Home Children's Ministry Leaders Articles for Children's Ministry Leaders The Slippery Slope of Families Attending Church Less

The Slippery Slope of Families Attending Church Less

attending church

There is a trend happening in churches. Families are attending church less frequently.  In most cases, families that used to attend twice a month are now attending church once a month. Families that used to come once a month are now only showing up at Christmas and Easter.

There are many reasons why this is happening.  Here are a few key ones…

Sports.  Kids are more often involved in sports leagues and traveling teams.  Nothing wrong with sports.  I played sports when I was in elementary and high school.  But not on Sunday.  On Sunday, nothing trumped being in church.

Many parents today do not share that same value.  Anytime there is a sports event on Sunday…church gets left out of the picture.

Busyness.  Families are very, very busy.  This means they have a smaller margin for activities.  In many cases, the small margin they have is used for kids’ activities such as dance, sports, karate classes and on and on we could go.

Whereas Sunday used to be looked at as a day to focus on worshiping God, today it is the overflow day where families catch up with things they couldn’t get to during the weekdays.

Another factor with being so busy, is being tired.  But Sunday, parents are exhausted from their busy week and just want to rest.  They look at what it will take to get the kids up, get everyone dressed and then drive to the church and they decide to skip.

Online.  Online church services are such a great way to spread the Gospel and grow people in their faith.  But it can also be an outlet for families who don’t feel like going to church in person on Sunday.

“Let’s just watch online today” has become a valid option for families.

Priorities.  Church has been removed as the top priority on Sunday.  Families look at church as just another option and if the other options aren’t appealing on a Sunday, then they will go to church.

Family situations.  Many children have parents who are divorced.  Many time, this means they can only attend church when they are with one of the parents.  This translates to attending church every other week.

I believe that when families skip church they are entering a slippery slope.

They are sending a message to their children that church is not important.

They are sending a message to their children that says church is just another option on Sunday and participation is optional.

They are sending a message to their children that Jesus is not worth worshiping on Sunday.

They are sending a message to their children that Jesus is a part of our life, but not the center of our life.