It's Highly Likely People Will Stop Attending Your Church in 2019. Here's Why...

As we enter the New Year, there are SO many things in our culture that compete with the Church on a Sunday morning.

Here is a short list that I've compiled from different sources as to why people might be less likely to attend your church in 2019:

• It is no longer socially expected to attend church.
• The quality of your worship service sucks.
• Your expectation that people just don't attend as regularly as they used to.
• People don't feel connected.
• Kids sports programs conflict with your service times.
• People feel your church isn't meeting their needs.
• They're bored or tired of the routine.
• They decide to sleep in.
• It's cold or rainy outside.
• They decide to watch Andy Stanley's service online instead.
• They are upset with the leadership in your church.
• They feel guilty when they DO attend.
• They're hungry and decide to hit up Waffle House instead.
• Your church is too big or too small.
• Your pastor speaks too long (or too loudly or quietly).
• They see the Church as irrelevant.
• They're stuck or dead spiritually.
• They're on vacation.
• They have (or don't have) the kids this weekend.
• They decide to do a bible study online.
• They just don't see the time value benefit of attending church.
• They're exhausted and Sunday is the one day they can sleep in.
• They're sick.
• They have to work.

Well isn't that a kick in the pants on a Monday morning?

Your weekend services have all kinds of competition.  

"Gone are the days where the cultural norm predicted regular church attendance by a good percentage of the population."

And the trend that we started seeing a few years ago (where our most regular of attenders started attending less and less) continues to the point that some aren't attending at all.

So what in the world do you do?

Here's one strategy to think about. It's an idea from Seth Godin (not particularly for the church, but it sure fits here):

What else can you provide that makes me unlikely to click for an alternative?

Think about it. What does your church provide that is not available from the convenience of any computer or mobile phone?

Truth is... we can do just about everything from our phone that we carry around in our pockets. We can probably watch your entire church service (or at least your messages) and give.

(In fact, we can have our pick of literally THOUSANDS of church services, all broadcast live or on-demand, online every Sunday.)

So... what is there that YOUR church can offer this year that's NOT clickable?

(Think things like connection, relationships, etc.)  

To be honest, there is competition all over the place for those things too... but no one does it better than the church when they actually try.

It's been my experience that many churches aren't trying that hard.

This is important stuff to think about.

What can YOUR church offer this year that's not easily clickable?  If you can figure that out, you just may be on to something in 2019.

PS -