Most churches were forced to take a hard look at who they are and what they are called to do this year. This brought greater clarity and focus than many had experienced in decades.
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The church is God’s people gathered and God’s people sent. The gathering (going to church) matters just as much as the sending (being the church).
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Here’s the challenge for every church right now. Offer the best online church service you can, while making the in-person experience so compelling that everyone who watches will be excited about showing up in person.
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Whether people come back through our church doors is not the big issue. How we honor Jesus by reaching the hurting people outside our doors is what matters.
While we’re right to be concerned about church-hoppers and church-droppers, people don’t typically go to a church with the plan of leaving soon. Most want to put down roots and stay committed for the long haul. There’s always a core group of faithful people at the heart of every healthy congregation. Our lives and our
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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.
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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.
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