report their attendance.  Additionally, attending four times a year is a little different from attending four times a month.  Percentage of people attending church is a little difficult to count.

It is easier to count spending.  During that same period of time churches in the U.S. spent approximately 100 billion dollars on church buildings. (That is a stack of $100 dollar bills 63 miles high.)  This does not include salaries for staff, programing, operational costs, transportation or education and training.  Strictly the cost of buildings was $100,000,000,000 with a net loss of 2% in attendance. Let’s play a little game. 

·      We will pretend that we were in the business world.  We have been part of a management team that has spent $100,000,000,000 of stockholder money and are now reporting to the board of directors a 2% decline. What would our employment future be? 

·      What if we were a defense contractor having spent $100B on a weapons system that was 2% less effective than the system it replaced.  What would happen to our contract?

·      What if we were tenant farmers who spent $100B of the farm owner’s money on equipment and all we have to show for it was a 2% reduction in grape production?  What would the farm owner do to us?

May I suggest this in not a game?  There are people in the world who have never heard the gospel.  I was once told that over all, 1% of U.S. church giving goes to foreign missions and only 1% of foreign mission funds are directed toward unreached people groups.  There are an estimated 5,574 unreached people groups in the 10/40 window.  What if during those 16 years the churches in the U.S. had directed $180 million dollars toward each of those people groups?  What difference would that have made in the church worldwide? 

I am not saying we should have no church buildings; they can, in fact, be helpful tools for ministry.  I am not saying that all building projects are evil.  I have lead congregations I have served and other churches in building campaigns.  But before we spend one penny on a new building we need to remember that a church building is a tool.  We must remember that its sole purpose is to facilitate the equipping of the saints for the task of making disciples.  There is much more to say but I am still struggling in developing my understanding of the intersection of the ministry of the church and the role of buildings.  I am, however, certain that we have been given much, have not managed it well and will one day be required to give an account.