Why we need to support new churches for the long run

I was at a meeting recently where the pastor of a traditional church was complaining about having to support a new church development for more than three years.

So I asked him:

• What was your church’s membership three years ago?
• What is your church’s membership now?
• Have you had growth or decline?
• How many new members have joined your church in the past three years?
• If you had to pay your pastor's salary using only the pledges of the new members from the past three years, would their pledges cover the wages?
• Now, imagine if those new members had to pay for a salary, building, office supplies, advertising, worship supplies, and everything else that goes into a new church. Would that be possible?

For most churches, it probably wouldn’t be possible. Unless a tithing Rockefeller just joined their church. In fact, for most established churches, if you took away their building, savings, endowments, and foundations, they wouldn't be self-sustaining either.