In a recent article for his Ministry Toolbox newsletter, Rick Warren points out a number of benefits that churches receive from “big day” attendance emphases. Among these:
“Big Days focus people’s prayers — A big day gives your people something specific to pray about. As a result, you have added prayer power in place for the ministry of your church.
Big Days stretch people’s faith — Without faith it’s impossible to please God. Many times, we’re afraid to set a goal because we’re afraid we’re not going to reach it. In the first year of Saddleback Church, we set a goal to have 500 people come on a special Sunday. We had 380. But that was more than we’d ever had before! And 380 is pretty good for six months as a church. As long as you’re attempting something for the glory of God, you’re successful. Failure is not failing to reach your goal; failing is not setting a goal. Failing is not failing to reach your dream; failing is not even attempting.
Big Days give you more volunteers — A Big Day is a great way to mobilize your members. For example, if you need 150 greeters on Easter, people will be more likely to volunteer then. As a result of their initial involvement, you can draw from this new pool of people for volunteers throughout the spring and summer. We ask them to come back and volunteer on a regular basis.”
Rick adds one word of caution: “Don’t confuse a crowd with a church. A crowd is not a church. For instance, if we have 3,000 people on Easter Sunday, we don’t fool ourselves and say we have a church of 3,000. We know that’s a crowd. However, a crowd can be turned into a church. Those people can be won to Christ, discipled and brought into the membership.” (Click here to read the full article.)