Worship Participation Data in the Age of Livestream
Ever since the pandemic began there has been no clear way to track worship attendance like we used to. And what does “attendance” mean when livestream participation is an intergral part of how we gather?
Once we returned to in-person worship with livestream on August 1 we began looking at numbers differently. We started to think about “worship participation” rather than “attendance.” We looked at the count of people in the sanctuary and the data we get from livestreaming. While it is not clear how to relate these numbers to traditional ways of tracking attendance, I think there are some helpful ways to think about the data we have.
First, in-person attendance is still low compared to in-person attendance prior to the pandemic. This is understandable since some people are hesitant to gather, and because we have given people the option of livestream. But only looking at that number doesn’t give a full picture of our worship participation.
We have two other numbers we are tracking. We can see what our “peak live viewers” number is. This is the highest number of people participating at any one time in the livestream as it happens.
The second number we are tracking is the number of people who watch at least in part the livestream video over the next 3 days. This gives us a good sense of the total number of people who participated online in some way. After 3 days the total number of viewers tends to increase very little, so it is a good point in time to track.
You can see the data below on worship participation since August 1, and the averages for each column. Below that you can see two numbers I think are the most meaningful to watch. Average Live Participation (In Person and Livestream) is the closest to our attendance numbers prior to the pandemic. It is the total number of people who participated in some way during the live worship service. The average at this point is 59. The other number is Average Total Participation (In Person and 3 Day Views) is the total number of people who participated in some way whether live or soon after. The average for this number is 88.
In the 2019 our average worship attendance was 67. This is just about in the middle of 59 and 88. So in this new world of post-pandemic, in-person and livestream worship, we have a few less participating live than before, and more people particiating in some way than before.
If you’re like me you may find these numbers interesting and worth paying attention to. But, like me, you may also sense that numbers aren’t the only thing to pay attention to. The overall picture of our congregation is one of committed participation, generous stewardship, a heart for serving those in need, an openness to renewal and change while valuing tradition, a love for children, youth, and young adults, exceptional hospitality and welcome, and a passion for including all persons, especially those who may have experienced exclusion elsewhere. How are we doing with all of that? I’d say we have an overall healthy, active, mission-focused, and faithful gathering of the body of Christ.
Thanks for all you do to make FELC a lively and faithful congregation — whether you’re a member, a regular participant, or you just found us. Since I’m the pastor, I’ll close by saying that your regular participation in our worship life and community is important, and not only for your own ongoing spiritual formation in Christ. Your participation is important to everyone else who loves and cares about you and sees your unique gifts and longs to welcome you if you are new.
— Michael Coffey
| DATE | DESCRIPTION | IN-PERSON ATTENDANCE | PEAK LIVE VIEWERS | 3 DAY VIEWS |
| 8/1/2021 | Regathering Sunday | 41 | 22 | 55 |
| 8/8/2021 | Vicar Installation Sunday | 43 | 26 | 52 |
| 8/15/2021 | Feast of Mary. Back to School Blessing | 34 | 25 | 59 |
| 8/22/2021 | Lectionary 21 | 34 | 31 | 67 |
| 8/29/2021 | Lectionary 22 | 29 | 20 | 62 |
| 9/5/2021 | Lectionary 23 / Labor Day Weekend | 25 | 29 | 49 |
| 9/12/2021 | Lectionary 24 | 34 | 28 | 69 |
| 9/19/2021 | Lectionary 25 | 23 | 25 | 52 |
| 9/26/2021 | Lectionary 26 | 22 | 30 | 62 |
| 10/3/2021 | Saint Francis Sunday / 3 baptisms | 62 | 20 | 46 |
| 10/10/2021 | Lectionary 28: no livestream | 28 | ||
| 10/17/2021 | Lectionary 29 / Bryan’s last Sunday | 41 | 22 | 48 |
| 10/24/2021 | Lectionary 30 | 36 | 20 | 37 |
| 10/31/2021 | Reformation Sunday | 39 | 20 | 37 |
| 11/7/2021 | All Saints Sunday / baptism | 40 | 21 | 36 |
| 11/14/2021 | Extended Advent A / no livestream tech | 41 | 10 | 42 |
| Averages | 36 | 23 | 52 | |
| Average Live Participation (In Person and Livestream) | 59 | |||
| Average Total Participation (In Person and 3 Day Views) | 88 |
