Church growth expert Flavil Yeakley Jr. has died at age 85, his family reports

Flavil Yeakley Jr., retired director of the Harding Center for Church Growth in Searcy, Ark., has died, his family reports. He was 85.

Yeakley was a church growth expert known for books such as “Why Churches Grow” and “Why They Left.”

He was quoted often in The Christian Chronicle on growth and decline trends in Churches of Christ.

His son Mark Yeakley, involvement minister for the Northside Church of Christ in Wichita, Kan., reflected on Facebook on his father’s life and legacy:

In a 2015 email to me, Flavil Yeakley noted that he and Maydell, his wife of 65 years, remained members of the College Church of Christ in Searcy.

“But we are now also members of the Harding Place Church of Christ,” he added. “This separate congregation is made up of residents at Harding Place — a retirement community very close to Harding University.

“Those of us who are able drive or ride a bus to one of the area congregations on Sunday morning. On Sunday evenings we attend a worship assembly conducted by area congregations. This is the only opportunity some residents have to attend a worship service and observe the Lord’s Supper. We take up a collection each Sunday evening and use the funds primarily for some kind of mission work. The Harding Place Church of Christ supports three native preachers: one in the Ivory Coast of West Africa and two in Haiti.”

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Flavil and Maydell Yeakley Endowed Scholarship Fund at Harding University, P.O. Box 12238, Searcy, AR 72149.

Read his full obituary.

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