In this issue:

Planning for Attendance Seasons in the Church Year

Ways to Improve Attendance of Current Members

The Right Question

When facts are few, opinions loom large.

Sylvia Lafair

Planning for Attendance Seasons in the Church Year
By Lovett H. Weems, Jr.

We are used to thinking of the seasons of the Christian year such as Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent. There are also attendance seasons that follow common patterns across congregations. It is important to understand these in order to plan for them and maximize their potential for reaching more persons through worship.

Making special plans to coincide with back-to-school time or with Advent and Lent can reap rich rewards in reaching people for Christ. On the other hand, scaling back worship in the summer because "attendance always drops" can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Each season calls for its own special planning and goals to reach more worshipers over the course of the year.

Taking such seasons of the year seriously as you plan for worship is one way of taking seriously those you are seeking to reach and the cycles and rituals of their lives. It says that the church is always seeking to become a more inviting and welcoming place for all to worship God throughout the year.

Read More

Ways to Improve Attendance of Current Members
by Robert Crossman

• At least once or twice each year, perhaps in the New Year's resolution season, teach and preach the importance of faithful worship attendance.
  
  
• Invite church members to make a written commitment to grow one step toward faithful attendance.
  
  
• Include a commitment to faithful worship attendance as part of a holistic annual stewardship commitment.
  
  
• Keep a record of attendance and monitor it.

The Right Question

Leaders do not need answers.
Leaders must have the right questions.

Someone involved in intentional interim ministry reports that she learned the "RAA" questions to ask oneself about a situation:

Who is Responsible?
Have they been given the Authority?
To whom are they Accountable?

Editors:  Lovett H. Weems, Jr. and Ann A. Michel
Production and distribution: Carol Follett