Tag: church attendance
New Exodus? 4 Reasons So Many People (Including Christians) Have Suddenly Left the Church
By Carey Nieuwhof: You’ve probably noticed. Leading a church is more confusing, frustrating and complex than ever. In this post, I’ll share some surprising data that shows why it feels that much harder, and some observations and suggestions that I hope can help point you in a more promising direction. […]
10 Things That Ain’t Church (Some Thoughts On Irregular and Declining Church Attendance)
by Carey Nieuwhof: It’s never been easier to avoid church, skip church or exit church than it is today. And it has a lot of church leaders and Christians scrambling to figure out what’s happening, why it’s happening and what it all means. Those are great questions. On the positive […]
Declining Attendance and 7 Preaching Shifts That Are Happening Right Now
by Carey Nieuwhof: Every week you host services at your church hoping to reach more people, which is admirable and appropriate. The problem is that the culture is changing and never bothered to ask you permission. In many ways, preachers are using a method that’s been around for centuries…if not millennia…which […]
5 Things Millennials Are Looking For In a Church
by Carey Nieuwhof: One of the questions almost every church leader I know is asking is “How do we reach Millennials?”—that demographic of young adults now in their mid-twenties to age 40. It’s a great question. They’re hardly kids anymore. They’re today’s adults. And many churches have missed them altogether. One of the […]
5 Reasons Why Engagement is the New Church Attendance
by Carey Nieuwhof: If you track attendance at your church (and who doesn’t), the vast majority of church leaders are tracking numbers that probably bother them. That can lead into a death spiral of trying to drive greater attendance, only to discover more disappointment down the road. The mission of the […]
7 Things That Will Drive Future Church Growth
by Carey Nieuwhof: You got into church leadership because you wanted to introduce people to Jesus. That’s pretty much how all of us begin, isn’t it? And yet every year, it seems to get harder to reach people. It’s not for lack of effort. Most church leaders try hard, pray hard […]
5 Ways Tracking Church Attendance Messes With Your Soul
by Carey Nieuwhof: If you’ve spent more than 10 minutes in church leadership, you’re aware of the tension that tracking church attendance creates inside you and around you. Sure, for starters, the way other leaders talk about numbers is an easy gateway for criticism (He’s totally obsessed with numbers). But […]
Why Attending Church No Longer Makes Sense
by Carey Nieuwhof: The trend is practically universal: fewer people are attending church every year. You might have even asked the question yourself. Why bother? There are many reasons why that’s happening (I outline 10 here), but I think it’s increasingly evident that it no longer makes sense to attend […]