By Bill Wilson
Director, Center For Healthy Churches, Clemmons, NC
The photo below is of a perfect attendance pin for Sunday School. Many of you have never seen one. There was a day when it was a regular feature in churches all across America. If a person attended Sunday School every Sunday in a year, he or she was awarded a pin, or was awarded an attachment that hung below the original pin to denote another year of perfect attendance. People took great pride in amassing multi-year pins that honored their spiritual fortitude and persistence.
Gradually, the expectation that weekly attendance at church was a given has eroded and been replaced with a hope that people will attend church “regularly.” The definition of what constitutes “regular attendance” has been redefined downward as competition for weekends has increased. Some churches are coming to realize that very active and loyal people are attending church much less frequently than before. As a result, average weekly attendance is in serious decline for many. [Read more…]