Widows and Worship: Unseen Shifts in Church Pew Dynamics

I pastored a small American Baptist church in rural southern Illinois for over seventeen years. After I took over the pulpit in 2006, about 50 worshipers gathered on a typical Sunday. A sluggish decline was already in place once I arrived. A big a part of the decline in membership got here by way of dying. I buried many individuals throughout my tenure at First Baptist Church in Mount Vernon. We by no means had any main rifts or disputes. Thus, the downward slide might be described as gradual, not sudden. By 2016, our numbers fluctuated between 25 and 35 relying on the time of yr and the climate. Nevertheless, since 2020, the decline has accelerated. Because the calendar turned to 2023 and 2024, the variety of devoted gathered at First Baptist was considerably decrease.

Six months earlier than we shut our doorways in July 2024, this will likely be regular