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Where do People Find Meaning Today?
The church wonders why regular worship attendance is now being redefined for many churches as once a month, rather than once a week. Leaders are disappointed at the eroding levels…
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The church wonders why regular worship attendance is now being redefined for many churches as once a month, rather than once a week. Leaders are disappointed at the eroding levels…
…their job to mingle to make sure people are enjoying themselves, feeling welcome, engaged in light conversation, and receiving a true sense of appreciation for their attendance. We want to…
…world is not as safe as it was when we were growing up. Sometimes in our institutional need for attendance, volunteers, pledges, and relevance, we miss the needs and realities…
…are right before us.sociological data on religion in America over the last 60 years. We paid particular attention to mainline denominations, including their declining attendance and size. Over the course…
…and assignments of responsibilities. Related Resources: Overflow: Increase Worship Attendance & Bear More Fruit by Tom Berlin and Lovett H. Weems, Jr. The Missing Person in Worship Planning by Lovett…
…Lovett and Tom are authors of Overflow: Increase Worship Attendance and Bear More Fruit (Abingdon Press, 2013). This material is adapted from that book and used with permission of the…
…would be to ask, “What is it about us that causes some groups to take us less seriously (as reflected by attendance) than other groups that we reach more effectively?”…
…worship attendance to stewardship. I am convinced that vigorous mission engagement is one of the key synergies that drives vitality in congregations of all sizes. What steps can a congregation…
…at the growth of worship attendance and membership. They also know that numerical growth is meaningless unless it is coupled with the health of Christian discipleship that includes a deeper…
…past. 3. Create a pattern of success connected to your tenure. Once I served a church with a very negative spirit. People told lots of failure stories. Worship attendance was…
…outflow. We must confront the taken-for-granted reality that it is acceptable for a church to function with barely half its membership in attendance and even fewer actively involved in giving,…
…lower attendance. But one highlight of an otherwise discouraging year was the pitching of a Los Angeles Dodgers rookie. Hideo Nomo became the first Japanese player to compete in the…
…quality and breadth of relationships within congregations should be an ongoing priority for churches. This is particularly true as the frequency of worship attendance has declined for more than a…
…the festival, but also to conduct a worship service before the thousands who were expected to be in attendance. As we prayed and discussed this opportunity, we viewed it through…
…closely at the numbers. Membership, attendance, and the number of contributors all had declined in the last decade. But the budget wasn’t suffering, thanks to generous giving by some older…
…now available on the church’s website and that our webmaster wanted to be sure it was working properly. I invited those in attendance to go to the website and make…
…attendance of 338 (1963). Calvary was “big church” and had the building to prove it — a 20,500 square-foot Romanesque Revival fortress with a replacement value of $5,280,000. Through the…
…inclusion: this church is not yours but ours. An inclusive church then ensures that each cultural group shares equally in the benefits of wealth accumulation despite specific attendance numbers or…
…attendance. Worship design will never be able to get on the right track unless it answers this fundamental question. Church leaders have been so preoccupied with how to worship that…
Worship attendance at Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church in Gardendale, Alabama, has increased more than 5 percent each year since 1999. One reason for the increase is three different worship…
…clear about expectations with regard to attendance, participation, and preparation. Promote participation effectively Link group study topics to sermon series and encourage participation from the pulpit. Emphasize study during Lent….
…worshippers to record attendance makes it more likely visitors will sign. Visitors don’t want to be singled out. Make a special effort to remember visitors’ names and call them by…
…may be one way to increase the engagement of everyone. Choirs need to remember that leading and enhancing congregational singing may be their most important function. If attendance is far…
…more in worship attendance within seven years. An informal poll of congregational development officials in the United Methodist church also showed a preference for church planters aged 25 to 35….
…for every 100 in average attendance at worship. That’s not to say that those three are unimportant. (“The Good Shepherd leaves the ninety-nine in the flock to go after the…
…happen by accident. The goal was to have 300 people for the big Launch Sunday service, and we had 399. Regular attendance started at about 160, climbed to 220 in…
…less likely to be located in rural or older suburban areas. Young adults are more likely to attend churches with an average worship attendance of 100 or more rather than…
…a calendar so you aren’t caught off guard as events approach. A good rule is that a ministry opportunity needs to relate to 50 percent of those in attendance for…
…for attendance, volunteers, pledges, and relevance, we miss the needs and realities of our people. The antidote is an understanding of vocation through which people see their entire lives as…
…and DVD/CD video tool kits and PDF ebooks with coupon code TOP2016 through December 31, 2016. Top Free Resources 50 Ways to Increase Worship Attendance Free to read, share, and…
This article is reprinted by permission from Leading Ideas, a free e-newsletter from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary available at churchleadership.com.