3. Don’t let your disappointment with attendance show or in any way adversely affect the event. In other words, don’t even say anything about it. “Well, not many of us showed up tonight, but the Lord is here, and that’s all that matters.” The minute you say that, you have cast a pall over everyone who came and you’ve probably lied as well. If that were really all that mattered, you wouldn’t even feel the need to say it. The pastor is the de facto leader of everything in the church. The longer you serve in a church, the more easily they sense your emotions and feelings, and the more in tune with them they grow. If you’re uptight, they will be too. If you act disappointed and bitter, so will they. You cannot control the level of participation by your whole church, but you can affect the quality of participation by those who attend. Put aside any disappointment you might feel and immerse yourself in the moment with the same vigor and enthusiasm that you would have if the room were overflowing.
4. Do what you do with excellence for the Lord, not for the size of the crowd. Every now and then I think the Lord allows disappointments to remind us of the focus.
5. Make the event encouraging, enlightening and enjoyable. If those who came had a great time, they will tell others and that builds confidence and involvement.
I’m incredibly blessed that our choir and praise team performed no differently than they would have if a thousand people had come. Their energy and passion could not have been higher, their singing more skillful, their spirits more worshipful. My fellow pastor, Adam Bishop, really set the tone for them and for the entire service, and it showed. Their faithfulness was used of the Holy Spirit to exalt Christ and to bless everyone who was fortunate enough to be there. Far from feeling disappointment or irritation at members who were not there, I genuinely regret that they did not get to be a part of what God did, and I’m already thinking how we can do this again so others can enjoy it, too.
