11 Ways to Increase Online Attendance!
Recently I read an article titled “Seven reasons why your online worship attendance is declining,” the article (you can read here) gave some good reasons as to why numbers may be going down (in terms of online church). As I read this article, I found the reasons given were accurate and certainly explained the declining numbers, that is, for some churches. I say for some churches, because Lincoln Baptist has not seen a decline, we have seen a steady increase in numbers!
Before giving you 11 ways you can increase your online attendance, here are our current viewing figures, (for reference we are a church with physical attendance of 140):
· We average 2000 people watching/listening to the sermons each week
· We average 210 live views each Sunday
· Our average unique website views are 300 per week
· Each week we have new subscribers, followers, and sign ups to Rss feeds
· We have welcomed 14 new members during Covid-19
We did not start with these numbers, far from it! However, over the last 9 months we have seen a steady increase to the point where our online presence is now 14 times the size of our physical church. Fundamentally, I do not believe online church is a trial, but an opportunity. The Lord has blessed the church, as we, with conviction, seek to serve Him online!
Here are 11 ways to increase your online church attendance:
1. Embrace online! – embracing is more than accepting. Online church is a positive and encouraging challenge for us to reach people we have never been in contact with. Online church reminds us that the building is not the church!
2. Pray! – we are actively seeking the Lord to bless our online Church. We ask the church to pray, we pray at every leadership meeting, we pray in our services online and we send out constant prayer requests. Prayer has led us to humbly accept whatever the Lord wills!
3. Take a long-term approach! – As a church, we will not go back to physical meeting until all of our church can attend. We are either one church online, or one church physically, we will not split between the two. As we are not splitting our time and trying to manage two types of church service, we can focus on getting one right! What joy there is in being together in Spirit and in faith!
4. Teach the Bible! – 75% of what we do online is direct Bible teaching. We do so through devotions, Kids talks, sermons and written blogs. The hunger for God’s Word being taught has increased and so we are now looking to increase our Bible teaching resources. God’s word is always captivating whether online or in person!
5. Financially resource online church! – we have invested in a new website, new computers, new mics, and new software. This has led to High quality videos, with both video and audio quality being important. It does not feel like a labour to watch, rather a joy to watch!
6. Physically resource online church! – we have invested in help with running social media, setting up a new website and someone to film key services. Spreading the burden has allowed more to be achieved.
7. Do not moan! – the number of Christians I have seen complaining about online church is astounding! Did Daniel complain about the Lion’s den? Did the Apostles complain about being beaten up? Online church does not have to be a trial, change your mindset, change your heart, and embrace what God is doing!
8. Care for your Members! – The church leadership have an extensive pastoral care package in operation, involving calls, emails, visits where possible and even the odd socially distanced walk! This has led our church family to feel more secure in an ever-changing environment.
9. Get on platforms! – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Soundcloud, Spotify and Podcasts. We have seen these platforms used by different age groups and at different times of the day. It has never been easier to get the Word of God out there!
10. Be Simple and Sustainable! – There are so many ideas, but not all should be used. We have kept things simple by not trying to overcomplicate how to do online church. We sing, we pray, we learn, and we connect. This sustainable approach has meant our programme has been consistent throughout the 9 months. No dropouts in service means no dropouts in attendance.
11. Have high standards! – simple really, if you think its not good, then others will think its not good. Anything that is not good enough will not be used. Does our Lord not deserve the absolute best we can give?
Of course, having said all this, it is God who gets the final say in all matters! Rest in the knowledge that God is sovereign, God will reach who He desires! Our role is to be ready and available to serve the Kingdom, even if that means online!
Pastor Ross Ferguson