When a Church Closes

Here is an unusual scam that has been tried in some places in the United States. It sounds far-fetched but it evidently works. 
  
Scam artists identify a church that is facing the prospect of closing. Perhaps the congregation is aging or the membership is declining or the upkeep on the facility is more than the financial resources of the members. The reason is really unimportant. The truth is that in every part of the nation, including Alabama, there are such churches. In fact, every year, a number of Alabama Baptist churches make the decision to close their doors.
  
After identifying such a church, the perpetrators become active in the congregation, usually bringing a fresh wind of hope because new people are joining. But then the new members begin asking questions about the church’s future. They ask if the church needs to close and carefully guide the members, usually tired and discouraged from years of struggle, to the decision to close the doors. 
  
Now for the big prize — what to do with the property or the money from the property. Again the new members provide the guidance. They talk about all the sacrifices made over the years and how the members deserve some benefit from their years of service. 
  
The scam is to get the church to sell the property and split the proceeds among the few remaining members. Yes, it is an appeal to the baser side of the human spirit, but as one person observed, no one has ever gone broke appealing to original sin.
  
The plan is all perfectly legal in congregationally governed churches like Baptist ones. All it takes is a little time and a little knowledge of small-group dynamics, and the scam artists can walk away with a tidy sum ready to repeat their scheme again. 
  
The key decision, of course, is what to do with the church property and other resources. Most of the time, a church decides to use the funds to continue the ministry of the congregation beyond its closing. Churches have deeded their property to their local association or some other Baptist entity. Churches have sold their property and given the proceeds to a local Baptist foundation to support certain ministries. Churches have given all their resources to a missions board, a college, even a state Baptist paper to use. 
  
On more than one occasion, it has been my privilege to receive a gift in behalf of The Alabama Baptist newspaper from a church that had made the decision to close. Like other recipients of these gifts, we are always grateful for the investment in the ministry of the state Baptist paper.
  
While the details may be different, the usual decision is to make sure all the resources of the church — down to the last dollar — continue to support those things that were important to that local church during its lifetime. There are many wonderful stories about how ministries have benefited from the financial faithfulness of a congregation during the closing of a local church. 
  
But not always. Recently we talked with a pastor trying to buy the existing building of a church that decided to close. The negotiations were not going well. The representatives of the church wanted to get every penny they could for the property, because they had decided to divide the proceeds from the sale among the remaining handful of members. 
  
Evidently trying to line one’s pockets with the church’s money is not just the goal of a get-rich-quick scam artist or an embezzler who manipulates the church’s books.  
  
The combination of emotions over the closing of a church that one loves combined with the necessity of deciding how to use its remaining assets can be difficult. Just think how many families find themselves in unexpected turmoil when faced with dividing an estate after the death of a loved one. It is not surprising that some churches find themselves in stressful situations. 
  
The Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions (SBOM) has wisely tried to avoid having to make important financial decisions in the midst of emotionally trying times. The SBOM asks all of its cooperating entities to have a dissolution clause in their governing documents that specifies how the assets of the entity will be safeguarded for Baptists should that entity ever close. 
  
That means the decision about how any remaining resources will be used should the entity cease to exist is already answered. Alabama Baptists know their investments in their fostered entities will not be wasted. Rather the investments will be safeguarded for other Baptist causes. No one ever anticipates such a day coming, and it is hoped such a day never will. But should the unimaginable happen, it is good to have that decision nailed down. 
  
This is a good model for churches to consider. By placing a dissolution clause in the church’s governing documents, it will be clear to all what will happen should the church cease to exist and how the remaining resources will be used. A dissolution clause also makes it far less likely that a church would ever be the victim of a scam like the one outlined above or that the members would be tempted toward selfishness instead of ministry. 
  
Drafting a dissolution clause while the church is strong and healthy is as wise as writing a will while one still has all one’s faculties. It is hoped a dissolution clause will never be needed. 
  
But should the worst happen and a church face closing, a dissolution clause already in place would be a safeguard for integrity and a source of emotional relief since a potentially stressful decision would have already been made.