Adapt or Die
With elite anchors like Von Maur, JC Penny, and Younkers, the first time I visited Valley West Mall, it was electric. We had nothing like it near my childhood home, and there were probably more people in the mall that day than there were in my entire hometown. Years later, when my wife and I moved to town, it was still bustling. I enjoyed roaming the bookstore and the game store, the fancy kitchenware shop always had the telescoping spoons we needed for our soup cookoff at church, and the Disney store always had the right gift for the child (or child-like person) I was shopping for.
Times change, however, and it was no surprise last week when a large bank announced that it was initiating foreclosure proceedings against the mall. The writing had been on the wall, so to speak, for some time. A nearby big box offered better prices than the anchors. Several of the area’s large stores, with which the mall shared a symbiotic relationship, disappeared. A new, larger mall was opened not far away, drawing shops and customers away. Online shopping became normal, and then even the anchor stores closed. In 2018, Younkers disappeared. In late 2021, it was announced that Von Maur would close sometime in 2022, and suddenly the only remaining anchor was JC Penney, which only recently exited bankruptcy protection itself.
More, as all of these things happened and revenues slowed down, mall management responded by cutting costs. Their website, for example, still includes the Younkers store (that closed 4 years ago) on its online map. While the mall once scheduled events throughout the year to draw shoppers, there are no events on the calendar, and even a cursory glance at the facility will show that management has done nothing to renovate it into a more attractive space for shoppers or tenants.
The last time I visited Valley West Mall, it was a ghost town, but it did not have to be that way. Only a few miles away, an even older mall has been reinventing itself and, as a result, seeing significant new life. This mall recognized that shoppers were looking for convenience and began to renovate, providing outside access to bays that were once accessible only from the inside. A few years ago, when this mall lost its JC Penney anchor, it convinced Target to open a store in the mall. It underwent a dramatic remodel to make space for a movie theater and restaurant. When it lost two of its other three anchors in the same year, it began work immediately to find replacements. They have added popular shops and restaurants, and soon there will be a new hockey arena with seating for more than 3,500.
To be fair, this second mall is not yet out of the woods, but of the four large malls in our city, this is the only one about which I am optimistic. The reason for my optimism is simple: the second mall has demonstrated a will to adapt to the changing culture.
Today, there are many churches like Valley West Mall. Once upon a time, they were bustling hives of ministry, but things have changed. There are all sorts of other activities vying for attendance on Sunday mornings. The new megachurch up the road offers better services with less commitment. The congregation lost its mainstays when a couple of key saints moved or passed away. Suddenly, the church is a shadow of what it once was.
Fortunately, it need not end this way. Just like the second mall, churches can and should reinvent themselves. I would, however, offer a couple of keys to remember as your congregation seeks to do this.
Adapting is not the same as conforming.
Adapting is not the same as conforming. Churches must be constantly adapting their methods to more effectively communicate the gospel with the culture in which we live, but they must never compromise their message. Just as a mall exists to connect people with the products and services they need, the church exists to make more and better followers of Jesus. If we forget that, even for a moment, we cease to be a church, and our survival becomes a moot point. Indeed, after Solomon dedicated his temple, the Lord said in 1 Kings 9:6-7, “If you or your sons turn away from following me and do not keep my commands—my statutes that I have set before you—and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them, I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them, and I will reject the temple I have sanctified for my name. Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.” Put another way, God does not need us nearly as much as we need him, and we must never turn away from following him and keeping his commands.
Adapting is not the same as cost-cutting.
Adapting is not the same as cost-cutting. While many churches facing decline will naturally cut programs, trim budgets, and postpone maintenance so that they can survive the lean season, the most effective churches will invest in innovative new strategies. Certainly, it may be warranted to end ministries that are no longer effective, but just as the second mall described above has invested in dramatic renovations and actively pursued new opportunities (e.g., a hockey arena), churches must try new things to reach a new generation. In Joshua 12, Joshua provided a simple list of all the kings God had enabled Israel to conquer as it took possession of the promised land. Each of these kings represented a unique challenge, and each required a new strategy. I wrote about some of theses challenges and strategies back in 2010. You can read more here and here. The point, though, is that God is not looking for the church to be more frugal or efficient, but he is waiting for us to shift our efforts so that we are more effective.
Adapting is not the same as commemorating.
Speaking of shifting our efforts, adapting is not the same as commemorating. Congregations facing an uncertain or even bleak future will often long for their glory days. This is often expressed in twin statements: “We’ve never done things that way before” and “If only we could do that again.” In either case, the past becomes the bounds for what can be done in the present and future. That is, the congregation locks itself into one method or strategy that has already been dwindling in effectiveness. In 1 Chronicles 12:32, we read of the 200 chiefs of Issachar “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” These leaders knew that Saul was the first king of Israel, and after his death, his son Ish-bosheth was anointed king over Israel. Following Ish-bosheth would have guaranteed more of what they had before. The only problem was that what they had before was not working. Thus, after studying the the times, the Issacharite chieftains left Ish-bosheth and followed David. It was nothing short of treason, and choosing to abandon the way a congregation has always done things will feel, to some, exactly the same. Even so, churches must stop commemorating the long gone good ol’ days and start studying the current times to figure out what they should do.
Adapting is not the same as capitulating.
The bottom line is that adapting is not the same as capitulating. Too many churches, when they realize that their glory days are gone, simply give up. They resign themselves to the notions that the gospel of Jesus Christ is no longer effective; that their friends, families, and neighbors are beyond hope; and that their churches will never be effective again. Some of these congregations will close their doors. Others will bar the windows and doors and wait for death to take them. Some of these may even survive for quite some time before they finally stop breathing, but make no mistake: they were defeated long before they died. In Revelation 2-3, the glorified Jesus dictated a series of letters for the churches of Asia Minor. The first of these letters was addressed to the church at Ephesus. This congregation was both the flagship church of the region and, in all likelihood, the mother of all the other churches Jesus addressed. It was commended for its hard work, perseverance, endurance, and tenacity in defending the gospel. Yet, Jesus threatened to remove their lampstand if they did not return to their first love. The suggestion is that, even though they likely would be able to continue in some form for years to come, they would no longer be a church. Indeed, many congregations today long ago ceased to be churches because they capitulated the Great Commandment and hunkered down instead of loved. Churches must resolve, as risky as it is, to love their communities and neighbors.
Your church need not be like Valley West Mall. It can thrive. It will likely take time and some investment, but our God resurrects the dead. Reviving a church is certainly not too difficult for him if the church will choose to adapt so that it can minister to today’s culture with renewed effectiveness.