Would Church Attendance Be Tied to It's Ability to Create "Social Relationships"?

[Lynn S. Nored]

Consider this statement by ACU professor Richard Beck: "So why has mobile social computing affected church attendance? Well, if church has always been kind of lame and irritating why did people go in the first place? Easy, social relationships. Church has always been about social affiliation. You met your friends, discussed your week, talked football, shared information about good schools, talked local politics, got the scoop, and made social plans ("Let's get together for dinner this week!"). Even if you hated church you could feel lonely without it." If the above is true, wouldn't it be true that a congregation that did not foster true relationships among its members would suffer declining attendance?

An oft quoted scripture is Acts 2:42:"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Notice that fellowship is on the same level in this verse as teaching, the breaking of bread and to prayer. It seems to me that a congregation that neglects development of relationship is not only neglecting a biblical imperative but is ignoring a basic human need. In a large congregation, relationships need fostering. As "Introverts are 50.7% and Extroverts 49.3%" of population, relationship do not just happen.

On hindrance to this development are entrenched relationships within a congregation--often called cliches. These groups quite often allow no one else to be included. In this case newcomers naturally feel excluded. And, if not corrected it is natural that they will drift away. After all why come to such a place when there are welcoming alternatives?

One function of leadership is to "equip the saints" to use their spiritual gifts. If the development of gifts to foster social relationships among the members is not done, membership will decline. One measure of this in a congregation would be the number of "friends" each member believes he has within the congregation. If this number is low, there is a obvious problem. It would seem that development of true Christian fellowship is just as important as other spiritual attributes such as prayer.

[Bruce Bates]

This idea of "being devoted to fellowship" is not one that I have heard emphasized from this verse before.  Outstanding!  " It seems to me that a congregation that neglects development of relationship is not only neglecting a biblical imperative but is ignoring a basic human need."  Awesome Lynn, thanks for your post.

[Lynn S. Nored]

There are some studies, including the one cited above, that indicate social networking supplements rather that replaces face to face interaction. Of course it does allow for greater interaction ( due to time and distance) with a larger group that face to face interaction does

[James Nored]

Good post, dad. The church has been a source of social connection. That was one of the reason that Sunday night "attendance" used to be high. These evenings were often used to listen to traveling preachers, which in an age before television, made for a good and interesting evening. With all of the entertainment options today, this appeal was lessened. In fact, entertainment is one of the biggest sources of social decline in churches and other social organizations. As the Robert Putman's book Bowling Alone details, almost every social engagement number is dramatically lower than it was, say, 30 years ago.

Other things to consider? Has online social media taken the place of face-to-face socializing, or merely supplemented it.

The church is a community, and without strong social ties and friendships, most will drift away. Leadership needs to consider how to help foster these relationships.