Posts Tagged ‘church attendance’
New Exodus? 4 Reasons So Many People (Including Christians) Have Suddenly Left the Church
You’ve probably noticed. Leading a church is more confusing, frustrating and complex than ever. In this post, I’ll share some surprising data that shows why it feels that much harder, and some observations and suggestions that I hope can help point you in a more promising direction. Please hear the tone of this post. I’m…
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The NEW Characteristics of Churches That Will Be In Decline Five Years From Now
As a leader, you’ve likely looked back at a decision another church or organization made and thought to yourself, “how could they not have seen how bad that decision was…I mean, didn’t anybody realize where that would take them?” And of course, the answer is no…they didn’t see it. Which is the point of this…
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5 Confessions of a Pastor About Online Church Attendance
So for months now, your church has been offering online services either for the first time or in a much more intentional way. Ever wonder what it’s like on the other side of the screen? I’ve been in church leadership for 25 years, and beyond that, until March 2020, attended church in person almost every…
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Where is Future Church Attendance Heading? 10 Questions. 10 Hunches.
Talk to any church leader over the last decade, and they’ll tell you it feels more challenging than ever to get people to come to church on a Sunday. Talk to any leader who is reopening his or her church, and they’ll tell you it’s even harder now. Current in-person attendance levels appear to be…
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6 Ways to Battle Back Against Flat or Declining Attendance Patterns
As a leader, you know it’s getting harder and harder to get people to show up in person for so many things these days. Lower foot traffic and declining attendance is a rising problem. That’s true for churches. It’s also true for businesses. Recently in a 24-hour window, I heard of three well-established retailers who…
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10 Things That Ain’t Church (Some Thoughts On Irregular and Declining Church Attendance)
It’s never been easier to avoid church, skip church or exit church than it is today. And it has a lot of church leaders and Christians scrambling to figure out what’s happening, why it’s happening and what it all means. Those are great questions. On the positive side, a lot of the social stigma associated…
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5 Smarter Ways To Embrace Infrequent Church Attenders
It’s a challenge you face as a church leader: what do you do with people who only occasionally attend church? Like at Easter or Christmas or special occasions? But infrequent attendance isn’t just for holidays anymore. It’s for every day. How do you respond as people generally attend less often? You know…the couple who comes…
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3 New Realities About Church Attendance, Engagement, and Devotion
No secret—church attendance has fallen on hard times in the last several decades. Churches are closing, and even growing churches see people attending less often. How do you know how to lead when everything seems to be shifting all at once as North American culture becomes more post-Christian every year? For a few years now…
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10 Really Big Questions About Future Church Attendance (And 10 Hunches)
Talk to any church leader, and they’ll tell you it feels more challenging than ever to get people to come to church on a Sunday. Even in growing churches (like ours), the competition for peoples’ time, attention and devotion seems to get more intense every year. You’ve felt it too. So what’s up? And where…
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Declining Attendance and 7 Preaching Shifts That Are Happening Right Now
Every week you host services at your church hoping to reach more people, which is admirable and appropriate. The problem is that the culture is changing and never bothered to ask you permission. In many ways, preachers are using a method that’s been around for centuries…if not millennia…which on the one hand is wonderful. The…
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