We talk a lot about growth.

In articles like this, in conversations I have, and in moments when I’m speaking with leaders, the question always comes up: How do we grow? Pastors want to know how to reach more people. Leadership teams want to know how to scale what’s working. That makes sense. I’m a strategist and a creative, so I naturally think about the “what ifs” around all of that.

But if we want to understand the principles of growth, we also have to understand what makes an organization unhealthy, and what causes a church to stop growing in the first place.

A Church That Had Seen It All

Nathan had been a leader in his church for over a decade. He was a pastor, a mentor, a visionary, a creative, and just a genuinely good guy who cared deeply about people.
His church had seen it all.

There were seasons of tremendous growth when the church grew to over a thousand people. There were also seasons of stagnation. Not decline. Not growth. Just flat. A few people would leave, a few would join, and everything stayed about the same. And then there were harder seasons… seasons of real decline. Hundreds of people leaving. Church splits. Demographic shifts.

It was during one of those seasons of decline that Nathan and I sat down to really talk through what was happening. He brought me in as a consultant so we could diagnose what was going on and work through it together.
We both had access to plenty of data, articles, reports, and research about why churches plateau or decline. We knew the theories. We understood the strategies. But this was a boots-on-the-ground moment. What mattered most was not what we knew in theory, but what was actually happening in the life of this church.

Over the course of that year, we had countless conversations. We talked with people who were still in the church. We talked with people who had left. We talked with staff, leadership, and people in the community. We reviewed attendance trends, communication patterns, and community data. We were trying to understand the deeper story behind the numbers.

Three Markers That Changed Everything

What emerged from that season were several key lessons. Lessons that have since become markers we look for in ministry assessments today.

1. Nostalgia Replaced Vision
One of the biggest discoveries was that the church had stopped thinking about the future.
It wasn’t that nostalgia showed up occasionally. Nostalgia had become the lens through which everything was viewed. Conversations were filled with, “Remember when…” or “I miss the days when…” or “I loved how we used to do that.”
The church had traded vision for memories. Hope for the future had been replaced by stories of the past.

Those memories became shackles. There was no compelling reason for people to invite their friends. Nothing new or life-giving for people to experience. Giving largely became an act of obligation rather than belief. And the surrounding community, while aware of the church’s history, felt no connection to it.

Nostalgia didn’t just slow growth. It actively contributed to decline.

2. Communication Became Informational (and Even That Broke Down)
Over time, communication shifted away from mission and toward basic information. Even then, the church wasn’t communicating well.

What we found was that most information wasn’t coming from the stage or official communication channels. It was being passed through side conversations. People asking each other what was happening. Filling in gaps with assumptions. Those conversations often spiraled into gossip.

Gossip unintentionally became the church’s primary communication system.
No one planned it that way. No one wanted it that way. But when clear, consistent communication breaks down, people will create their own narratives to fill the void.

3. Ministry Was No Longer Being Mobilized
The ministry model of the church was essentially in hibernation.
Most ministry responsibilities were handled exclusively by senior leadership. Very few people were actively serving, not because they didn’t want to help, but because they didn’t see meaningful ways to do so. The opportunities that did exist felt generic—more like volunteer roles than actual ministry.

People weren’t being invited into purpose. They were being asked to fill gaps.
“We’ve Lost Conviction”
At one point, I sat down with Nathan and said, “It feels like the church has forgotten who it is. It’s lost its way. And it doesn’t seem to care like it used to.”
He didn’t disagree.
One word surfaced that captured it all: conviction.

At one time, the church led with conviction. It was clear about what God had called it to do. That conviction shaped its vision, its communication, and its ability to mobilize people into ministry. Over time, that conviction had faded.

While there were many nuances and contributing factors, three core issues stood out: nostalgia replacing vision, unhealthy communication, and a failure to mobilize people. These aren’t just problems in one church. They are common markers of stagnation and decline across organizations.

When a church trades hope for the future for memories of the past, it ends up in a precarious place. That shift creates unhealthy culture—one marked by inactivity, gossip, and disengagement from real ministry.

What Changed

In Nathan’s church, working through these issues made a real difference.
The church became vision-driven again. Communication improved dramatically. Gossip decreased. Excitement about the future returned. And new pathways were created for people to step into ministry… not just generic roles, but opportunities aligned with their gifts, wiring, and skills.

Something important happened in that shift: people stopped thinking about “volunteering” and started thinking about doing ministry. And that ministry pointed everyone toward a bigger vision that elevated everything.

Three Steps for Leaders Today

If your church is navigating a difficult season (whether stagnation or decline) here are three places to start:

1. Evaluate Your Focus
Is your church primarily focused on the past or the future? If nostalgia is winning, take initiative. Reignite vision in a way that points people toward something meaningful, hopeful, and rooted in where God is leading next.

2. Examine Your Communication
Are you clear? Are you engaging? Are you inviting people to take action? If not, change how you communicate. Don’t allow gossip to become the primary conduit for information. As a leader, you set the tone.

3. Stop Hoarding the Ministry
This may sound strong, but it matters. Often people aren’t doing ministry simply because they haven’t been given the opportunity. Create pathways that invite people into purpose, not just tasks. Help them see themselves as ministers, not just volunteers.
Every ministry goes through seasons of ups and downs. If you find yourself in one right now, take the time to work through these steps. You may discover a fresh sense of direction, healthier communication, and a renewed movement of people stepping into ministry together.