Over several years, an aspiring young pastor sat through weekly staff meetings at three very different churches. One was a multisite megachurch with thousands of members, a large staff, and a multimillion-dollar budget. Another was a mid-sized church with a small staff, a handful of programs, two weekly services, around 300 attendees, and a yearly budget of $500,000. The third was a small congregation of about 20 members, led by a bi-vocational pastor and supported by a deacon caring for finances with three major events a year, no programs, and a yearly budget of $20,000.
Despite the differences of these three churches, there were two common questions that were asked by each church at their weekly staff meetings after the gatherings on Sunday: “How many people were in attendance, and how much money did the church receive in tithes and offerings?”
The young aspiring pastor was surprised and confused by the amount of time and attention given each week to attendance and offering numbers. Often, these questions were the first points of concern raised during the meetings, and much of the discussion centered on how the church could increase both. He wondered how these questions related to the pastoral work of preaching, praying, and caring for the church. Moreover, he was troubled because there seemed to be little to no spiritual concern for the people themselves.
The Necessity of Gathering with the Local Church
The weekly gathering with the local church is necessary for the Christian. A Christian is forbidden to neglect the regular assembly of the saints at their local church (Heb. 10:25). Now, obviously there are situations and circumstances like being home-bound, sickness, work, or providential hindrances that may, at times, inhibit the ability of a Christian to be present with the church. However, the norm for a Christian is to regularly and faithfully be present at the church gathering. Pastors, and even church members, are responsible for caring and loving one another. One way that churches can love one another is by paying attention each Sunday to who is present and who is absent from the weekly church gathering.
Asking A Better Question
Asking the questions, “How much was the offering?” and “How many were in attendance?” reveals our understanding about the nature of pastoral ministry and of our marker for success in church ministry.
The questions of “how many” and “how much” without regard for the person demonstrates a lack of care and concern for the spiritual wellbeing of the flock. When the church’s greatest concern is attendance, then the person is reduced to a mere number rather than a member of the Church that Christ purchased and adopted into His family.
Most often, as long as people are present and attendance numbers are on par or better, then there is a lack of spiritual concern for the sheep. When the greatest concern of the church is money, then the spiritual concern for the person is altogether neglected. Now, this does not suggest that the church should not monitor finances or encourage biblical giving; pastors and churches should. Rather, the question regarding tithes and offerings shows our concern is focused on money and not the hearts and souls of the sheep pastors are to shepherd.
Pastoral Considerations
Pastor, shepherd the flock that is among you (1 Pet. 5:2). The sheep are more than just a number to be counted. The sheep have names, lives, joys, and sorrows. Each sheep is a person created in the image and likeness of God that Jesus died to save.
Pastor, please do not allow yourself to see the sheep as being just a number or a percentage of the weekly giving. Please do not reduce the sheep to only what they do or do not give financially, which correlates with your salary and the church budget.
As a pastor, you are called to serve the sheep faithfully by praying for them, teaching and discipling them, and shepherding them according to God’s Word. Pastors must have a working knowledge and understanding of the sheep to shepherd the flock well. This goes beyond knowing their name and moves toward knowing each individual sheep personally.
Pastor, get to know each of your sheep. Be sad when one misses a Sunday gathering. Check on them when you haven’t seen or heard from them to see how they are doing. Encourage other staff and church members to lovingly engage the sheep that were not present at the gathering on Sunday as quickly as possible. Jesus showed concern for the people as He interacted with them. He showed little concern for money and instead relied upon God to provide for all His earthly needs. So, instead of asking the questions: “how many were in attendance” and “how much was the offering,” ask a more pastoral question: “Who was here, and who was not?”