The old Memorial Christian Church building stands in Rock Island, Illinois where it has been since 1896.  It has been the home of thriving congregations of Christians who shared the light of Jesus Christ in Rock Island for many generations.  It has been the home of brothers and sisters in Christ who were baptized there, who grew, served, taught, praised and worshipped, but today it is silent, and it has been so for several years now.

The story of Memorial Christian Church should serve as a warning to congregations everywhere, for what happened to Memorial can happen anywhere.  In fact, it is happening right now in many local churches… but it doesn’t need to.

Memorial had its time of growth and prosperity as a local church, but it did not last.  As far as I have been able to determine, things started to go wrong as the world and community around it changed, for you see, Memorial did not.  The congregation began to decline when the methods and practices of the church did not keep with the times.  You must understand that I would never suggest that this or any church should ever change the message or compromise the Gospel, the integrity of Scripture or the message of sin and salvation just to please the surrounding culture: NEVER!

The way these things are presented, the traditions of the congregation and the programs or activities of the church, on the other hand, must always be changing as the community changes.  Some might say, and many do, that a church must never change their traditions to appeal to the culture they live in; the culture must just accept them.  But I say with all due respect to those well-intentioned brothers and sisters that we cannot expect the non-Christian culture to change for us, for it is that very non-Christian culture that we are sent here to reach for Christ.  Thus, we need to present Him in a way that the culture can understand.  We must provide an atmosphere that non-Christians can relate to enough to hear the message… otherwise they will never hear it.  Again, this does not require, nor should it ever include any compromise of the Scripture or the Gospel.

Memorial did not make many changes.; they held fast to their traditions, even as their numbers declined.  In time, the only ones who  were left were the ones who would never change… and guess what happened? The day came when they could no longer keep up their large and beautiful facilities, and from that day to this, the lock has been on the doors.

But praise be to God!  The story does not end there.  They were forced to leave and re-establish in Moline, IL, and they made changes.  They left much, maybe all, of the old ways, ways that were once just right but that now were outdated, behind, and in the years that followed, they have recovered, grown and by all accounts are once again a thriving congregation. The old building is still for sale and in decay, but the congregation is again a light shining in a dark world.

If your church is not growing, if it is shrinking, if it is not a place where people are being led to Christ, I pray that you will take the story of Memorial Christian Church to heart!

You might be interested in taking a look at their website.