It is common knowledge churches are running an average of 40-50% of their pre-COVID attendance. But this is not always the case. Some churches are currently thriving in 2021!
But what is causing these congregations to run against the norm and reach new converts for Christ?
I recently had a number of interesting discussions with three top church consultants regarding how pastors and church leaders should view church growth and weekend onsite attendance in 2021.
Gavin Adams
Gavin is a strategic organizational consultant and leadership partner focused on supporting leaders from innovation through implementation. Before launching Transformation Solutions, Gavin spent 15 years in ministry leadership, most recently serving as the lead pastor at Woodstock City Church, a campus location of North Point Ministries with 37,000 active participants and 65 staff. Prior to ministry, Gavin spent over a decade in the marketplace working as a business strategy and marketing consultant.
Gavin mentioned to myself and co-host Jeff Wright on a recent Pursuit Of Service Podcast that churches who are more focused on trying to reach new people rather than getting former attendees back are the ones who are currently prevailing. Your focus should be more outward than inward.
Shawn Lovejoy
Shawn is Founder & CEO of CourageToLead.com. His heart beats for coaching leaders and helping them all conquer whatever’s keeping them up at night. Shawn has been a successful real estate developer, a church planter, megachurch pastor, and now CEO a fast growing coaching and consulting organization. He specializes in for leadership, personal growth, and organizational health, and helping leaders create momentum.
Shawn recently gave me a brilliant numerical equation, 100-40-100. Allow me to explain. Let’s say your pre-COVID weekend attendance was 400. After the shutdown concluded, 40% returned and your new weekend average attendance is 160.
The first 100 represents 100% of your pre-COVID average weekend attendance of 400 was showing up. 40% is the current average number of people who have returned to live attendance after the shutdown. The second 100 is a very important number. 100 represents 100% of your new average weekend attendance of 160 is showing up.
Pastors who evaluate the current reality and quit saying, “We’re about 40% of what we used to be” and understand there attendance is now 160 are the ones who are beginning to grow again. They say, “This is who we are and we are going to grow from here.”
Jeff Shortridge
Jeff is a senior consultant for INJOY Stewardship Solutions and author of the wonderful new book God Honors Movement, so he is an expert on this topic. He helps churches fully-fund their missions and visions. I recently asked him a common thread of churches who are seeing growth and supernatural results.
Jeff mentioned the churches who were impacted by COVID but unfazed by COVID are the ones which are now seeing growth and forward movement. Churches were obviously impacted. Many people in the church contracted the virus and some tragically passed away. Without question COVID impacted churches.
But growing churches remained unfazed regarding their mission and vision. They remained steadfast in focusing on discipleship and evangelism and now that we are cautiously on “the back end”, these churches are seeing the fruits of remaining diligent. They never lost sight of what God wanted them to do.
A New Way Of Thinking
The healthy way for churches to think of their weekend attendance is that they are a new church plant in an existing location with an existing core group of people.
As Shawn noted, if you could plant a church today in a potentially debt-free facility, with a core group of 160 passionate people with a first-year income of $500,000, would you take it? The answer is ABSOLUTELY!!!
Focus on reaching new people more than getting old people back. Your 40% is your new 100%. You can be both impacted and unfazed by COVID. A new church plant in an existing location with an existing core group of people.
Churches who evaluate reality in this manner and are focused on discipleship and reaching their unchurches friends are still seeing supernatural results in 2021?
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