3. Analyze the reason
This requires asking the hard questions, and admittedly, this too can hurt, but it’s helpful to know even if the answer is you. It requires humility to admit you’re not the church for everyone nor the minister everyone wants to shepherd them.
You can’t address what you don’t know and there are often valuable lessons to be learned from why a person chooses to leave your church.
4. Adjust if necessary
This is not a blanket answer when people leave. Again, people leave and that shouldn’t alter who you are as a church every time.
At the same time, don’t be afraid to admit you could have room to improve. If people feel the church wasn’t meeting their needs, try to discern if it’s them or the church. If it was a matter of style, they didn’t appreciate that’s one issue, but if it’s something lacking from the church’s offerings – that you should have – you may need to make some adjustments. Be willing to learn.
RELATED: 12 Reasons People Choose Another Church
5. Attune your vision
Okay, it was obvious I was looking for an “A” word, but this is actually a good one.
Attune means “to bring into harmony”. That’s often necessary when people disappear from the church. Most likely their absence will affect others. You may need to realign people to the vision, especially when those leaving were previously and visibly committed. Assure people you are listening, and genuinely be listening, but in the end stay true to the God-given vision God has called you to lead.
Again, no one wants people to leave, especially if they are leaving upset with you or the church. It is a part of church leadership. Learning to process it will make us better equipped to minister to the ones who stay, and the new people God will bring.
This article about when people leave your church originally appeared here, and is used by permission.
