3 Ways Churches Can Survive the Summer Slump

June 20, 2018

Church leaders face many unique challenges in the summertime. Summer vacations and long, lazy weekends can mean a drop in attendance, decreased participation, and reduced giving. Since God doesn’t take a sabbatical from June to September, this can be a perfect time to think outside the box with innovative programs. Below are summer challenges you may be facing and ways to turn them into positive outcomes for your church during this season of summer slump:

Financial Seasonal Gaps

As leaders know, church ministry doesn’t take a vacation. In fact, summer is often the busiest—and perhaps the most expensive—season of ministry activity with the greatest potential for Kingdom impact, according to an article by RSI Solutions. They have provided an excellent fact sheet on how to avoid summertime financial slumps, which suggests that when you implement the key ideas laid out in Don’t Sweat Summer Giving: 10 Ways to Avoid a Financial Crisis During an Unpredictable Ministry Season, your church’s summer giving sets the stage for year-round success of sustainable ministry funding.

Decreased Attendance at Worship Services

Summer has a way of thinning out pews on Sunday mornings as the sun-loving faithful take to trails, outdoor markets, and backyard projects. The predictable pattern poses challenges, especially for smaller congregations. More and more, however, churches are rediscovering Wednesday — a traditional midweek church night — as a prime time to gather the flock for casual worship in summer.  Early adopters report improved attendance, slightly fatter coffers and invigorated spirituality as curious newcomers drop by and join in.

Church Members Feel Disconnected

Communicate and remind your church members that they can stay engaged no matter where they travel through your church’s website. Your site may offer an opportunity to live-stream worship, or have podcasts readily available for download. With the CCS WORSHIPcast  Streaming License, you can include your worship music with the sermon and legally stream more than 25 million songs from ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC. Traveling church members will stay engaged if they’re able to listen to your message and worship along with your in-person service.

While it may feel like fall is far away, summer is THE perfect time to begin planning. Hold a planning retreat with staff members to energize and re-engage. Brainstorm events and programs. Start budgets. Educate key leaders. And secure copyright licensing before the fall frenzy. After Back to School and Labor Day, with everything on a fast track, there’s no time to plan or even think about copyright licensing. If you need a guide, download the Church Copyright Toolkit. It’s includes step-by-step instructions on how to become compliant and avoid any potential copyright infringement going forward.

Remember that you can always call and talk to one of our CCS reps at 855-576-5837, or chat online, if you have any questions about copyright licensing.

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.” CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches, as well as representation, administration, and advocacy for copyright owners. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.  The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

Categorized in: , , , , , , ,