The Sunday Night Shift

By Michael C. Mack

Sunday night service attendance is plummeting in many churches. One option, of course, is simply to discontinue this longtime tradition. Other churches are finding new ways of using Sunday evenings effectively. Bobby Ross Jr., chief correspondent for The Christian Chronicle, provided five ideas for reforming Sunday nights:

1. Small group meetings. Meet in homes or other locations in smaller groups. Some churches have found that more people are involved in small groups on Sunday nights than previously attended services at the church building.

2. Sunday school on Sunday night. One church found that Sunday evening attendance increased about 70 percent with this approach and it helped make Sunday morning services feel less rushed.

3. Lunch followed by an afternoon gathering. Church members spend more time together on Sundays and don”t need to drive back and forth for services.

4. A night of rest. Some churches cancel everything except Sunday morning services one day a month (or some other frequency), to give members an opportunity to rest and spend time with family.

5. Hybrid approach. Many churches use a combination of approaches through a given month, meeting at the church building one week for singing and teaching, having a meal and fellowship a second week, and gathering in home groups two other weeks, for instance.

“”www.christianchronicle.org/article/inside-story-frustrated-with-sunday-night-five-ideas-to-consider