Why Are 30% of Your “Active” Church Members Absent on a Given Sunday?

Are any of you old enough to remember “perfect attendance awards”? 

It’s been decades since I have been in a church that provides such recognition. It’s quite the feat. It means a church member has shown up for 52 or 53 consecutive Sundays in a calendar or church year. 

Sam Rainer began writing about attendance frequency over 15 years ago. His research has become a staple fixture in our understanding of the behavioral patterns of church members. In fact, he has demonstrated on multiple occasions that a decline in attendance frequency is typically the number one reason for the overall decline in a church. 

When “Active” Members Are No-Shows 

We have also noted that in most churches, a person who attends church at least twice a month is considered an active member. In fact, many leaders in a church will attend only twice a month. In other words, they are absent half the time, but they still qualify as leaders. 

In a recent discussion at Church Answers Central, our 24/7 church leader forum, our participants engaged in a conversation about the “30% factor.” It is a number that represents the number of core or active members who will be absent on a given Sunday. It was a fascinating discussion. I rarely see or read about the attendance patterns of the most active members in a church. 

Delving into the 30% factor for “Active” Members 

While I cannot empirically confirm the accuracy of the 30% factor, I believe the number is close based on our consultations and interactions with church leaders. After reading the conversation at Church Answers Central, I wanted to know why this factor is true. Why do our most active members fail to show up on a given Sunday? 

Here are the five most common reasons for the 30% factor. It attempts to explain why three out of ten of your church’s active members will be absent on a given Sunday. 

1. 1. Low expectations by the church. Most churches at least implicitly hold a low view of church attendance. They fail to communicate the biblical and vital importance of the gathered church. Instead of embracing the high priority of attendance, they relegate it to just another activity on the week’s calendar. I strongly encourage leaders to include faithful attendance in their church membership classes. In fact, based upon the New Testament pattern of the gathered church, I am not shy about advocating that members should attend every Sunday unless providentially hindered.
   2. Low priority of church members. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average absentee rate for full-time employees is 0.8%. That’s less than one percent! Employees show up because they want to keep their jobs or improve their careers. Their commitment might be economically motivated, but it is a priority. Fewer than one percent of employees miss work, but 30 percent of “active” church members miss church. Note that I place quotation marks around “active” in this article. I am not convinced that many of these core members are really active members.
   3. Challenges for older church members. American congregations are aging faster than the general population. On a given Sunday, an older person might not be able to get out of the house due to weather or sickness. These churches with older church members can expect one out of ten elderly members to be absent on a given Sunday due to legitimate reasons. This reality will grow since the median age of church members continues to rise.
   4. The COVID factor. Most churches were closed for a season during the pandemic. Some were closed for several months. During the quarantine, church members became accustomed to staying home on Sundays. They got out of the good habit of church attendance. Some of them rationalized that attendance was not that important. Their world did not collapse when they were mandated not to gather for worship. The COVID factor affected our churches’ most committed members as well. That mindset still lingers.
   5. Failure to hold church leaders accountable. I am convinced that this factor is more significant than most church leaders realize. When those in our churches in leadership positions fail to demonstrate truly committed attendance, their example affects the rest of the church. I jokingly say that a person who attends only half of the time is defined as an elder or deacon. But I am not really joking. It is one thing to ignore the low frequency of attendance of church members. But we must hold leaders accountable. They have no business being in a church leadership role unless they attend almost every Sunday.

Legalism at Work? 

Is it possible that we can get so strict about attendance that it becomes a legalistic issue in our churches? I guess it’s possible, but I see very few churches being in danger of advocating attendance to an extreme. The greater danger is that churches have not communicated biblical expectations of gathering every Sunday. No-show church members have become an accepted reality. 

What are absentee patterns in your church? How often do your most committed members attend? Does your church have clear expectations about the attendance pattern of church leaders? Is the 30% factor at work in your church? I would love to hear from you.

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