Smithsonian Channel’s “Air Disasters” is must-watch TV in my home. The catastrophic incidents in aviation history are presented with reenactments, survivor interviews and cockpit recordings. But what’s particularly interesting are the insights that show what went wrong and whether or not the crashes could have been prevented.

Accidents sometimes occur after a series of unforeseen or unintended events create the conditions where flight systems, pilot training, safety protocols or mechanical parts fail. And very often, one failure is compounded by another and another producing what’s known as a failure cascade.

A cascading failure is “a failure in a system of interconnected parts in which the failure of one or few parts leads to the failure of other parts,” growing progressively with self-reinforcing momentum. One part of the network fails which triggers a flood of other breakdowns and failures. Then, each new problem gets magnified and grows exponentially as more pieces of the system fail.

Cascading failures in ministry often build for years under the surface and then emerge in some major event that produces a series of stumbles, missed opportunities and downside momentum. It could be caused by the unhealthy exit of a key leader, poor team culture, a difficult or changing community context, church conflict or a creeping sense of apathy and entitlement in the congregation.

When a church strings together a series of these challenging events, the danger of cascading ministry failures increases. And while churches and leaders bear some responsibility for this, it’s often true that unrelated and unforeseen situations come together to create the conditions for a prolonged breakdown.

And while the failure cascade is one possibility, that doesn’t mean it’s inevitable. What do leaders and churches do to stay centered on growth, spirit sensitivity and the Great Commission? They have:

• Clear Vision — They focus on Christ-centered, missional objectives above everything else.
• Personal Spiritual Discipline — Leaders who prioritize a heart connection with Jesus are less likely to experience spiritual drift and leadership insecurity.
• Organizational Spiritual Discipline — A church with biblical preaching, teaching and doctrine will usually have strategies and action plans with gospel impact. Those congregations aren’t prone to complacency or lukewarmness.
• A Heart for Discipleship — When a church makes disciples who make disciples, it builds the DNA of multiplication into its identity. That’s the very definition of a growth mindset.
• Intentional Leadership — Leaders who watch for the signs of mission drift and sideways energy spent on second-tier distractions are a key guardrail for the small stumbles that lead to bigger issues.
• Hyper Contextual Ministry — A focus on reaching its community keeps a church centered on the gospel imperative. Thom Rainer says it this way: “When a church ceases to have a heart and ministry for its community, it is on the path toward death.”
• Effective Ministry Execution — Intentional ministry, solid planning and resource allocation ensure that what the church does matches what it says about the gospel. Growing churches don’t leave these decisions to chance.

So what’s the Big Idea?

Avoid a cascading ministry failure with a growth mindset centered on the Great Commission. Missional leaders and churches have clear vision, spiritual discipline, a heart for discipleship, intentional leadership, hyper contextual ministry and effective ministry execution.   

Resources

• Autopsy of a Deceased Church by Thom Rainer
• Sticky Church by Larry Osborne
• Rediscovering Discipleship by Robby Gallaty
• “The 3 Reasons You’re Losing Church Members” by Carey Nieuwhof (YouTube)
• “Why Churches Fail: Part 1” by Dr. Richard Krejcir
• Recharge: A Ministry Action Plan to Revitalize Your Church
• “When the Growth Cycle Ends” on Big Ideas Blog
• “Dechurched America” on Big Ideas Blog

Sources

“Cascading Failure,” Accessed April 8, 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cascading_failure.

Thom S. Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church: 12 Ways to Keep Yours Alive (Nashville: B&H Books, 2014), 28.