All across America, churches are closing.

According to Thom Rainer of Lifeway Research,

Between 6,000 and 10,000 churches in the U.S. are dying each year. That means around 100-200 churches will close this week. The pace will accelerate unless our congregations make some dramatic changes.

It’s tempting to see statistics like this and start looking for a fall guy. Blame politics, or the internet, or Millennials.

But another approach is possible. Instead of focusing on solving the intractable problem of why churches are closing, forward-thinking leaders will try to learn from models that are thriving.