Why Churches Must Avoid Becoming Tourist Churches
Rick Grover warns that many American churches risk becoming “tourist churches”—beautiful, historic, or busy places that are no longer essential to the spiritual lives of their communities. Drawing on research about declining attendance and young adult dropouts, he urges churches to prioritize connection, service, and generational involvement over labels and preferences.
- Church labels matter less than whether people feel meaningfully connected to the body.
- Young adults often leave because they do not see a place to serve or belong.
- Church leaders must make room for younger voices, fresh ideas, and uncomfortable change.
By Rick Grover
People ask me the same questions they probably ask you: “Is your church seeker-driven, purpose-driven, missional, attractional, emergent, or traditional?”
I always find it difficult to answer these questions without getting into lengthy discussions about the meaning of words and terms. And I also dislike the notion of being pigeonholed. Who doesn’t?
When I think of labels for churches, I’ve coined one that I especially hope will never be used to describe ours: “Tourist Church.” Are you familiar with this name? You should be, because it is quickly becoming an unfortunate description of the American church.
While I was in Portugal this summer, our host missionary family took us on a tour of Lisbon. In addition to the forts, beautiful gardens, and a breathtaking castle, one of the popular tourist stops is St. Jerome’s Cathedral, a magnificent, centuries-old structure.
St. Jerome’s is not alone in its grandeur or in its emptiness. In Essential Church, authors Thom and Sam Rainer write:
From Westminster Abbey in London to Notre Dame in Paris, churches built to point glory to God now contain a massive and constant flow of herding tourists. These churches are relevant to their community only in that people, locals and visitors alike, use their premises for a nice place to eat lunch. Many tourists to these churches are shocked and frustrated to find out that they actually have to wait and remain quiet for the few services that still take place with the remnant of loyal churchgoers. For centuries these European churches stood as the focal point and heartbeat of the local community. They now are the focal point and hub of the local tourist industry.1
The Declining American Church
The American church is not far behind in becoming a “tourist church.” According to www.census.gov, the U.S. population expanded by more than 18 percent from 1990 to 2004. During this same period, however, church attendance declined by about 3 percent.2 Churches not only are not keeping up with population increases, they are losing ground. Hawaii is the only state where church growth outpaced population growth during 2000-05. The other 49 states experienced declines in church attendance relative to population growth.
There is a church dropout problem across America among those who are 18 to 22. Some estimate that up to 70 percent of this age group leaves the church, and many of them don’t return. Of the 157 million people in America who claim to be Protestants, only about 85 million attend church. One of the most evangelistic denominations, the Southern Baptist Convention, reports it is baptizing no more people today than it did in 1950.3
Julia Duin, religion editor for The Washington Times, addresses the concerns of the dropout rate in American churches in her book Quitting Church.4 Her research, along with that of Thom Rainer, indicates the vast majority of young-adult dropouts choose to walk away from church not because they are “sowing their wild oats,” but because they are disconnected from the church and believe the church is no longer an essential element of their lives. For many Americans, especially those in their 20s and early 30s, the church has become more of a tourist stop than a vital part of their community, relationships, purpose, and meaning.
One such dropout, Travis, is a construction worker from Louisville, Kentucky. He’s 27 and left church nine years ago. When asked why, he simply responded, “All the churches I ever went to didn’t have a place for me. I mean, it’s not like they make eighteen-year-olds deacons or anything. I just didn’t want to wait around to serve, so I left.”5
Connection, Service, Meaning, and Purpose
Connection. Service. Meaning. Purpose. These descriptors are not the typical responses from the vast majority of young-adult dropouts. When youth are isolated to their own programs and not assimilated into the overall life of the church, what happens when they graduate and no longer have their age-graded church connection? How are we incorporating our teens and young adults into the broader worshipping and serving community of faith? If we don’t figure this out, these negative trends will only get worse, and many of our churches will become “tourist churches.”
Where Do We Go from Here?
The church I serve faces the same challenge. We have specialized ministries for children of all ages. We have children’s church, middle school worship, and high school worship. While these ministries can and do have a great impact on kids and their parents, these kids become attached to their specialized programs and not the church as a whole. Thus, by the time kids graduate from high school, they are no longer in the high school worship service, and they don’t feel connected to the larger church body.
I, for one, don’t believe the systemic problem is whether we’re missional or attractional, contemporary, emergent, or traditional. Research indicates most people don’t drop out from a church because of style issues but because of connection issues. The dropouts simply don’t feel the church is essential anymore. Whether it’s a house church, multisite, megachurch, or a group of believers who meet in a barn in Fred’s back forty, people need to feel connected. If they don’t “stick,” they won’t “stick with it.”
Established leaders (including myself) need to get out of the way and pass the baton to others and allow them to dream, cast vision, and become part of the solution. There will always be a conflict over personal preferences, but if we don’t begin integrating new ideas and a sense of freshness from those in their late teens and early 20s, we might as well get the tourist bus ready.
I suggest that regardless of the size of the church, current leaders approach younger people and ask them for their help. I’m one of the worst at approaching people with my agenda rather than inquiring where they feel called to connect and serve. Pray God will help you find some young, fresh faces and minds that are chock-full of new ideas. I remember Ben Merold saying, “For every 10 ideas we came up with, one would work. But the one that worked REALLY worked!” We need to foster an environment of creative thinking and synergy.
As we get out of the way, we also need to adjust our attitudes. We need to move from a “we’ve-never-done-it-that-way” mentality to a “we-will-do-whatever-it takes” mentality. We must be willing to get uncomfortable in following God’s call. Tourist churches refuse to stretch beyond their own limited zones of comfort.
I may be dismissed as another preacher who calls for change and is unconcerned with all of those who have served so faithfully for so many years. I’m not. I want to unite generations around the common causes of spiritual growth and missions. But as I look around in a lot of churches these days, it’s not what I see that concerns me; it’s what I don’t see.
I see a lot of faithful, older members (for whom I am extremely grateful!), but I see a significantly growing absence of 18- to 22-year-olds. How long will it take for the American church to become a tourist church? At this point, I’m thinking one generation.
May we take to heart a lesson learned from the history of Israel. After the Israelites took possession of the land of Canaan and Joshua died, the Bible says, “Another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. They forsook the Lord” (Judges 2:10, 12).
Whether we’re missional, attractional, emergent, or traditional, let’s not become a tourist church!
1 Thom S. Rainer and Sam S. Rainer III, Essential Church? Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts (Nashville: B & H Publishing, 2008), 11.
2 Rebecca Barnes and Lindy Lowry, “The American Church in Crisis,” Outreach, May/June 2006.
3 Thom S. Rainer, “A Resurgence Not Yet Realized,” (Lifeway ACP data).
4 Julia Duin, Quitting Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008).
5 Rainer and Rainer, p. 13.
Rick Grover is lead pastor at Owensboro (Kentucky) Christian Church.
