I’d like to know what your thoughts are regarding a problem we are having here that seems to be increasing.\u00a0We have\u00a0some brethren that have an\u00a0attendance problem.\u00a0 One of our lady members has been attending less and less.\u00a0 It troubles me that the\u00a0brethren\u00a0here don’t seem to want to take action.\u00a0 I’ve talked to her several times and do know of a couple of the ladies who have also but she hasn’t changed.\u00a0 Now, it’s not\u00a0only her\u00a0but a few other members are not attending as they should.<\/p>\n\t
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching<\/i>” (Hebrews 10:24-25).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It has been my experience that skipping services is a symptom of deeper problems. Without addressing the cause, the symptom will only get worse. When attendance patterns change for the worse, it usually indicates that the person is feeling guilty over some personal sin. Coming among brethren is too strong of a reminder of their own personal failings, so they avoid the pain by not coming to services.<\/p>\n
Coming to service is more than worshipping God, though that alone should be significant enough to get people to leave their homes. Our gatherings are also times of encouragement and learning so that our lives outside of the church services are improved. That a person doesn’t desire encouragement is a strong warning of personal problems.<\/p>\n
The only way to find out what is wrong is to sit down with the person and listen. You are not looking for endless excuses as to why they couldn’t make it last week; you should be listening for hints regarding the sin in their life. Often a person is self-deceived. They can say they weren’t feeling well, yet manage to drag themselves to work the next day. Those are the excuses you want to skip. But usually buried in the conversation will be indications of something that is bothering them: personal sin, a loss of faith, or anger at a perceived offense by a brother. Don’t get caught in the distraction of excuses, but focus in on why they aren’t coming despite the potential hindrances.<\/p>\n
Brethren often have a hard time handling a lack of attendance because it is a passive sin. A person says they will try to make it next week, but then something always comes up. It is much like trying to pick someone up who is totally limp. Because they don’t try on their part, you don’t know what you need to do on your part. Especially when there are no elders to watch, it is easy to forget that so-and-so has been to worship in months. (A form of “out of sight, out of mind.”) By the time someone notices, it is often too late. Sin has piled up on top of sin to the point where even the person involved no longer remembers why they stopped coming.<\/p>\n
By focusing on learning the cause of non-attendance, you can usually find a problem that can be addressed. If the underlying problem is corrected quickly, the attendance will generally return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I’d like to know what your thoughts are regarding a problem we are having here that seems to be increasing.\u00a0We have\u00a0some brethren that have an\u00a0attendance problem.\u00a0 One of our lady members has been attending less and less.\u00a0 It troubles me that the\u00a0brethren\u00a0here don’t seem to want to take action.\u00a0 I’ve talked to her several…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[356],"class_list":["post-2071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-attendance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18106,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-i-need-to-do-to-return-to-a-congregation\/","url_meta":{"origin":2071,"position":0},"title":"What do I need to do to return to a congregation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, I have not been attending church services regularly for about two years. I'm a baptized believer and had been attending a church of Christ. My reasons for not going were due to a lot of different things, but these don't excuse my absence. I've recently started going\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18352,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-poor-attendance-actually-a-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":2071,"position":1},"title":"Is poor attendance actually a sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Brother, I was edified by what I read in this article:\u00a0Telling Members They are Sinning in Deliberately Missing Church. Bob does a good job listing some of the excuses some brethren use to justify missing church assemblies. He shows that those who rely on these excuses reveal carnality and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42384,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-withdraw-from-members-who-are-attending-another-congregation-for-months\/","url_meta":{"origin":2071,"position":2},"title":"Do we withdraw from members who are attending another congregation for months?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 30, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I read brother Hamilton's article on\u00a0Cross Congregational Fellowship\u00a0with keen interest and have this question: Can fellowship be withdrawn from members who have absented themselves from their local congregation for months, but who have gone to another congregation to worship without first advising their local congregation that they will be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17152,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-family-wont-go-to-church-because-they-think-people-will-judge-them-for-not-attending-how-can-i-get-them-to-go-with-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":2071,"position":3},"title":"My family won’t go to church because they think people will judge them for not attending. How can I get them to go with me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question to ask you that I do not know how to fully answer.\u00a0 My family members are not convinced that going to church as a family is the best thing for the family. I believe that going to church is important especially as a family, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59090,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-if-you-are-traveling-somewhere-where-there-is-no-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":2071,"position":4},"title":"What if you are traveling somewhere where there is no church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I wanted to say thank you for the way the website is set up. This has been great to look at a topic from many points of view using the question and answers. My question is regarding attending services when you are away from the local church you're\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17055,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/telling-members-they-are-sinning-in-deliberately-missing-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":2071,"position":5},"title":"Telling Members They Are Sinning in Deliberately Missing Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"By Bob W. Lovelace Question: If you gathered together a list of excuses as to why members of a local church will \"neglect\" their collective duty to attend and participate in both the worship and works of the local church what would it include? 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