Some preachers say, “I’ve got as many going out the back door, as I do coming in at the front,” meaning that, although new people are coming into the church, they are also experiencing a lot of people leaving the church.
There is a joke about a man who was stranded on a desert island for several years, and when he was finally found, his rescuers noticed there were three huts that the man had built. When they asked about the huts, the man said, “One was my house, and one was my church.” When they asked about the third hut, the rescued man said, “Oh, that’s where I used to go to church!”
There are two reasons for which people would be expected to leave a church: They move away and geography makes it necessary, or they die and no longer need a church. There are a number of other reasons why people do leave a particular church, but churches need to take necessary steps to stop the other reasons from happening.
Retaining people is not that difficult, and there is a very short list of things that will be very helpful in doing so:
- Make them know that they are a welcomed part of the church family.
- Immediately get them involved in a small group. Sunday School is ideal.
- Get them working in some ministry within the church.
- Maintain an atmosphere of spirituality and unity among the church family.