OK. I'm back after a week off following Christmas and New Years. That week after Christmas has risen in my life as one of the best weeks of the year. After the huge expenditure of energy throughout December, culminating on a fabulous Christmas Eve Worship, the time apart for relaxing, being with family and friends, reading and sleeping is the best therapy I can imagine.
Now, back at it. This year, I want to make this a bit more interactive. (So far since doing this blog thing, I've received three comments.) I would really like to see what you think about some things. And my first is this. . .We ended the year financially very well. We went over our general budget slightly (which is a rarity these days among churches), we have received just a tad below the five million dollars needed for Phase I of our campaign, First Fruits took in 740,000 and Master's Plan II is coming along nicely. That's the good news. The "bad" news is that attendance took a dip in the last quarter of 2009. Not much, but noticable. In other words, people are still committed with their money but their attendance slipped.
Why?
So, here is your part. Chime in. Why was there a slight dip in the fall even though giving was solid? What have you experience/heard. Was it. . .
a) Flu. One kid sick in the family, everyone stays home.
b) Master's Plan weariness (no more money talk, please!)
c) People are just hunkering down and not leaving the house (not even for church?)
d) Gone! Soccer (name your sport) has taken over the world!
e) Something else??????
I'm going to count the comments!
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One of the reasons you did not include was facilities maxing out! We know things are getting a little tighter and make people more uncomfortable!
ReplyDeleteMaybe folks decided to take a break in attendance between the intense Master's Plan celebration service and the busy season of Advent? That's just a guess...maybe it is the natural ebb and flow of attendance...or maybe there is not one reason but multiple reasons all as individual as the people that usually attend.
ReplyDeleteExcept for Panther game days, I still think it's hard to seat everyone at the 11:15 service. I'm sure Laurie would agree!
ReplyDeleteFor me work scheduled changed during the last quarter to working weekends.
ReplyDeleteFor our family, it was A and D. Flu and a soccer schedule that was unusually heavy on Sunday morning travel.
ReplyDeleteI have been wondering the same thing about attendance. Sitting where I do in Spirit Song I pretty much see what attendance looks like for both contemporary services. I have asked many folks and haven't received any kind of consensus. Maybe the extreme cold and the winter blahs. I wold ask how Wednesdays are doing. That may be a better barometer of commitment.
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