Rising costs and declining attendance have two Methodist churches in Traverse City considering a merger.
Traverse Bay United Methodist Church approached Central United Methodist Church about a potential merger of the congregations.
Traverse Bay says costs to maintain its historic building have become burdensome since attendance declined during the pandemic. The church was built in the early 1960s.
“Both churches are working as if the merger is going to happen, because that's kind of what you have to do in this scenario,” said Traverse Bay Pastor Matthew Chapman. “But nothing is guaranteed until the vote happens.”
A vote from both congregations is needed for the merger to go through. There’s no date set for a vote yet but Chapman says it could be as early as springtime.
Central United Pastor Linda Stephan says she welcomed the idea when it was first brought to her in August 2024.
“There's a lot of enthusiasm about it… that they would want to join together,” she said. “We've been siblings in ministry forever.”
According to surveys from the Pew Research Center, in-person worship attendance is slightly lower than it was before COVID-19. The share of U.S. adults who say they generally attend religious services once a month or more has dropped slightly, from 33 percent in 2019 to 30 percent in 2022.
If the merger goes through, Traverse Bay’s assets would transfer to Central, including the building located at 1200 Ramsdell Street.
Chapman said it's unlikely the building will still be used for worship services.
“The main goal at the end of a merger is not to have Traverse Bay folks and Central folks,” he said. “It’s to have everyone look at themselves as a new Central Methodist congregation.”
