"Closed Door" Ministry

In our worship service, the offertory follows the sermon.  As the ushers pass the plates through the congregation, they count the attendance.

Even though the worship service lasts just under an hour, we found that there seemed to be more people in attendance for the opening of the service than the end of the service.  We were losing, on average, 20% of the congregation either just before - or during - the sermon.

This may sound a bit drastic, but we decided to close and lock all doors leading out of the sanctuary during the worship hour.  This has kept the attendance constant during the service, making it easier for the ushers to count the people in the pews, as well as having the unintended benefit of increasing our weekly giving!