Bussing Them In (Pros)

One speaks of "bussing people in" to political rallies or votes -- just one of many ways to swell the numbers artificially. This happens in Churches, too, both for good and for bad. This post is about the good. There are three good ways that I can think of.

• Sometimes a Church needs a boost -- a temporary measure for the purpose of growth and outreach. In my own ministry, temporary boosts have seen vital projects off the ground, such as a Church plant, and a Youth ministry.
• Numbers are often swelled by Church rosters.  In my own ministry, often as many as 20 people were there because they were scheduled to be there: elders and deacons, Sunday School teachers, welcoming committee, and so on.  They might have been there anyway -- however this is good for helping people in their faithfulness.
• Sometimes people would like to attend Church, yet do not find an easy means to do it -- for example, residents of a retirement home or hostel.  In such cases, too, one may "artificially" swell the numbers -- and this is good, to help them or to reach out to them.

OBSERVATION: Yet there surely are unhealthy reasons for swelling the numbers -- in a future post.