I think there must be a "recommendation" in the Bible that I've missed. It probably reads something like this: "Thou shouldst not use thy time loosely. Don't give your word or time to a cause until you know you can fulfill it." That HAS to be the reason why so many Christians are averse to sign-up sheets, right? It doesn't matter where I've been (AL, TN, SC, NC), which denomination, what church, it seems to be the general principle that people simply do not sign up for things.
There's even been an article about Christian singers/concerts at major venues. If they sell out at all, it's always at the last minute. Secular concerts? Their tickets sell out quickly.
Now, I could argue that the reason for this is that Christians faithfully devote one of their two off-days to church and at least one night during the week to church, so therefore they don't have all the extra spare time that non-churchies have. But I think, sadly, closer to home, is that churches are so glad for people to come that we never say no. Why bother to sign-up if you know you're going to be welcomed anyway?
From a signers stand-point, I get it. Church time is busy and sometimes you just forget. From a planner/organizer stand-point, it drives me crazy. On a tight budget and need to figure out how much food? Well, do you only plan for the ten who signed up, or the 15 extra you "heard" might be coming. The same thing with games. You schedule a rotation for 30 kids based on past experiences, but then only 15 sign-up. Do you modify the schedule or come up with extra games, or proceed and plan game time for 30 kids (which is a totally different scenario).
It takes a little extra work, but I've learned over the years to cut the sign-up off early and then spend an evening/morning calling people. It makes preparations go a whole lot smoother. But a small part of me wonders what will happen when our church grows in size and that is no longer feasible. And if you start telling people no, would they quit coming or learn to sign up?
There's even been an article about Christian singers/concerts at major venues. If they sell out at all, it's always at the last minute. Secular concerts? Their tickets sell out quickly.
Now, I could argue that the reason for this is that Christians faithfully devote one of their two off-days to church and at least one night during the week to church, so therefore they don't have all the extra spare time that non-churchies have. But I think, sadly, closer to home, is that churches are so glad for people to come that we never say no. Why bother to sign-up if you know you're going to be welcomed anyway?
From a signers stand-point, I get it. Church time is busy and sometimes you just forget. From a planner/organizer stand-point, it drives me crazy. On a tight budget and need to figure out how much food? Well, do you only plan for the ten who signed up, or the 15 extra you "heard" might be coming. The same thing with games. You schedule a rotation for 30 kids based on past experiences, but then only 15 sign-up. Do you modify the schedule or come up with extra games, or proceed and plan game time for 30 kids (which is a totally different scenario).
It takes a little extra work, but I've learned over the years to cut the sign-up off early and then spend an evening/morning calling people. It makes preparations go a whole lot smoother. But a small part of me wonders what will happen when our church grows in size and that is no longer feasible. And if you start telling people no, would they quit coming or learn to sign up?
Comments
So far everything seems to be coming together. A group of us were just laughing Wednesday night about the lack of sign-up (but I've had several families talk to me), and someone's comment about "church people don't like to sign up" got me to thinking about it.