Number two in our reasons for not going in a strictly organic direction was sustainability. Organic churches typically (though not always) have a shorter life-span than more typical churches. Those inside the movement could comment from experience on the reasons for this, but my observation is that being smaller makes it more difficult to continue long term in the face of ordinary issues like attrition, people moving away, changes in life circumstances that limit a leader’s time to lead, etc.
I once brought this up with the leader of an influential network of house churches, and he said he was not at all troubled by the relatively short life-spans of their churches. They essentially self-start, self-end, and spring up elsewhere as needed, he told me. The kingdom work continues, it’s just not tied to a particular geographical location or certain key leaders.
Granted, there is a certain quality to that fluid, mobile church scenario that I can appreciate, and I have great respect for those who go the house church route. But on the other hand, I can’t help feel there is value in having the sustained, visible presence of a church in a community over the course of decades. There is a kind of influence, credibility, and impact that only comes over time, and it is difficult to achieve this longevity in a house church scenario.
Besides, this leader added, it’s not just house churches – most typical church plants don’t last long either. True. Depending on whose studies you cite, only 10-25% of new churches survive for three years or better. I’m fortunate to serve in a denomination (the Evangelical Covenant Church) where we do church planting well, and in fact have a success rate in the neighborhood of 90%. Our preference is for what we call “mammalian” church planting, versus “reptilian” church planting. Reptiles have lots of offspring, most of whom die, and the strong few survive. Mammals, on the other hand, tend to have fewer offspring, nurture them well, and most make it. As we plant churches we try to assess, train, coach, and fund our plants in ways that best lend themselves to churches surviving (if not thriving) over the long haul. And while long term sustainability is not always achieved, it seems to us a worthy aim to pursue.
