A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. Wallace Whyte is minister of Melville Church, Scarborough, Ontario.

At Melville Church, Scarborough, Ontario the average attendance at worship on Sundays from June 24 to September 2, last summer was 109. For this period of time there was one service at 10:30 a.m. This attendance was about half the average combined attendance at the two morning services on the other 42 Sundays of the year. The sanctuary seats only about 175 comfortably. Attendance at worship is regularly recorded.

The old assumption that most urban people are on vacation or at cottages during the summer is a false one. People enjoy vacations now at all times of the year, and the proportion of families enslaved to cottages has diminished in recent decades. It is safe to assume that on any given summer Sunday (with perhaps the exception of holiday weekends) at least half of any urban congregation is at home and available to attend church.

One of the chief factors contributing to the summer slump at church is the attitude and expectations of the congregational leaders, including the minister. If the impression is given that members are not expected to worship during the summer, they are likely to comply. Some signals of this kind are subtle, others are direct, such as closing the church for four or five Sundays with the expectation that those few people who do persist will attend at a neighbouring church. If a cooperative arrangement with a neighbouring congregation is made for the summer it should be to have a service at one church at an early hour and one at the other at 11 a.m. with the minister and organists of each being responsible for both services for half the summer. This way total attendance will be greater because both churches remain open and the members of both congregations will have a choice of hours of worship. The September that Melville began two morning services saw the attendance increased by 15% over that of the same month in the previous year and it has been growing ever since.

Strategy for increased summer church attendance:

  • arrange for a service every Sunday in your church and expect people to attend!
  • announce in May and June who will be in the pulpit each Sunday along with some introductory remarks for ministers who are strangers to the congregation
  • announce sermon subjects and texts at the same time, as much as possible
  • arrange for a solo or special music for each Sunday
  • arrange for children’s sermon each Sunday
  • arrange for Nursery each Sunday
  • arrange for child care for children age five to nine who leave after the second hymn
  • encourage children age ten and up to worship with parents
  • plan a service which is no longer that 45-50 minutes (shorter sermon and prayers)
  • remind people in May and June of these arrangements for the summer
  • suggest that worship on summer Sundays belongs to the rest and recreation associated with that season
  • suggest that members visit other churches while on vacation.

Don’t expect spectacular results by adopting this strategy. It takes a long time to break bad habits and traditions. The growth in summer attendance at Melville from 40-50, to over 100 has come about over a time span of many years.