Do churches shut

Answer 1

Permanently or daily?

There are many churches that shut permanently, through a lack of congregation in a particular area where population has changed, just as there are many new churches that open daily to meet the spiritual needs of new population centres. Generally, as Christianity continues to grow in the world the number of new churches that are opening outnumbers those that are closing permanently.

On a daily basis, churches open and close depending upon the situation. My own church, on the outskirts of a small town, is kept open all day for people to visit either for prayer or to look at its ancient and historic architecture. It is closed then at night. Some inner city churches are sadly closed during the daytime for security reasons only to open for services. This is a sad situation, but some churches, after having been vandalised several times, have reluctantly accepted that this is the only possible prevention. However, there are also many churches, especially in the countryside, that are open all the time for people to come in for shelter or prayer.

When churches are left open any valuables likely to be stolen are removed to a secure place (eg the safe or a locked room) so that temptation is not put in the way of the would-be thief. However, for those visiting churches for the right reasons, to meet with God, this is unimportant; what IS important is that churches are left open whenever possible for all to enter and be welcome - no matter what time of day.