A wise pastoral colleague of mine, Rev. AnnAline Drake, once told me over lunch, “All ministry is transitional ministry.”

AnnAline is highly experienced and, frankly, right about most things, so I listen carefully when she drops a line like this. While her wisdom rang true at the time — some three years ago — I had no idea how important it would become to my ministry as a Ministry Relations Officer at the Presbyterian Foundation.

I have the privilege of meeting churches amid significant transitions. Membership numbers, financial resources, volunteer availability, and staffing structures are becoming dramatically different than most of us remember from years past. These changes often initially feel discouraging, but I delight in pointing ministries toward embracing the change already upon them, leaning into the future God is authoring through them, all with generosity in mind.

Embracing transition looks different in each context. God didn’t create humanity or our churches with a cookie-cutter approach, nor is Jesus leading this transitional time with a single plan in mind. Assessing resources and context while discerning Spirit-led passions helps narrow the scope of the “what’s next” conversation. Here are some examples of churches leaning into a hopeful future with generous hearts.

A church in a rural town of 16,000 people finds themselves unable to sustain their building, built for 500 to 600 members, with about 10 active members remaining. After assessing their financial resources and, most importantly, the spiritual, mental, and physical well-being of the congregation, they decide to close. Of concern, however, is the vital role the congregation continues to play in supporting numerous non-profits serving their city. After some discussion, the session decides to create a Permanent Endowment Fund (PEF) with the Presbyterian Foundation to benefit those same local charities and their presbytery, which have supported them in many ways over the years. This PEF will bear the church’s name and continue their legacy of care and generosity forever.

Another aging church finds themselves running low on funds and people as their city has seen a significant exodus of older residents after repeated hurricanes. Years ago, this church wisely sold their large, historic downtown property and built a smaller, more flexible building in a growing neighborhood. With so many moving away to be closer to family, they no longer feel like they have the human and financial resources available to grow their congregation. Now they are considering a bold shift from developing their congregation to seeding a new worshiping community that might be more attractive to the younger demographic around them. From their forward-thinking move to a new building years ago to their openness to generously planting, nurturing, and launching a new worshipping community, this church is facing a difficult transition with both realism and hope.

These transitional congregations are just a few examples, but they share some essential traits. First, they are facing their institutional realities with clear eyes and open hearts. Their heads are not in the sand, nor are they walking away in despair. Second, they reached out for help in navigating these difficult decisions. Whether it was the Presbyterian Foundation or their presbytery (or both in these two cases), they recognized the connectional church as essential in discerning and carrying out their plans. For these faithful transitioning congregations, for their faithfulness and generosity, and for what God will continue to do through them for generations to come, we say, “Thanks be to God.”