Why We Stopped Taking Attendance At Our Church For A While

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.

by Karl Vaters

For many years, I kept track of church attendance numbers very carefully. 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.