“Jesus gave the command that ought to characterize everything the church does. This is her mission. Everything the church does is to promote people coming to know Christ and grow in him. As a result, the church must be intentionally involved in evangelism….The church also must be a training church. People need to grow in their understanding and application of biblical truth. This comes in many shapes and sizes from preaching to classes to community (fellowship); but it must be there.”

The drive to church takes about an hour. That means we hustle. While my praise-team-singing wife readies herself in the cramped bathroom, I do my best to whirl around the house and keep our girls on track. The soundtrack of our Sunday mornings goes something like this: Yes, you have to wear those tights. No, you can’t match leopard shoes with that dress. I have no idea if that goes together. I think I saw your bear under the pile of clothes. Your sleeve is not a tissue.

It’s not easy to make that work Sunday after Sunday—amid the dog not wanting to come back inside and the water pipes being frozen solid. But what helps, what makes it work, is that we don’t do it for us. We go because Jesus intended His people to grow in community (Colossians 3:14–17). And—trust me—we need the growth.

But according to Will Mancini, founder of church consulting firm Auxano, thedisturbing trend for many churches is in a decidedly different direction:

“Specifically, in the last 2 years, I have seen one common thread become a common rope. Its presence is now ubiquitous; every church I talk with mentions this problem…. I have never seen a problem discussed this commonly amid a diversity of church sizes and denominational affiliations.

“What is this one trend? It’s that your most committed people will attend worship services less frequently than ever in 2015. [Emphasis added.]

“What does this mean? Simply that people who use[d] to attend 4 times a month may only attend 3 times a month. Members who used to come twice a month will only come once a month.”

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