When our small church decided to start a choir, I was positive there wouldn't be anyone left in the congregation. Our weekly attendance was quite sporadic. Sometimes (on potluck Sabbath) there were close to a hundred people; other times, attendance was so low, I was afraid to count. While our group sang, we did leave a hole while we were singing, but only the pews where we had put the "Reserved for the Choir" signs were empty. Then as the choir expanded, the church seemed to have even more people on the weeks when the choir was singing. Were there really more people attending? A dozen extra people on the platform didn't make the congregation look skimpy.  And was the choir responsible for the increased attendance?  I couldn't prove it, but it certainly seemed that way.

          Recently, I happened to attend another very small church when their new choir was scheduled to sing. There were almost twenty people singing in the choir—yet the pews were far from empty. There were significantly more people in the congregation than the last time (before they had the choir) I had visited that church. Were there more people in the pews because there was a choir singing up front? Again, it appeared that way.

          Part of the increased attendance could result from pure convenience—and maybe a desire to save on gas. When one family member sings in the choir, the rest of the family often  will choose to attend the same church service that Sabbath, rather than visit some other church.

          When you go to a weekly choir rehearsal in order to contribute to the church, you now have a vested interest in having the church be a success. This can lead to other types of support.

          Choir members see each other more often than just at church, so they tend to become more like a family. This gives choristers a chance to "bear one another's burdens" because they now know more of what those burdens are. It becomes a social attraction as well as a musical function. While attending prayer meetings can create the same "family" setting, people who are uncomfortable praying in public are often more comfortable praying with a group through their music.

          A vibrant, growing choir can attract people to church—not just to hear the music, but because there will always be a "core" of people who have made a commitment to attend. The cliché, "preaching to the choir" is based on fact. A speaker is more likely to preach well if he or she knows there is a guaranteed sympathetic audience. "Success breeds success," and having a choir creates the appearance of success.

          Perhaps these are the reasons our fellow Christian churches almost always have choirs. They have found that any effort and money they invest in maintaining a church choir is more than equally returned; it is multiplied—financially and in other church support.

          EPK