Reduce Your Church’s Decline: Strategies to Stem Attrition

By John Zehring

This book is like a first-aid kit for congregations in decline.  It provides strategies and ideas to reach out and bring back those who have left or who are considering leaving.  This is no quick fix.  But there are numerous small actions that can be effective to decrease the loss, perhaps even hold membership steady, and maybe even lead to enthusiasm about building for growth in participation and attendance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Zehring
• Release date: Nov 2, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215529805

John Zehring

John Zehring served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine.  Prior to parish ministry, he served as a vice president and teacher at colleges, universities, and a theological seminary.  He is the author of more than fifty books and is author of recent Judson Press books on church growth and on stewardship.  He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion.

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John Zehring

Copyright 2023 John Zehring

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Contents

Introduction

The Parable of the Sower

Reach out to the missing

Add musical groups

Create special Sundays

A category for pastoral visits

Do social media right

Deal with feelings of discouragement

How badly do your church communications fail?

Feature interesting short-term adult education units

Establish work days and service days

Take advantage of new people who fall into your lap

Post banners and signs outside

Make hearing the service a pleasure

Create an online Pastor’s weekly promo

Add a Sermon Talkback following the service.

Look like you take yourself seriously

Make the case for your church

Get the staff on board

Instruct members about how to avoid offending people

Celebrate success!

See through lenses of abundance

Invite people who have recently lost a spouse or partner

Improve information about parking

Affirm, name, recognize, reward and lift up volunteers

Increase the pace of the worship service

A mini-series of sermons entices worshippers to return

Build testimony into your worship services

About the Author

Books by John Zehring

The Parable of the Sower

(Selections from Matthew 13)

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.  Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.  And he told them many things in parables, saying: Listen! A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.  But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  Let anyone with ears listen!

Hear then the parable of the sower.  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path.  As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.  As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.  But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

Introduction

You don’t need studies, research, or news accounts to tell you that attendance at churches is in decline... a rather steep and steady drop off.  All you need to do is to look at the empty pews in your church’s sanctuary.  It is discouraging and disheartening, especially to those who continue to attend worship week-after-week and who miss those who were once among them.

As attendance diminishes, there are fewer people available from which to draw volunteers, leaders, and committee members – which means the fewer who carry a heavier load become weary and worn.  Staff become inwardly discouraged and can’t help wonder if it is something they are doing wrong or if there were some magic ways to reverse the trend that is plaguing congregations of almost every kind.  When attendance declines, if feels like We must be doing something wrong.  Maybe we need to get a new pastor, change our music, or advertise in the newspaper.  Therein lies a theological conundrum:  attendance is linked to feelings, mood, moral, and a confirmation that something is either right or wrong. 

Important to note:  there is no magic bullet.  There is no canned dog-and-pony show program, no quick fix, no expensive consultants, no if only you do this you will grow, no magic ingredient, no secret that mega-churches know that you do not, no quick formulas, or no single solution to stemming decline and increasing attendance.  The answer lies in doing a number of things.  Some will be more effective than others and like a balanced investment portfolio, together they contribute to growth. 

Membership and participation are in decline in many membership-based organizations, from country clubs and museums to service clubs and community groups.  It appears that our culture is losing interest in belonging to voluntary and membership organizations... including churches.

I don’t think we should give up on attempting to build attendance and participation in our congregations.  However, the reality I witness is that so many churches are shrinking, a great many are going from full-time clergy to part-time, reducing staff, cutting budgets, and at this point are reaching out for help to plug the hole in the dike and stem the decline.  What they desire most is ideas about something concrete they could do to stem the attrition, the decline, and those leaving out the back door.

This book is like a first-aid kit for congregations in decline.  It provides strategies and ideas to reach out and bring back those who have left or who are considering leaving.  This is no quick fix.  But there are indeed numerous small actions that can be effective to decrease the loss, perhaps even hold membership steady, and maybe even lead to enthusiasm about building for growth in participation and attendance.

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A FEW NOTES ABOUT THIS BOOK

All scriptures