Are You Afraid of the Leak In the Ceiling?
This week I am away from the pulpit visiting family in Kentucky. If all went well today, I should be in Bardstown, KY at the Parkway Baptist Church with attendance last week at the Andover Baptist Church in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. In the past, I have drafted articles referencing these churches while I visit back home with family. Since I am not at our church today, the subject of my article may seem a little strange. I want to talk to you about church attendance.
An article I read two months ago stuck with me and reflects one difficulty churches should not need to endure. We are currently in a study of the reasons Christ has a church which assumes the church will gather to hear and learn what Christ expects from us. Three responsibilities we discussed three weeks ago are the exaltation of Christ, the church’s mission of reconciliation, which in turn results in the salvation of lost sinners. The commission of evangelism Christ gave the church homes in on the last of these. Evangelism is an appeal to the sinner to receive Christ as Saviour which is a work best accomplished through the means Christ intended. Again, centering on the church, it is the church God gives the collective responsibility to do the His work.
Our years of experience have taught us that not all Christians function well in the capacity of evangelists. In fact, very few do which leaves the hard-core work to the quite elite few who live for the opportunities to share the gospel. Though there is disagreement with my opinion, I believe God gifts some in this area more than others. However, God does not leave any believer with this excuse and thus no effort of any kind to reach people for the Lord. Since this is true, we look for ways that will help us to do our part in obeying the Lord’s command. One uncomplicated way is to invite friends, relatives, co-workers, and others to come to church. Let us do the heavy lifting. This quells the nervousness of personal appeal and the fear of someone asking something you do not feel comfortable answering. I will not address the ability nor readiness to answer questions as Peter encouraged when he said be ready to give an answer. Rather, I will stay off the big toe and concentrate on the four that help give you balance.
The following is the paragraph I remembered from the article I previously mentioned: “Even as we put effort into calling sinners to come into Christ’s kingdom, we have to put equal effort into calling the saved to come out to church. As one wag has said, ‘It takes ninety gallons of water to baptize a Christian and only nine drops of rain to keep him at home!’ Or in the words of another, ‘It is often said that it is difficult to get the sinners in—but it is often just as difficult to get the saints out.’” (Tim Challies, 8/31/2025). This quip is far too true to be in any wise comfortable. I do not know what attendance is in our church today, but I certainly know the track record of the past few weeks. We are competing with the world for attention and for all the wrong reasons we are losing. You cannot imagine how difficult it is for a pastor who seeks to strengthen the church in the responsibilities of the church if I cannot find you.
There are members of the church who are always careful to let me know when they will be absent and the reasons for it. This is not a requirement of membership, and I do not keep score. I have found it to be an encouraging courtesy which lets me know Sunday is not just another day of the week for them. If this is not your practice, the chances are mostly excellent that you did not read this article anyway. Thus, the cycle continues, and hopefully we will see you next week.
Pastor V. Mark Smith