Should We Have a High Attendance Day?

Sunday, May 15 is a big day at Woolsey Baptist Church. One of the focuses of this special day is a high attendance emphasis in Sunday school. Translated- we want a lot of people to come; we purposefully desire to have more than fewer people; we anticipate Sunday school classrooms having people in them that are not normally there and we see that as very, very good! But, should we? Is it right to emphasize numbers? Should we have a high attendance day? Yes, by all means we should and here is why I think we should.

Jesus certainly seemed to have an interest in numbers. When He saw the people of Samaria making their way toward Him and His disciples He saw them as a massive harvest ready to be gathered. (John 4:35) There is nothing in the text that would remotely indicate that Jesus saw this gathering crowd as anything but good. On another occasion Jesus demonstrated His concern for a crowd of 5,000 plus by miraculously feeding them. (John 6:1-15)

The book of Acts shows an emphasis on numbers that is hard to miss. Consider the following- Acts 2:41, 47; 5:14; 6:1.

The fact that you are even reading this is most likely because somewhere a church was interested in numbers. It may have been your parents or even grandparents but somewhere a church was interested in the eternal destiny of those around them and set out to reach them and kept some sort of record or count. I am no mathematician but I know that numbers are how we measure things.

We count the numbers because they do in fact count! How many things can you name that are more important than the number of people that show up to study God’s Word? How many things are more important than the number of people that we have on a class roll that we see as a ministry list that we are seeking to lead to faith in Christ.

Has your medical doctor ever discussed your health without mentioning numbers? Our blood pressure, temperature, weight, pulse rate, respiration, and much more are all measured by numbers. In fact, a complete blood count provides a list of numbers that evaluate the state of the patient’s health.

So, yes, we should have a high attendance day in which we count every number because every number represents a person that for that Sunday was in Bible study and could potentially be in a Sunday school class on future Sunday mornings.

Yes, we should have a high attendance day because numbers help us to assess where we are and help to reveal where we could be. None other than Charles Spurgeon said, “I am not among those who decry statistics, nor do I think that they produce all manner of evil, for they do much good if they are accurate and if men use them lawfully. It is a good thing for people to see the nakedness of the land through statistics of decrease, that they may be driven on their knees before the Lord to seek prosperity. On the other hand, it is by no means an evil thing for workers to be encouraged by having some account of results set before them. I would be very sorry if the practice of adding up, deducting and giving the net result were to be abandoned, because it is good to know our numerical condition.” (The Soul Winner, Reprinted 1995)

Numbers count and we should count them. Let’s count a lot this Sunday!

Pastor Chuck