Switchers and exiters
Why do people switch or exit a church or denomination? And why do some churches leave a denomination altogether? Chances are you could offer possible reasons from your own experiences or those around you. Anecdotes are helpful to a point, but larger data sets based on extensive surveys or interviews across different populations can offer richer…
Leaving a church that left
Harv Wiebe—not his real name—did not agree with his congregation’s decision to leave the regional church, but still, he hoped things would work out for the congregation he had once pastored. Questions about the conference had been discussed in the small-town congregation for many years, Wiebe says. (Canadian Mennonite is not identifying Wiebe due to…
Listening to those who have left
A Mennonite elder once told me, “We need to listen to people who leave the church.” John Reimer (a pseudonym) is one such person. A soft-spoken grandpa, he recently left a Mennonite Church Canada congregation that professes open-mindedness and inclusivity. I wanted to know why. Reimer had been at the church for a couple decades but…
