Variable Attendance

This past weekend was a major example of the variable attendance rates at churches. On Christmas Eve we had only one service at our campus this year and one service at the church plant. We were filled to capacity at the church and even had reports of a few families that left because they could not find a place to sit (although we still had some room left in the balcony and up front). Our church plant reportedly had a good crowd with just over 100 people for their first ever worship service. If the church plant had not had a service we could not have fit everyone in at the church.

Then just two days later we have our normal three Sunday morning worship services with less than half of the number who came out for Christmas Eve. We could have put everyone into one service even if we doubled the total attendance. So why was there such a large variable in attendance? Several factors could have played a role:
  • since it was the day after Christmas and families may have been traveling to visit with relatives out of the area;
  • visiting relatives may have been leaving that morning, so families stayed home to see them off;
  • weather reports were predicting 4-8" of snow throughout the day, and even though the snow had not started until after noon, families may have decided to sleep in just in case the snow started earlier; and
  • some people may have skipped church to take advantage of the after Christmas sales going on in stores.
It is amazing how a few variables could affect the attendance by such a large number (400-500 people). I think that the sermon topic was very well timed, unfortunately the people who needed to hear it were most likely sleeping in or out shopping.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dirty Feet

Image
“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.” Isaiah 52:7 (NIV) I have never been very comfortable in shoes. It really doesn’t matter whether they have great arch support, ultra extreme amounts of cushioning, or how much they cost. The first thing I do when I arrive home is take off my shoes and stretch my once imprisoned feet by bending them at the arches and wiggling my toes. I then remove my socks and begin to feel my feet relax as the fresh air washes over my tingling, sometimes sweaty, toes. Pretty picture, I know. It must be the right thing to do. A billion Chinese could not be wrong. My mother could not be wrong. After all, she was the one who always told me to, “Take off your dirty shoes before you come in here. I just finished mopping this floor and I don’t want mud tracked all over my clean house.” It became a normal ritual around our house to put the dozen or so shoes away before company was expected. My mother didn’t want dirty f...
Read more

Pampered and Pacified

Author J.M. Barrie created the character that never wanted to grow up. Peter Pan, also the title of his famous book, did not want to become an adult and be forced to deal with all of the stress and struggles that came with the transformation. So Peter found his way to Neverland where, along with his lost boys, he could remain a carefree child forever. But those who know the story also know that carefree was not all that it promised for villainous Captain Hook constantly lurked around the corners, and then there was that tantalizing Wendy who stole Peter’s heart before he even knew what hit him. Millions of Americans have seemed to follow in the footsteps of Peter Pan. We have become a nation that no longer values the virtues of adulthood: especially responsibility, strong work ethic, self-dependence, selflessness, and community awareness. You don’t have far to look in our American society before you see lost boys, and girls, running around everywhere. Grown men and women who want ...
Read more

Ephesians 5 - Our Life of Love

Image
When I have learned to love God more than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” C.S. Lewis In a Nutshell Paul encourages Christians to be imitators of God and to walk in love. Don’t fall into a life of sin, but rather stand against sin and try to expose it. Use your time wisely as you follow God’s will. Let the Holy Spirit direct and influence your behaviors. As you do this, husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church and wives should respect and submit to their husbands. The Power of Example In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tells of the time he wanted to convince the citizens of Philadelphia to light the streets at night as a protection against crime and as a convenience for evening activities. Failing to convince them by his words, he decided to show his neighbors how compelling a single light could be. He bought an attractive lantern, polished the glass, and placed in on a long bracket that extended from the f...
Read more