Since certain activities in the life and ministry of a congregation–such as pastoral care–are often carried out by household rather than by individual persons, the pastoral care load of a congregation can actually increase while the individuals present decrease.

Some eyewitnesses claim the attendance in their congregations is declining. This may be true. In some cases, however, congregations do not know how to count. If you think attendance in your congregation is really declining, I invite you to think again.

Your first reaction may be that it is an easy task. If a congregation has more people in attendance this year than it did last year, it is growing. If it has less, it is declining. Think again.

First Church has decreased in weekly attendance by 35 percent in the past 20 years. The average size of the households connected with the congregation has decreased from 3.4 people to 2.6 people. Twenty years ago 147 households were present on a typical Sunday, and now 163 households are present on a typical Sunday.

In Trinity Church three decades ago, active leaders were present an average of 48 Sundays per year. Today they are present 39 Sundays. Weekly attendance is about the same as it was 30 years ago. However, if you count the number of different people present over a four-week period, that number is up 23 percent.

Household Size and Frequency of Attendance

Counting weekly attendance in your congregation is no longer a reliable way to figure your attendance. It does not tell you who makes up your active congregation; which now needs to be the question asked rather than average attendance.

Let’s look at the situation of First Church. It illustrates that we should not only count the number of individual people present on Sunday for worship. We should also count the number of households present. Often in the New Testament the number of households present or impacted seemed to be the measurement used.

What the situation of First Church illustrates is that attendance can decrease fairly significantly over a couple of decades, and the number of households present can actually increase.

Read More

George Bullard is the Strategic Coordinator [executive director] with The Columbia Partnership at www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org. This is a Christian ministry organization that seeks to transform the North American Church for vital and vibrant ministry. It is a strategic partner with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.