Well this past Sunday was what is known in the church world as "Bomb" Sunday. You see every church has about 3 different crowds all on different schedules. Your church is bigger than just your attendance tells. It is actually about 30% bigger than your weekly numbers tell. People just don't go to church every week anymore. But, on Easter they all show up. And they all show up on the same day. That means the Sunday after no one comes! (So take heart if you are reading this and thought your Easter message stunk and that is why no one came back.)
When you are an established church that doesn't mean a whole lot. BUT, as a church planter with just a 1-year old church that is a big deal. It's a momentum deal. This year church of the Suncoast did better than I could have ever hoped! Not only was it Bomb Sunday, but we also had a cold front come through about 45 minutes before the service complete with tornado warnings and wind gusts of 45mph! Perfect weather to go to church in.
This was also the first Sunday that I actually had numbers for from last year to plan. I did some quick math this week in preparation and had what I thought we would see based on last years dip. Then the weather hit and I was ready for the worst. BUT, we actually had about 5% higher attendance than our trend last year. God was good. The service was great. We were also missing some set up and tear down guys but we still got everything done with 5 minutes to spare (we get kicked out of the school at 12noon).
I would love to hear how your Bomb Sunday went no matter where you are reading this from. Shoot me an e-mail at brian@canthisbechurch.com
