Signs are important in our life. They can tell you when to stop driving in order to allow traffic to safely pass. Signs can tell you what direction on the interstate you are going in order to arrive at your destination. Signs are also important because they can reveal when you are sick, like a fever, body aches, and fatigue mean you have the flu. There are signs that a woman is pregnant, like nausea, cramps, and the double line on the test strip. There are also all different signs that someone has cancer. Signs are all around us and they tell us important things we need to pay attention to.

But not everyone pays attention to the signs that something is wrong. The signs of a church in decay are there and have been there for a long time. The halls that once echoed the joy and laughter of children, now remain silent, vacant, and cold, (literally from the thermostat being turned off). The room that was once vibrant and loud with the cheers of teenagers playing games and hearing the Word of God taught is now full of old tables, chairs, with a plethora of dusty plastic flowers and holiday decor. The space that once resounded with angelic voices and sublime instruments that at one time lead a room full of people to sing their hearts out to the Lord, is now filled with the painful sound of an off-key, quavering voice playing an out of tune organ for just a few handful of members. But the real sign of decay is not in the abandoned nursery wing. It’s not the fact that the old youth room has become the storage room from the lack of teenagers. It’s not even in the less-than-desirable singing or worship music. The ultimate sign of church decay can be seen in the absence of the Glory of God in the church.

The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel warns us of this very thing. Ezekiel 10:18 says, “Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house [of Israel].” In the previous chapters, God calls Ezekiel to be His prophet to all of God’s people who are in the Babylonian exile and to those still in Jerusalem under Babylon’s attacks. God gave Ezekiel a vision about God’s Glory being in Babylon. The prophet was confused since it was supposed to be in Israel. But the vision shows why there was a change of location – God’s people were no longer worshiping The LORD, but instead the false gods of the surrounding nations. Israel was guilty of so much idolatry and violence that God pronounced His judgement on them for their sin, but not before seeing the Glory of the LORD leaving the temple. “The Israelites have driven their God away, and he gives the city and temple over to destruction, yet God has not abandoned his people. Rather, he goes into exile with them.”1

Later on in this vision (chapters 34-37), God promises a New and future David who will transform the hearts of a new Israel and remove their hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh. To illustrate this further, God brings Ezekiel to a large valley full of dead soldiers. These men have been dead for so long, that their bones are dried out and no flesh remains. God commands Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to live and breathe and they do. The Holy Scriptures describe the incredible scene,

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.  Ezekiel 37:7–10.

God tells Ezekiel that these dead dry bones that God made into new people symbolize God’s people! They symbolize dying and dead churches, (after all the church is the people of God). The Glory of God has departed from many churches in America because of the idolatry and sin being committed in them. While the idolatry here may not be carved images, pagan orgies, or sacrificing infants. Idolatry still exists in these dying churches, however most people don’t realize this because it’s hidden and justified. Satan has blinded many congregations around the country from seeing their own sin. Dying and declining church have stopped worshipping God and are instead worshipping themselves. As a result, the Glory of God has departed from among them. Here are some statistics that show the rate of decline and health in Protestant churches and specifically SBC churches today.

Protestant Church Statistics

  • In 2014, an estimated 4,000 churches were planted, while 3,700 closed. But this trend has been declining over the past decade.2
  • In 2019, approximately 3,000 churches were started in the U.S., but 4,500 churches closed.3
  • Approximately 5-7% of Protestant churches are healthy and growing.4
    • Meaning more than 90% of Protestant churches are declining and at risk of closing.

Southern Baptist Convention Statistics

  • Between 2020 and 2024, the SBC closed an average of about 1,000 churches each year.5
  • Between 80-90% of SBC churches are declining and dying. Around 15-20% of those churches are in danger of closing their doors in the next three to five years if nothing changes.6
    • Meaning only about 10-20% of SBC churches are healthy and growing.

Many churches have driven their God away, and He gives the effectiveness and reputation of that church over to destruction, yet God has not abandoned his people. Just like Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones breathing new life into God’s people, by God’s grace we too can breathe the breath of life into dying churches! God has not abandoned His people, but rather He has equipped and called men to pastor these churches to revitalize them. We need to reclaim God’s glory in these churches.7 But in order to do that by God’s grace, the church body as a whole, (not just the pastor), needs to realize six main issues that kill a church and drive God’s glory away.8 We will address these six main issues in Part 2 of this series.

  1. https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-ezekiel/ ↩︎
  2. https://research.lifeway.com/2021/05/25/protestant-church-closures-outpace-openings-in-u-s/ ↩︎
  3. Ibid. ↩︎
  4. “Revitalization Coaching and Equipping Cohort” Curriculum. Mark Hallock, Calvary Family of Churches. ↩︎
  5. https://research.lifeway.com/2024/04/02/southern-baptists-lost-more-than-1200-congregations-in-2022/; https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/few-protestant-pastors-believe-their-churches-will-close-soon/#:~:text=Slight%20drop%20in%20church%20closures,future%20and%20the%20ACP%20analysis. ↩︎
  6. https://www.namb.net/church-replanting/resource/gods-not-done-with-the-sbc/ “Revitalization Coaching and Equipping Cohort” Curriculum. Mark Hallock, Calvary Family of Churches. ↩︎
  7. The idea of reclaiming God’s glory comes from Mark Clifton’s book, Reclaiming God’s Glory, which I highly recommend. ↩︎
  8. Some of these are taken and adapted from Mark Clifton’s article on NAMB’s website, (https://www.namb.net/send-network/resource/10-behavior-changes-dying-churches-must-make-to-thrive/) while others are my own taken from personal experiences with pastoring or serving dying churches. ↩︎