2023 So Far!
Dear City Awakening Family,
Our first quarter of the year has passed, and so far, it’s been a great start to 2023! I have four things to celebrate and one challenge.
1st Celebration: The first thing to celebrate is the way God is working in the lives of people like Shakayla. Shakayla started attending our church last year and has truly been a blessing to us! Her story will encourage your heart. It’s just one example of the way God is working. You can read it here!
2nd Celebration: The second thing to celebrate is our incredible women’s conference, which had around 60 women in attendance! Many people told me relationships were formed, people were encouraged, and the Holy Spirit moved in life transformative ways.
3rd Celebration: The third thing to celebrate is that we’ve had around 35 First Time Guests so far this year! We’ve also had an increase in our digital presence like our website and livestreams, which means more people are hearing about the good news of Jesus through our church! Pray these visitors return, connect, and grow.
4th Celebration: The fourth thing to celebrate is we had over 180 people in attendance at our Easter service, and many people came earlier (including some visitors) for breakfast and the egg hunt. Thanks to all the incredible volunteers that helped make the day a success! This also brings me to the one challenge I mentioned above.
Here’s the one challenge to be aware of as we transition into the second quarter. It’s that we want to grow by 70 people which I’ve mentioned and given reasons for in the past, but the challenge we’re facing in reaching that goal is inconsistent church attendance. According to a January 2023 article by researcher Thom Rainer, the reality every church is facing in America post-COVID, is we have to grow by 32% to break even in annual attendance. Rainer states, “A church has to increase the number of attendees by 32% each year, just to stay even.” So, if weekly attendance is 100 people, we must grow by 32 people to stay the same size. If people attend every other week, we must grow by 64 people. Rainer says the #1 reason for this, is irregular attendance.
So, the challenge every church is facing is that inconsistent attendance is hurting and hindering church growth. What does this mean for our church? It means we’ve actually been growing by about 32% annually, since our attendance has remained stable and even slightly increased. But we can’t always see that 32% growth or reach our greatest potential because of inconsistent attendance. The good news is we can overcome this challenge by being regular in our weekly attendance and inviting others to attend with us. So, let’s reverse this trend by not hurting, hindering, or slowing the growth potential God’s given us with irregular attendance. Instead let’s invite and consistently be here to greet those we invite, so we can make 2023 our best year yet!
Reach People, Reach The World,
Pastor Louis Tamburro III