We recently broke the 200-attendance barrier at our second campus. I’ve been lucky to be there over the last couple of weeks, and you can feel the excitement and energy in the place. You may not care about trivial things like the number of people who show up to hear you preach each week, and you also may be a liar. You’d be crazy not to care about the attendance.
Author Carl F. George, says in his book How to Break Growth Barriers, “Churches have more in common by their size than by their denomination, tradition, location, age, or any other single, isolatable factor.”
Most churches in America average around 75-80 people in weekly attendance, which surprises me a little.
But most churches rely on their pastor to do the ministry while the congregation sits back and watches.
Many pastors are ok with this because they’re making a living, they kind of like being the center of attention, or they just don’t know any better.
For the rest of you who may be struggling to break that 200 number in weekly attendance, I have some ideas on how you can get there.
- Talk about it…a lot.
Your desire to see your church grow shouldn’t be a secret. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you should be talking about it every chance you get. People love to be challenged, and so as you’re talking about reaching 200, people start thinking about who they can invite to help hit that goal.
- Do what works.
If your church is currently growing, identify the factors that are playing a part in that. Then, keep doing them. In contrast, identify the things that aren’t working, and stop doing them. Focus on what works.
- Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Go back and read my “You’re the Growth Barrier” post, and make sure you’re not making any of the mistakes that will hold your church back. You may have to let go of some things that you enjoy so your church can go to the next level.
- Deal with the doubters.
Focusing on growth will ruffle the feathers of those with a small church mentality, and that mentality is especially prevalent in small towns. You may have to remove those doubters from any leadership roles they may have if you can’t get them on board with the vision. Sometimes addition comes through subtraction.
- Delegate the care.
The pastor being the person who cares for everyone in the church is the biggest obstacle to growing beyond 100. You have to delegate out the care if you want the church to grow. Small groups or Sunday school classes are a great place to start. Volunteer teams work well also. The church is at its best when the attenders care for one another.
What is your church’s average weekly attendance? Are you satisfied with it? I’d love to hear your thoughts so leave a comment below. Also don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to get tips on church leadership, growth, and more delivered to your inbox each week.
