Please Don't LeaveThere are a variety of reasons that people leave a church:
*they move out of the community
*God opens a door for ministry
*they experience conflict with other church members and either can't work it out
*they get burned out in ministry
*they feel the church can no longer best minister to their needs
*they no longer agree with the vision of the pastor and direction of the church
The church growth books that I've read encourage pastors and church planters to find ways to "close the back door." In other words, once someone visits or begins to attend your church, do everything you can to keep them coming back.
Well, I understand that we need to demonstrate genuine love to our guests and reach out to them so that they feel welcomed and hopefully they will want to come back and be part of our church family.
But I've also learned that you can never make everyone happy. Not everyone is going to jive with PCC. Not everyone is going to embrace the vision and the changes that God initiates.
My friend gave me some solid advice recently: "Allow people to leave gracefully. Don't beg them to stay. Perhaps they need to leave in order for the church to actually grow. Do your best to help them find another church."
Thta's great advice. But it's much easier said than done.
