In Sunday's sermon, the preacher at the church where I was playing said that this part of the year is big for churches because "the NFL football season is over and it's still too cold to go to the lake."
Does the church see the most congregational participation when people have nothing better to do? How should the local church respond to the many good (and not so good) things that compete for the time/attention/money of those in the congregation?
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Thanks, 0 LaughingDavid Pettigrew - "thanks" for this post
Some initial thoughts:Originally Posted by Billy Cox
First, by being very careful not to think, "Church versus Other," is the same as, "God versus Other." A person who keeps God first in their life doesn't necessarily have to choose church in every instance.
Second, we need to be the church in such a way that it is an important and valuable aspect of people's lives so that they choose to take part rather than take part out of duty.
Third, we need to be carfeful not to compete unnecessarily. Why would anyone schedule a special event that is not related to the Super Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday? That is just trying to create conflict.
Wilson
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I would assume this is by definition true- if people think they have something better to do, they will probably do that instead.
Perhaps we need to find a way to make it the case that there is nothing better to do- and by that I don't mean getting rid of football and lakes, but making church something which is superior to those things in the mind of the congregation. How we go about doing that... I don't know, but I have a feeling the answers are going to be very specific to the individual church, and it would appear that some churches have found the answer (or found the people who already believed that was the answer).How should the local church respond to the many good (and not so good) things that compete for the time/attention/money of those in the congregation?
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This is an interesting observation. I know church attendance ebbs and flows, but I haven't thought of it in terms of seasons. However, it makes sense upon reflection.
Of course we know that summer months are somewhat down because of vacations, etc. The time between Easter and Mother's Day is usually up, and these two Sundays usually mark our two highest attendance days of the year.
We usually experience an upswing that coincides with the beginning of the school year. We experience another one around mid-January. We have designed our small groups to begin during these times, and end at times when people normally start getting out of their routines for holidays.
I think these things have a lot to do with people's schedules and routines in the other areas of their life. I haven't noticed a correlation with sports or weather. Although, in Arkansas, I usually preached to women only for six-seven weeks in November and December.
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Sounds like a long hunting season, David.
Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.
~ Stella Adler ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It takes a great deal of maturity to accept that trying to eliminate all risk eliminates life.
~ Susan Lapin ~
Examples?
Most people just like football more than Jesus.
Jesus is always with us, but we only have NFL football 20 weeks out of the year.
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Overheard in church foyer as the P.M. service is about to begin:"Where's Jesus? I know he's in town because he was here this morning."Wilson
"He's down at the Gridiron Grill watching the game."
"'But that place will be crawling with sinners!"
"Yea."
"But by the grace of God I am what I am." (1 Cor. 15:10)
Of churches that have found the answer (or found the people who already believed that was the answer)? The first ones that come to mind are Willow Creek, Saddleback, and Mars Hill (Michigan), but there are plenty of non-"mega"churches that see a pretty steady attendance level that isn't impacted by changes in the seasons. The question is, have these churches made the congregation believe that church is more important than everything else, or have the people who don't believe that already left for good?
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