new churches per year. Meanwhile, we do
not know how many independent Baptist
churches close each year since there is
no central denominational home office.

Independent Baptist church closures are
growing faster than many realize. It will
continue to be a huge issue that will require a
large number of preachers to restart churches.

Nineteen years ago, when I came with BIMI
to assist churches in the planting of new churches, I was shocked to learn of the
number of church closures. In the past 19 years, we have helped many churches
find pastors and have helped others to be restarted once God provided a pastor
for a struggling church. Most pastors know of at least one church (or more) in
their area that is in decline. If something does not change, some of those declining
churches will close because of an aging congregation or pastor. Sometimes wrong
leadership decisions have been made or a moral failure occurred and the church is
left reeling from the fallout. It could be the church has lost its vision for missions
and evangelization. Other times the demographic makeup of a community changes
and the church finds itself in the middle of a culture and people to whom they are
not able to effectively minister. Whatever the reason, a church at that stage can
decline and eventually close. It is a tragedy when a church shuts its doors, and the
property is sold to real estate developers.

When I hear of a church that closed or is near to closing, I think of the saints who
sacrificed to purchase that property, built those buildings, and faithfully stood for
Bible truths. I think of the years it took to pay off the mortgage and finally witness
a mortgage burning service. We ought to be saddened when all that sacrifice is lost
as a church closes its doors and ceases ministry.

Not all churches in decline should be or can be restarted. A huge mortgage and
no people will hinder a restart. In some cases, a church in decline should consider
merging with another church. If the testimony of the church has been severely
damaged by previous leadership, it may be better to market the property and start a
new work in that community with a new name and rented facilities.

When a church closes, can a new church be started in that same building? To answer
that question there are some factors that must first be considered:
(1) Is the property debt free or is there still a mortgage on the property?
(2) What type of testimony did the closed church have in the community?
(3) How much funding would it take to get the facilities repaired and
functioning properly prior to the opening of the new church?
Questions need to be asked and information needs to be gathered in any church
closure situation. There are numerous occasions where a church planter can start a
new church in an existing mortgage free facility.

The solution starts with prayer. Pray that God will raise up an army of men with
4 Reseeding America – Spring 2022



pastoral experience and training who will step out by faith and join with us to
launch an effective church restart ministry. We need couples to join BIMI/Reseeding
America to launch a church restart ministry. In this day and hour, they could raise
full-time support to take a church in decline with no pastor and restart the church.

They would stay with the church until the congregation can call a pastor. Then they
would move on to the next church restart.

Another solution is for pastors and local churches to launch a rescue or restart
ministry out of their own congregation. I have a “how to” manual called Adopt a
Church Ministry with practical steps a church can take to rescue or restart a work.

Contact me at Reseeding America for a copy.

Let us continue planting new churches across America to reach inner cities and
ethnic groups living within our borders. Let us do our very best to reach “main
stream” America. At the same time, let us not forget existing churches that need
a “jump start” or restart. We can increase our missionary force worldwide when
we increase our missionary source. Our missionary source is the local church.

For guidance in launching such a ministry or for more information, contact Bob
Larson, USA Director, BIMI Reseeding America Ministries.

Bob Larson, USA Director, Baptist International Missions, Inc.

Reseeding America Ministry
USADirector@bimi.org Reseeding America – Summer 2022 5