I was just curious to find how other folks feel about this topic. United Methodist and Catholic Churches seem to have no problem merging, appointing two and three point charges (United Methodist) or closing churches/schools for whatever reason (lack of funds, non-flourishing, etc.). Do folks feel that certain AME Churches should close or merge for the same reasons. Let me mention a phenomenon that is happening in our district. Some ministers are starting up churches in their homes and bringing them into the Conference/District, etc. Many times these churches are made up primarily of their family members/personal friends, etc. When and if these ministers get moved or move on, for whatever reason, it is common for the "following" to either "follow" the minister or "move-on" with the minister. In some cases, the "church" remains in the denomination, but with 5-10 or fewer people. The assessment remains as well. One thing that I have come to understand is that if two or three churches want to combine or merge, then the assessments must merge as well, and some pastors are not inclined to take on that financial responsibility (that is my understanding). Does anyone feel that it is ever appropriate to close/merge churches and if so, at what point is that appropriate. I am just curious because it is a growing concern among tiny pockets of folk. Take care and God bless.

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2003

Answers

It is not an easy thing to do. Sis. Jackson's mention of the budgetary assessment is one aspect of the problems that one might encounter the other problems include the perception of the members that they are losing something. Many of these 5 to 10 member churches are happy just the way they are and they have no desire to grow. When a merger takes place some of these active members choose to stay home feeling they no longer have a church. Many of our members are highly attached to broken down high maintenance buildings. If only they loved God as much.

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2003

My Presiding Elder (5th District, Southern California) said that he would not recommend any mission churches where the pastor's family comprises 50% or more of the total membership for admission.

It turns out that when a Church is admitted to the Connection, The A.M.E. Church bears some financial responsibility. We have had a few churches start this way and fold, leaving the Church with hundreds or thousands of dollars in debt (mortgages, leases, etc.)

Some of the mergings and closing can be due to poor/lack of tithing.

Having sat on fundraising committees, and doing some mathematical analysis, I know that the members are not tithing 10%. It's more like 3-5%. That kind of tithing, in turn, prevents a church from offering competitive salaries to a minister (which may be the reason the minister is leaving).

On the other hand, some of the closures can be to poor preaching/evangelism. God and the Bishops will fix that.........

-- Anonymous, June 19, 2003

One of the functions during the annual conference is to review the viability of the stations, missions, and circuits. Persons may kick and scream, but the truth helps in seeing that churches would benefit if merged into or with another congregation. The option of merging has been available; we have been hesitant to utilize it.

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2003

We should not only merge churches but AME-supported colleges, P.E. Districts and Episcopal Districts also. The decision to merge or consolidate church operations should be based on one criterion only - cost savings. Until the AMEC comes to grips with her struggling fiscal predicament, we might as well forfeit all future growth opportunities. One day the "chickens WILL come home to roost". QED

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2003

I am in the fifth district and one of the things that I remember the most when my church was brought into the conference was Bishop Bryant saying "do not buy a church building until you can afford. Do not saddle yourself with debt" He is a wise man. My church started out as a non-denominational church and was brought into the A.M.E. denomination. Our first meetings were in a Mexican restruant because it was closed on Sundays.

We now meet in a beautiful cultural center and our tuesday service for the disabled is at a nursing home. 99 percent of our members at the service are in wheel chairs. Are overhead is low, which we can focus on ministry instead of trying to raise money for a mortgage payment.

One of the things that should also be realized is that our churches are not all in urban areas. The Next closet AME church to me is 250 miles away and the other is 400 miles away. There is no way we could merge. There is a large portion of the fifth district that is rural.

There maybe times when it might be wise to merge churches in large urban areas but must also have some flexibility in our policy.

We also have churches in Africa, that are in rural settings. Our denomination is diverse in turns of geographical make-up.

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2003

The above line should say "next closes church" I didn't take enough insulin, and I get fuzzy when that happens. Thanks for understanding.

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2003

I so heartily agree with Bro. Dickens. Rev. Rogers your point is well taken but this thread I think applies to those 10 -15 member congregations located one or two blocks from each other in urban settings. I know of several such churches and yes they should merge. Those churches are not being fed because they spend too much time worrying about the gas bill, the light bill and the conference claims. And the preachers, many of them are just holding a spot until a better opportunity arises. Come on church let's get real.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2003

Closing a church is (often) a very serious matter; but sometimes it does make sense.

Our congregation has been asked by our Presiding Elder to help out one of the struggling congregations of his district. The church now has remaining only 3 members - all female; I don't know the ages, but I suspect they are "seasoned saints". They are currently without a pastor and pulpit is being supplied by guest preachers on a bi-weekly basis (I think). He said this is one of 4 congregations on his district that are in similar situations. In each case, though, it is the only AME Church in town. They are not close enough to merge as they are all in different communities.

They really can't afford to stay open, but on the other hand, can we afford to let them close?

This same PE, who was once my pastor used to speak about his first charge as a minister at a church in Westerville, OH. He would say (tongue in cheek) the church had three members - two of which were sick and the other was dead or could not be located. That congregation did eventually close.

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2003

I HAVE STRUGGLE WITH THIS QUESTION WHEN BROUGHT UP IN THE 5TH DISTRICT. I'M IN THE KS-NE CONFERENCE AND AFTER READING THE GENTLEMANS COMMENTS ON 2 TO 3 MEMBERS, IT'S A HARDSHIP FOR THOSE PEOPLE NOT ATTENDING OR HAVING A PASTOR THERE. SINCE THIS IS THE ONLY CHURCH WE HAVE HAD LICENTUES? GOING THERE AND ARE BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS PREACHER THESE PEOPLE HAVE HOPE.

I HOPE THAT SOMEONE COULD GO THERE FOR THESE LADIES AND TO CONTINUE IN THERE FAITH.

AT TIMES PE'S DO NOT WANT TO CLOSE A FACILITY WITH ONE PERSON ONLY TO GET THERE MONEY. I HOPE THAT WHEN A CHURCH HAS ALL THERE MEMBERS IN A NURSING HOME, THEN THAT NEEDS TO BE CLOSED AND THE PROPERTY NEEDS TO BE UP KEEP OR SOLD.

MARGARET IN KANSAS CITY

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2003

I think the AME church needs to conduct itself as all businesses do. There are times in business that you have to merge or close down locations to remain profitable. It is the same with churches. When you have two or three struggling churchs within blocks of one another something is wrong. All churches do not need to be mega-churches, but a combining of resources could eventually save our denomination. We have so many churches that also need to be relocated because most of the membership no longer live in the area, parking is unavailable or the demographics of the neighborhood have changed. No one wants to make the hard call to merge, move or close a church, but we need to as a denomination look at the economics surrounding all our churches and institutions and react according to good business practices.

-- Anonymous, July 02, 2003