By Kent E. Fillinger
“Is monthly attendance the new norm?” asked the headline of a recent article by Warren Bird, director of research at Leadership Network. The trend for several years is that regular churchgoers attend less frequently. Bird said his research shows the typical church reaches 1.8 times its average weekly attendance in a month. He said the average doesn’t change much regardless of the size of the church, age of the church, or age of the lead pastor.
Therefore, a typical church can determine how many different people attend each month by multiplying the average weekend worship attendance by 1.8. For example, if a church averages 150 people per week, that means 270 different people typically attend the church in a given month. Here’s the math: 150 x 1.8 = 270. This can vary somewhat from church to church, of course.
Based on my research of Restoration Movement churches, the same multiplier—1.8—is the typical attendance increase a church experiences on Easter weekend. If a church averages 500 weekly, on Easter its attendance will likely be 900. The math: 500 x 1.8 = 900.
Kent E. Fillinger serves as president of 3:STRANDS Consulting and director of partnerships with CMF International, Indianapolis, Indiana.
The words challenge and hope describe well the focus of this issue. Ministry can be hard. And discouraging. But we stick with it because of hope—hope in whom we serve, and hope in the work to which he has called us.
Has your faith become complacent? Is your lifestyle a bit too predictable and comfortable? Is the Lord nudging you to do more, give more, or risk more? Don’t quit if the Lord wants you to walk a little farther.
One of the great dangers of the modern church is that we have come to rely on our thinking, strength, wit, and skill and believe we can strategize, market, and promote our way out of the place in which we and our churches find ourselves.
One of the most significant things I learned over the course of more than four decades of preaching in the local church is people don’t need to be taught something new as much as they need to be reminded of what they already know.
The fear of the Lord leads to a life of holiness and obedience, while the comfort of the Holy Spirit brings peace and strength amid trials. These two spiritual qualities enable us to be all God wants us to be as we seek to live out Jesus’ mission.
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