“I hate summer attendance!” Those words come from pastors whose churches are consistently down in attendance in the summer. Some churches keep their ministries robust during the so-called “downtime.”
Here are some insights perhaps you can identify with.
1. A typical average decline is 20 percent.
For a church with an average worship attendance of 200 during the non-summer months, attendance drops to 160 in the summer.
2. Snowbird churches tend to have greater fluctuations.
For example, churches in southwest Florida and south Florida tend to have an exodus of attendees in the summer, usually greater than 20 percent. On the other hand, a church in Minnesota’s summer attendance was unchanged. Vacationers were offset by returning snowbirds.
3. Churches in towns dominated by colleges have declined greater than 20 percent.
Of course, this issue is often a reflection of the robustness of the church’s college ministry. In a town where the college makes up a major part of the population, the church’s summer decline can be as much as 50%.
4. Year-round school is impacting the summer slump.
A year-round school system could have a six-week summer break instead of the usual full summer break. Those six weeks of attendance could be down dramatically, well above the average 20%.
5. Churches that give a summer break to their small groups typically have a decline greater than 20%.
It is absolutely amazing how involvement in groups like community groups, small groups, life groups, and Sunday school classes positively affect ministry involvement, giving, and attendance frequency. When churches keep their groups active in the summer, attendance slumps are not as pronounced.
6. Many churches have become intentional about battling the summer slump.
Instead of ramping down they keep their regularly-schedules ministries on the same schedule. But a number of the churches actually introduce new ministries and opportunities in the summer. For example, the tried-and true Vacation Bible School tends to impact attendance positively for at least two weeks of the summer.
If your church is experiencing a “summer slump”, August/September is a good time to send a reminder to the congregation about opportunities for involvement in the fall plus a reminder to catch up on tithes and offerings.