If your church is like mine, the dog days of Summer can be the dog days of attendance too – especially for young families who use the Summer break to go on vacation.
6 Ways To Avoid Discouragement
This is an aspect of ministry that I still struggle with. It almost always affects my mood when our kids church attendance is way down. But I’m learning some strategies to overcome this.
1. Give thanks to God for those who have come.
It’s a privilege to teach, even when the crowd size is down. So, I have been trying to thank God for those who do come, rather than being down about who is out of town.
2. Pray for those who are absent.
Missing church is a good reason to pray for families. Even if it’s just a vacation, the lack of spiritual food may affect their walk with Christ. But you should pray extra for those who are just getting extra sleep.
3. Remember that every child matters to God.
Even if there is only one child in your Sunday school class, your should teach with all your might. That one child matters greatly to God, so do your lesson and leave the results up to Him.
4. Take advantage of the smaller crowd to build relationships.
One positive side effect of low attendance is the chance to talk more with the children. So spend some time asking about their summer.
5. Keep working hard and trust God to bring in the numbers.
Low attendance always makes me want to work harder to get kids in the door. I think that is a good response, as long as I keep trusting God to determine the outcome. So, why not make some extra phone calls and home visits this week?
6. Make it fun!
Just because the crowd is smaller, doesn’t mean you can’t make it fun. Add some extra games or even try something crazy you’d never test with a large group.
I hope this blog post has encouraged you. If so, then you can leave a comment below. I appreciate your prayers too. Thanks for reading.
Thank you so much for this reminder to be faithful.
I printed off your Fruit of the Spirit coloring book for Sunday School this morning. I think it is a great idea 🙂 Like every church, I never have any idea who is coming during the summer, and I never have any advance knowledge of their knowledge. Sometimes its four grand kids visiting grandma who they never attend church at home. Other times, it’s just my own kids, who are 12 and 4, and are obviously at different levels of understanding.
Either way, I am going to have them color the Fruits of the Spirit pages today and then put them up throughout the fellowship hall, hallway and offices to inspire the pastor, parishioners, volunteers and AA group who use the hall 8 times a week.
This is a blessing for me to receive this knowledge thank you.