How God changed my heart to care about dying churches

Author: Ben DePolitte

I grew up in the heart of the Bible Belt as a preacher’s kid. The area I lived in had a rich mix of Presbyterian, Southern Baptist, Independent Fundamental Baptist, Methodist, and Non-Denominational churches. My dad was deeply involved in local ministry and maintained strong relationships with many pastors. That gave me a unique opportunity to visit and serve in a wide variety of churches throughout my childhood.

Even at a young age, I felt something was off. When I compared what I saw in these churches with the model of the church in the book of Acts and the epistles, I was often disheartened. It wasn’t that I expected perfection, but I saw tradition being worshiped over God. I saw churches divided over minor doctrinal disagreements, declining churches unwilling to change, and congregations splitting over petty issues. These weren’t isolated incidents. They were the norm.

When my dad retired from preaching, it became a major spiritual stumbling block for me. My wife and I tried to plug into several churches, but we kept encountering the same issues: tradition-bound services, shallow teaching, and a lack of gospel-centered mission. We even tried helping one church by volunteering in the worship ministry, but after facing resistance and frustration, I eventually walked away from church altogether. I wasn’t angry because churches didn’t fit my preferences. I was angry because they refused to humble themselves and pursue the biblical vision of the church.

Then we found a healthy church: The Journey Church in Lebanon, Tennessee. It wasn’t seeker-sensitive. It wasn’t tradition-bound either. It wasn’t perfect, but it was clearly striving to glorify God and enjoy Him. As we got involved, the leadership of the church began to cast vision for a model they called “Build Up and Send Out.” At first, I assumed this meant training and sending church planters and missionaries, which I fully supported. I had already written off most of the churches I grew up around. In my mind, they were dead. So it seemed logical to just plant new ones.

But God had other plans.

Around that time, I sensed a call to pastoral ministry and joined the church’s pastoral residency program. That’s when everything shifted. To my surprise, half the training focused on replanting and revitalizing dying churches. As I read books like Autopsy of a Deceased Church and Reclaiming Glory, I began to see that my contempt had been misplaced. I realized I wasn’t just frustrated. I was uniquely positioned to help. I had grown up in these churches. I knew their challenges, their blind spots, their well-meaning disobedience. And now, I was being equipped to help.

It wasn’t just a sense of duty. It was a calling. The words from our training echoed in my heart: “Nothing glorifies God about a church closing its doors.” I began to learn that the Southern Baptist Convention closes more churches than it plants every year. I saw the irreplaceable value of these congregations, both spiritually and even financially. Many of their buildings were built generations ago with faithful giving and sacrifice. Today, we could never afford to replicate them. These churches weren’t disposable. They were precious.

As I shared what I was learning, God used people like Pastor Brandon Sutton, the director of the residency, to challenge and encourage me. Over time, it became clear that this wasn’t just a burden. It was a spiritual war. Satan thrives when churches are ineffective. He loves when they cling to tradition, become inwardly focused, or compromise truth to stay comfortable. Satan wants to see churches die. I realized that my frustration wasn’t ultimately with the churches. It was with the Enemy. And through prayer, training, and obedience, I could do something about it.

Right in the middle of this heart change, God opened a door. Brandon had been in conversation with a dying church. He had seen the Lord change my heart, and when the opportunity became real, he asked me to join him in replanting it. The version of me from ten years ago would have said, “Let it die.” But God had changed my heart. He had impressed on me that He is glorified when churches stay open and faithful. Without much hesitation, I said yes. I left the comfort of a healthy, vibrant church to step into the difficult and often discouraging work of replanting. It wasn’t because I’m heroic. It was because God reshaped my heart.

It’s now been nearly a year since I left my home church to help replant what is now Christ’s Fellowship. Alongside several faithful brothers and sisters, we’ve seen God move. We’re far from done, but we are seeing real signs of life and health. And the most remarkable part? I’ve gone from holding contempt for small, nominal Bible Belt churches to desiring to spend the rest of my life serving them. I want to give myself to the work of replanting and revitalizing through the Replant Network, multiplying what God has done in us for the sake of other dying churches.

Here’s the bottom line. More churches are closing their doors every year than are being planted. That means physical ground is being handed over to the enemy. That means families are losing their spiritual homes. That means gospel outreach in formerly Christian communities is shrinking. And while God is sovereign over His church, we cannot be passive. The time to act is now.

Every Christian has a role to play in the “Big C” Church. If you live in a community filled with declining or dying churches, or if you’re attending one, it’s not too late. Don’t walk away. Don’t write them off. Pray. Serve. Step in. The time to glorify God by keeping churches open is now.