People aren’t deciding not to go to church on Sunday any more than they’re deciding not to drink a bowl of ketchup for breakfast. Sure, they could do it, but why would they? They haven’t rejected the idea of going to church. It simply isn’t on their list of options. They’re not lazy, they’re apathetic. Until […]
Understanding The New Apathy About Church Attendance Read More »
For many years, I kept track of church attendance numbers very carefully. As the church grew, I calculated growth patterns, percentages, demographics, you name it. I found that counting wasn’t just important and helpful, it was fun. When we were growing.
Then we stopped growing.
Soon we started shrinking.
So we stopped counting and did what we could to douse the fire before we lost everything.
And we didn’t start counting again for a long time after we corrected the slide and got things stabilized. By then, I was just grateful to be balanced and healthy. The numbers didn’t matter any more.
Why We Stopped Taking Attendance At Our Church For A While Read More »
Church attendance is changing.
As recently as 20 years ago, if ten people became church members (either formally or informally) the average attendance grew by eight or nine people.
Not any more.
Today, if ten people become church members, average attendance grows by five or six.
Here’s why.
According to Thom Rainer, “About 20 years ago, a church member was considered active in the church if he or she attended three times a week. Today, a church member is considered active in the church if he or she attends three times a month.” In many places, it’s even lower than that.
This is not fringe people who are attending that infrequently. And these are not people who have quit going to church. This is the pattern for active church members.
There are many reasons for this phenomenon, of course, as Thom Rainer goes on to explain in this post. Carey Nieuwhof has a different, but also helpful take on why this is happening in a series that starts with this article.
Since they’ve covered the “why?” so well, I’m not going to try to add to it. Instead, I want to make a couple observations about what it means for the average church.
Church Attendance Patterns Are Changing And We Have To Adapt Read More »
A church of 50 people needs to be pastored like a church of 50 people.
You can’t act like a church of 500. Or even 100. The systems, methods and relationship dynamics simply won’t fit.
So how can a church grow, either in its size or effectiveness, if we’re only pastoring the people we have?
While pastoring the people we have, we need to create in-house systems and outward ministry suitable for a church of double our current size.
The Mission Deserves Margin: Minister To The Church You Have, While Preparing For More Read More »
A church of 50 people needs to be pastored like a church of 50 people.
You can’t act like a church of 500. Or even 100. The systems, methods and relationship dynamics simply won’t fit.
So how can a church grow, either in its size or effectiveness, if we’re only pastoring the people we have?
While pastoring the people we have, we need to create in-house systems and outward ministry suitable for a church of double our current size.
The Mission Deserves Margin: Minister To The Church You Have, While Preparing For More Read More »
If we want to get everything we can from our church experience, we need to show up in person.
That may seem obvious to most churchgoers, but there is a large and growing number of people who think that watching church online is all the church they need.
And no, this is not always because of laziness or lack of spiritual passion.
In a growing number of cases, it’s because they’ve been hurt deeply, sometimes repeatedly by church people. Or they’ve grown tired of a church experience that doesn’t seem to grow deeper with them.
But they still have a passion to follow Jesus. So they stay at home and watch online or listen to podcasts.
If what I’ve described sounds like your experience in any way, let me encourage you that, despite the downsides you’ve experienced, there are so many good reasons to go through the time and hassle of leaving your house and attending a church in person every week.
5 More Reasons To Go To Church In Person: Sight, Sound, Touch, Smell, Taste Read More »
A quality small church experience is different than a quality big church experience. But too many people don’t know what those differences are, so they don’t know what to look for in a good small church experience.
There are several characteristics to pay attention to when looking for a great small church to attend and get involved in. And they all answer this essential question in some way…
Are They Doing the Small Things Well?
You can’t hold small churches to the same standards as big churches. It’s not that small churches aren’t as good as big ones, it’s that small church quality isn’t the same as big church quality.
So, if you’re looking for a good, small church to worship and serve in, you need to look for a church that does small church things well, instead of trying to do big church things on a smaller scale.
With that in mind, here are a few characteristics to look for, based on some of the differences between big churches and small churches.
Signs Of Life: 7 Ways To Find A Great Small Church To Attend And Serve Read More »
I had another one of those Sundays, recently. We started church with more people on the platform than in the congregation. Well, almost.
Sure, it’s summer. People have good reasons to be gone. But it still feels awful.
But why? I’m the small church guy, after all. If anyone should be okay with a low crowd, it should be me, right?
But I’m not.
No, it’s not as bad as it used to be. I no longer live and die by church attendance figures.
But sometimes my sense of value in ministry is still tied to numbers more than it should be.
If It’s Okay for a Church to Be Small, Why Do I Feel So Bad When It Is? Read More »
Why do we put ‘inviting people to church’ so high on our evangelism priorities list? Because it’s easy. Inviting someone to a church event is easier than inviting them to see Christ in me.
When church attendance is our first (or only) step in evangelism, we end up putting on a show for them. But people don’t want a show. And it’s not what the church is supposed to be.
I’m hugely in favor of making the on-ramp easy for first-time church attenders. But never at the expense of doing what we’re supposed to do when we gather as the church – worshiping, discipling, having fellowship and preparing people for ministry.
(This post is an extension of my previous post, Are We More Invested In Bringing People to Church? Or to Jesus?)
A Better Way to Invite People to Church – And to Jesus Read More »
I have a confession to make.
As a pastor, I have too much invested in getting people to attend church.
My salary depends on it.
My reputation depends on it.
My sense of self-worth depends on it.
All to a much larger degree and I’m comfortable with.
And I’m not alone.
The way most church systems are structured, most pastors have a greater stake in getting people to come to church than getting them to come to Jesus.
Are We More Invested In Bringing People to Church? Or to Jesus? Read More »
