How to Get People to Church On Time

Your church service begins. You look out and the room is half full. Ugh. But, wait another 15 minutes and the room is full. People show up late to church…a lot. What’s up with this? Why are people constantly late to church? 

We get frustrated by people showing up late. Is there anything we can do to improve this? I think so. Here are 4 tips for getting people to church on time. 

1. Start on Time

If you want people to show up on time, you have to start on time. Inconsistency in your start time is the main reason people show up late. Why? Because our actions communicate that starting on time doesn’t really matter. 

If you want to help people show up on time, you must put in the hard work of preparation and practice to ensure that you start your service when you say you will. 

Here are two ideas for actually pulling this off. If you aren’t using a worship service planning software, you should probably start. 

Secondly, who is producing your service? In other words, who starts the service and ensures that everything happens according to the plan? My suggestion is that this person should be clearly identified and it shouldn’t be someone who has a role in the service. Clearly identifying a producer can help ensure that your service starts on time. 

2. Compelling First 10

Are the first 10 minutes of your service compelling? Is it possible that people aren’t showing up on time because although your website says your service starts at 9, it really doesn’t start in any meaningful way until 9:10?  

Those first 10 minutes are incredibly important for setting the tone for the service and we often squander them. A few thoughts to consider: 

1. Is it important? Is what you are doing and saying in the first 10 minutes absolutely necessary? Do people need what you are offering in the first ten or are you just filling space? 
2. Does it connect? People want to know and be known. Are the first 10 minutes relationally engaging? Does what you are doing help people know each other or connect with the person on the stage? Or, better yet, do the first ten minutes help your people connect with God? 
3. Will people miss out? Do your first ten minutes generate FOMO? What can you do in those first ten minutes that cause late people to feel like this missed out? 

By the way, if your first 10 minutes aren’t compelling, consider cutting them. Start with a bang and shorten your service. People will love you! 

3. Close Doors

I want you to consider closing the doors of your auditorium when the service starts. When you do this, it creates a sense of, “You’re interrupting and this is a little awkward!”

Over time, you can help create a clear expectation that people should be in the auditorium when the service starts. 

I also want you to consider closing your kids ministry 15 minutes after the service starts. I’m actually serious. Think about it. It’s actually pretty disruptive to introduce kids into the ministry environment after 15 minutes have passed. Also, closing the doors to the kids ministry communicates the value of starting on time very clearly. 

We have done this at our church for years and it both works and feels normal. We place banners at the entrance of our kids ministry area that explain that we’ve already started and that parents are welcome to bring their kids into the main service. 

You might be thinking, “What about new families? They’ll never come back!” My answer: No one shows up 15 minutes late to a new church for the first time, especially if they have kids. You sure wouldn’t! 

I’ll be honest, closing the doors can be a bit painful at first. Your chronically late people might complain, but in time, they’ll adjust. 😉

4. Environmental Cues

Sometimes it helps to create environmental cues to let people know that the service is starting. Here are a few ideas: 

1. Use a countdown timer on your screens. We use a countdown timer on the bottom right of our ad slides before the service. Other churches don’t use ad slides and instead use a large countdown timer at the center of the screen. However you use it, I believe a countdown timer helps create expectation and timeliness. 
2. Use a pre-service song. If your worship team begins playing a song a minute before the service starts, it sends a signal that the service is about to start. 
3. Crank up the volume of the opening song in your atrium space. When it becomes uncomfortable to talk over the volume of the service, people will get the idea that they should be in the service. 
4. Adjust the lighting. Remember the last musical or play you attended? When the show was about to start, they dimmed the lights in the atrium. Try the same thing in your atrium. Again, people will get the hint and head into the service. 

Wrap Up

I guess what I’m saying is that a lot of this depends on you. Often, people show up late because we don’t give them a good reason not to. Or, we don’t make it crystal clear that we are starting and it matters. 

I hope this post has been helpful in generating a few ideas. Thanks for reading.