News from Faith United Presbyterian Church

Are We in Need of Hospic
Care?

Fifteen years ago, when I first started doing Committee on Ministry (COM) work, we often had to become more creative to provide pastoral leadership for some of our smaller congregations. Our Book of Order states that "Every church should have the pastoral services of a minister of the Word and Sacrament." (G-14.0500) However, many pastors were unwilling to serve smaller congregations and many smaller congregations were unable to afford seminary trained pastors. Many presbyteries, including ours, looked to commissioned lay pastors to fill the gap.

Today, we have many congregations which have declined to the point they are unable to afford even a part-time pastoral leadership. So, in COM circles, we speak of providing "hospice care". Recognizing there is either no opportunity, or desire, for the congregation to grow, we look to provide whatever pastoral care we can, until the congregation dies.

Generally, when we speak of congregations who may need hospice care, we are speaking of congregations whose membership has dropped well below fifty and whose average attendance is even less. While some seem relatively vital, and others have large endowments, allowing them to be on "life support" for many years, if they are not growing, they are dying. It is just a matter of time.

What is the difference between a 30 member church receiving hospice care and a 370 member church, if it is not growing? Time. This truth is what prompts me to ask: Are we in need of hospice care?

Today, the answer is: "Of course not!" We have some wonderful young families and new faces. We are financially stable. We have some very good things happening in our life together. Today, we have no need of hospice care. We are stable.

What of tomorrow? Many of the churches that are dying today are dying because they did not learn to grow. They were happy with who they were. They were comfortable and complacent. There was no need to go into the world to tell people of the wonderful things God was doing in their life together. There was no need to grow. Then one day, they woke up and discovered things were not what they once were. By then, it was too late. They no longer had the resources to grow.

People of faith, we are yet in a good place. We have more resources than most Presbyterian congregations. We have much that is good in our life together. All we need to grow is your desire to share our life together with others. If you go into the world and share the good news of God's love you have found in our life together with your family and friends, we will never need hospice care.

See you in church!