That is very sad, @narnian78. I am feeling for you and for who knows how many hundreds of others around North America that are facing the same hard thing. One church community just a bit behind our property closed a few years ago because of the aging congregation. A few in town have shut down, as well. Even though going to church services does not make one a Christian, the closure of these local gatherings is a sign of our increasingly secular society.

Is there another option for you nearby, narnian78? You must be feeling, along with the rest of the congregation, very bereft of that important community as you look to its closure at the end of the year.  

@jo 

There are other churches in the town where I live, although I am not sure if I will be attending one of them. It’s a decision that I won’t be rushing to make. Thanks for being so understanding.

Very sorry to hear about this, @narnian78, and I hope you find another church community where you feel you fit in. I was part of an already very small church that didn't survive the pandemic — we had two members quit during that time, for different personal reasons, and then I moved away as well when I got a new job in a different part of England, so there was no option left but to disband. (I've since been able to join another church of my denomination where I live now.)

It's a problem that probably most Christian denominations are facing in many parts of the world, but I do see at least one encouraging thing about it. Now that, in many culturally Christian countries, going to church is no longer "the done thing", nearly all the people who do attend church regularly are there because they truly want to be — because they find something in church, and in Christian fellowship, that they don't get anywhere else. In some ways, a small group of people who are there out of real love and commitment can be stronger than a large group who are there mainly because they feel it's a social or familial expectation.

And at the risk of being unoriginal about it, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name..." (Matt. 18:20)  

@narnian78 I am very sorry you are experiencing this. When I was able to attend church services I always preferred those with smaller congregations since I am an introvert. Sadly, I experienced 3 different churches having to close their doors due to lack of attendance and each one was a loss to the community. I hope you are able to find fellowship elsewhere.

I honestly think that the people in my church have tried everything possible to keep the church open. We now have a very good pastor who has a lot of talent with people, but even his efforts have not added enough new members to the church to keep it from closing. There have been many members who have passed away in the past few years and there haven’t been enough new people to replace them. There was also the problem of maintaining a large building with the funds from a shrinking congregation. So the church council and the denomination had to make the difficult decision to close the church. I can understand what a hard thing that was to endure. 

The first church closure I experienced was over 20 years ago but I am afraid this will become more and more widespread, my sister told me just last week that the church she and her husband and children attend dropped from 100 members to less than 30 in 1 year's time, it is a rural church so they have little hope of the congregation growing.

One of the churches that my family attended that was forced to close their doors managed to continue meeting as a home church (the pastor was a senior citizen and was officially retired but didn't want to abandon the flock he had ministered to for 40+ years) because one of the members invited the dozen or so remaining members to meet in her living room. When she was forced to sell her home and move to a senior living facility 10 years later the group thought they would have to disband but the hostess noticed that there was a chapel in the building that was basically unused and she arranged for the church to meet there every Sunday, the group has actually grown since other residents have joined the Sunday services and even though the original hostess died a few years ago the group continues to meet every week and most likely will as long as the pastor is able to get there.

@narnian-in-the-north the use of a Chapel or meeting room in a retirement home is a great option. Our church has ministered at 3 different retirement homes in our area over the decades. (We have lots of members, but currently no church building! )

I'm sorry to hear about that, @Narnian78. I attend a small church, though it is nice to reach out to the community. It shouldn't matter the size or how many people you have. It's all about meeting together for praise and worship.

I remember that years ago it was very seldom that churches would close in my area. Could it be a change in the attitude toward church attendance that people no longer see it as something important or essential? And today people will often leave a church very quickly if they see anything that doesn’t satisfy them. It is a sad situation that is unlikely to reverse itself in the near future.

I know people who stopped attending church services because they were hurt by the church community (clerical sexual abuse/adultery, lack of support of a wife fleeing an abusive husband, etc.), because they are currently dealing with a severe health issue, or in a few instances because they are having to work multiple jobs to make ends meet and one of them requires them to work on Sundays. My family also noticed that a lot of families left the small community churches for the megachurches. Add all that to the growing secularization of society and I guess it isn't surprising that the small churches are struggling.