Do you believe that churches should monitor the attendance of their congregations?

tampasteve

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They should monitor as in knowing how many people are coming, if the church is growing, etc. but not monitor to the level of meddling in one's home affairs. That said, I see nothing wrong with the minister saying something like "We have not seen you in a while, is everything OK?" if one misses a few weeks - so long as the question remains simple and not pushed.
 
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Willie T

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They should monitor as in knowing how many people are coming, if the church is growing, etc. but not monitor to the level of meddling in one's home affairs. That said, I see nothing wrong with the minister saying something like "We have not seen you in a while, is everything OK?" if one misses a few weeks - so long as the question remains simple and not pushed.
It's usually done the same way on the West side of Gandy Bridge too.
 
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tampasteve

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Absolutely, they should even stamp people like nightclubs do, and they could enforce it by not allowing anyone to buy or sell at the Church Fetes without the mark.
As long as the mark is on the forehead or back of the hand, it is useless if they place it anywhere else.*




*This is meant sarcastically in reply to the previous joke
 
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HereIStand

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Sure. It's good to monitor who attends, as long as it isn't abused. How can it be abused? I was excommunicated from a church once due to lack of attendance, even though I had left the area, and the church admitted that they had no evidence of active sin in my life.

Depending on the denomination though, a church gives so much in missions or denominational contributions, based on its membership. That's a problem if there are a fair number of people on the membership roll who attend only on Christmas and Easter.
 
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dreadnought

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I believe, to some extent, in the idea of church membership, but in my view, monitoring attendance is a bit excessive. Whether I take my wife and kids to church on Sundays is between me and the Lord. (We are regular churchgoers)
I have mixed emotions. I don't think the church should impose sanctions on those who don't attend regularly, but maybe a little pressure doesn't hurt.
 
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Mountainmanbob

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Absolutely, they should even stamp people like nightclubs do, and they could enforce it by not allowing anyone to buy or sell at the Church Fetes without the mark.

Sorry I came here to read that.
((SAD))
M-Bob
 
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pat34lee

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I believe, to some extent, in the idea of church membership, but in my view, monitoring attendance is a bit excessive. Whether I take my wife and kids to church on Sundays is between me and the Lord. (We are regular churchgoers)

Churches should be small enough that the
pastor knows everyone by name and visits
them at least once every month or so.
 
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Mountainmanbob

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Churches should be small enough that the
pastor knows everyone by name and visits
them at least once every month or so.

A great idea but, of the many, many different churches I have attended during my lifetime I have never seen it played out exactly like that. Sure sounds good on paper.

We attend a small church and I do meet with my pastor quite often for coffee.

M-Bob
 
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FireDragon76

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I don't see anything wrong with keeping track of attendance.

In our congregation a person will be taken off the rolls if they fail to attend at least twice in the past 2 years.
 
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Phil 1:21

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They should monitor as in knowing how many people are coming, if the church is growing, etc. but not monitor to the level of meddling in one's home affairs. That said, I see nothing wrong with the minister saying something like "We have not seen you in a while, is everything OK?" if one misses a few weeks - so long as the question remains simple and not pushed.
This is fantastic, and I would hope more churches would show such concern for their congregation. To me it's kind of like our small group -- if someone doesn't show up we don't reach out to scold, but rather out of concern (are they ill, is there a family problem, can we help them in any way?).

Unfortunately, some churches seem to exist to promote their church. That's when you start seeing things like what HereIStand mentioned. That's also why I will never use donation envelopes, write a check, or donate online. Cash in the basket, thank you very much.
 
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Archivist

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In my church you have to attend and commune at least once each year. That does not apply to people who may be out of the area attending school or those who are out of the area on military service.
 
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drjean

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A 'church' is a body of like-minded believers who have agreed to support that group in it's efforts through fellowship, finances, and activities.

If someone only attends once a year (or the typical 3x a year on holiday) how is that holding to the agreement of the church body?

Anyway, the elders or deacons or whomever is responsible for the individual contacts of members should be monitoring them. The pastor should not. The elders etc can advise the pastor(s) of the needs of the church members under them, so that activities and provisions and even pertinent sermons can be readily available. It allows the leaders to pray with wisdom, and privately provide food and resources to those in need.

With that said, a true pastor living close to God is given his sermons to him by God, at least the topic or verses etc. AND any minister who knows who in the church gives what financial gifts is going to be cautious and assuaged by that knowledge; it's a bad thing for a pastor to know that.

I was once working in a pastorate with spouse and we were expected to visit every shut-in member every week. There were 85 homes with shut-ins. We rarely got time for ourselves and even less time to really fellowship with the other members. It was a tough pastorate also because so many elderly we constantly had funerals to attend to as well.

The pastor is not the only worker bee in the church. He (and his wife, family) lead the church, model good Christian behavior etc., it is the membership who is supposed to go out and win the others and bring them in for discipleship!

ok off soap box. :D
 
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redleghunter

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I believe, to some extent, in the idea of church membership, but in my view, monitoring attendance is a bit excessive. Whether I take my wife and kids to church on Sundays is between me and the Lord. (We are regular churchgoers)
My church started church partnership vs membership last year. The difference is to discourage pew filling and get everyone involved in the ministry of the church each according to their abilities.

Also, the pastoral team does have to guard the Lord's Table.
 
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lismore

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We keep track, but only to call and check if the person stops coming suddenly. A lot of people live alone, and so if they get sick, no one might tell us.

Hi Rion, that's good. I think a church should look out for the welfare of their congregation. If someone hasn't been for a while they should be noticed and followed up on. The bible talks of the good shepherd going to find the sheep that was lost. God Bless :)
 
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