Blog | 4 Factors That Affect Church Attendance
4 Factors That Affect Church Attendance
Pastors are almost always in tune with the state of their church attendance. But getting down to what it is that truly controls your church attendance is a tricky task. There are so many varying factors that will affect church attendance and nearly every church will have unique aspects that differentiate them from others.
So, while this certainly isn’t a fool-proof, all-inclusive list, it is a good summary of some of the most common factors that affect church attendance.
4 Factors That Affect Church Attendance
If you are looking to get a better grasp on what’s affecting your church’s attendance, here is a high-level overview of some of the most influential factors. Keep in mind, while some of this might be out of your control, most are things you can work on with your leadership teams to boost attendance and grow your church.
Selecting a Location
Obviously, the location of your church isn’t something you can really control after the fact, and to be honest, it’s not all-that-important. The primary reason to focus on this is for church plants looking to move into a new location.
If you currently are a part of a church plant with a small congregation that you’re hoping will follow you to the new location, you’ll want to select an area nearby. Location is a huge factor for why people choose to attend certain churches.
Ease of Connection
Ask yourself – how easy is it for new people to get connected and plugged in right away? People will come to your church for the coffee, the music, and the sermon, but they will stay for the community. If you haven’t flushed out a good system on how to make those connections incredibly easy, start working on it now!
Talk with your leadership teams and ministries about how you can get new congregation members plugged in right away. If your church has small groups but isn’t actively advertising it, do so! Even if you’re advertising it, get creative on how you can get it in front of people more often. Maybe 2-4 times per year, have a “connections night” where small group leaders come to the church and everyone is invited to get to know each other and find a group they mesh well with.
People want to attend a church that they feel connected to. Make sure it is simple, easy, and natural for newcomers to get connected shortly after attending.
Creating an Inviting Atmosphere
This ties in with the last point, but people need to feel welcome immediately. It needs to feel like home at every point – from walking in the door, to getting a cup of coffee, to the worship words between songs, to the greeting by the pastor. If you work in church leadership, as yourself how the Sunday morning experience at your church would make you feel as someone who is entirely removed from the church.
The key here is being intentional with your connections – from the parking lot to the seat and back to the parking lot. Do people feel invited? A lot of this even has to do with the inflection of your voice and how you greet your congregation. Don’t make this feel like a repetitive “task” – music, a Bible verse, get on stage and preach. Be connected with your congregation from the second you set foot on the stage. It can be difficult to put this into words, but congregation members can really feel when the pastor sees them, cares for them, and is thankful that they are there.
Benefit of Being There
This has much more to do with current congregation members rather than new attenders but take a moment to ask what the benefit is to them for being there. Provide people with the ability to connect the Sunday message to events outside of Sunday mornings. This can be done through small group studies. If you have all small groups following a study that connects external materials with the Sunday message, it gives people a good reason to be actively involved on Sunday mornings.
Wrapping it Up
Church attendance management is tough. As stated earlier, every church is going to be unique, but for the most part, attendance is controlled to some extent by a few overarching key factors. What does it boil down to?
Make sure people feel invited on Sunday mornings, and give them an easy way to stay connected! People will come to try out the music and message, but they will stay for the community. If you don’t make the process of getting plugged in at your church easy, don’t expect newcomers to stick around for long.
About the Author
Chris Fleming is a professional musician from Minneapolis, MN who has played with artists such as Kari Jobe, TAYA, Aodhan King, and Jason Gray. He is actively involved with the CCM scene and has contributed as a drummer, music director, song writer, and producer for various worship artists and churches locally and nationally. Chris is the Motion Designer at Motion Worship, helping to create motion background collections and countdowns for our subscribers.