Against the Lenten Frenzy...“What makes a worship gathering successful?”
Body
“The ‘Super Bowl Sunday’ of the modern church calendar is marked to proclaim the victory of Christ, but with that date comes very specific ideas of success and uniquely heavy burdens required to achieve them.” - C.Today
Discussion
Church Attendance Dropped Among Young People, Singles, Liberals
Body
“Overall, most churchgoers—including most white evangelicals—returned to the pews after the pandemic, survey finds.” - CToday
Discussion
Survey: More Americans stay away from church since pandemic
Body
“These were the folks that were more on the fringes to begin with,” said Cox [American Enterprise Institute]. “They didn’t need much of a push or a nudge, to just be done completely.” - RNS
Discussion
“More than 5 in 6 U.S. Protestant pastors (84%) say their church plans to have services on Christmas Day.”
Body
“Families have many traditions on Christmas morning, and most pastors acknowledge not as many of their members will be present compared to Christmas Eve and services earlier in the month” - BPNews
Discussion
A Plea to Pastors: Don’t Cancel Church on Christmas
Body
“In this episode of Life and Books and Everything, Kevin reads his article from The Gospel Coalition and pleads with pastors not to cancel Christmas services this year.” - Kevin DeYoung
(The original article)
Discussion
“Half of U.S. Protestant pastors say a Christmas Eve service is their churches’ largest event during the holiday season.”
Body
“Traditionally, Christmas is the second highest attendance time of the year for churches behind only Easter.” - Lifeway
Discussion
Lifeway: Churches Still Recovering from Pandemic Attendance Losses
Body
“On average, U.S. Protestant churches report current attendance at 85% of their typical Sunday morning crowds in January 2020” - Lifeway
Discussion
6 Reasons Not to Cancel Church on Christmas
Body
“1. It’s Sunday. Before anything else, it’s Sunday. This is the day the church gathers for worship. It’s not just Christmas, it’s a little Easter. 2. Christmas is about Jesus, not family.” - Ponder Anew
Discussion
What Size Must a Church Be to Trigger the Need for Revitalization?
Body
“The size of the church determines the urgency of the revitalization, not necessarily the need…. Churches usually feel urgency before recognizing what is needed to fix the problem.” - Sam Rainer
Discussion