Why do some churches struggle with membership??

Lately I have been wondering why some churches flourish in membership and are financially stable , while some other churches struggle to keep membership and hardly have enough money to pay bills.

I know of one church that is state of the art with hundreds of members that attend church consistently. And I know of another church thats small that can barely keep consistent attendance from members and struggle to keep everyone paying their tithes and offerings.

Now I know that the church is in the people and therefore, the size of a church in the physical nature is pointless if the Holy Ghost is not moving in that particulary place. But this is just a question of why some churches have lots of members and some churches tend to struggle in the membership department. What is the common denominator??

Some churches were turned into Big Business.
All they want is money.

there's probably a million reasons behind why it varies... the population of the area, how much of that population even follows the particular faith, how much people like the minister at the church, the wealth of the area-- richer people donate more, etc, etc, etc...

a lot of churches are buinesses
also has to do with people liking the pastor,preacher..whatever you call it and things like that

You answered it yourself when you said, "the physical nature is pointless if the Holy Ghost is not moving in that particular place".

Did starbucks annex a section of the larger church?

Not enough PZAZZ! ie Entertainment!

I'd say the main problem for churches in the US is competition. It's like a commercial arena, with lots of independent churches competing for believers/consumers. Some churches will do better than others for donations.

I went to a church in New York once; I was astonished by the sheer number of people attending. We couldn't get into the first church because it was full so we went to another one just down the street. They were like night clubs. And when we got in there, the ministers all wore expensive suits, and gave each other expensive-looking community award trophies, and they passed the collection plate around very frequently. I gave them five bucks the first time around then stopped, it was almost disgusting to be there.

I don't know if all the churches are like that but it would go a long way to answering your question to consider that even if a few are run like businesses, most are going to struggle to attract donations.

At my church there's no central heating and the place is huge so it's freezing. There's also an air of elitism that really disgusts me to be honest, seeing as it's meant to be inclusive, being a church and all. I also think that the sermons are usually a bit dull. I can see why people don't really go to church, I wouldn't myself if I wasn't in the choir there.

I think that it is usually the mind set of the clergy. If you have someone who cares about their congregation, attendance will more than likely stay static or increase in number..
If,however, the minister only treated his occupation as a job,and not a calling, the congregation will suffer(decline in number).

Not sure if Kampa was being serious, but he's possibly hit the nail on the head.
The churches which are flourishing are the charasmatic ones, with guitars and singing and people jumping around and screaming "praise be".
The ones that aren't, are the victorian gothic old ones, with an organ, hymns, a vicar giving a boring sermon, and the same parrot fashion set readings.

Up to you which of these is the "right" way.

The "starbucks" reason is more probable than anything to do with a church not having the 'Holy Ghost" or God`s active force working there.

Nowdays...popularity is more important to most people, and that is what they will back.

The church with the best coffee and pastries has the most attendees? That works for me but I think fellowship is important too. A charismatic and well liked pastor seems to help also.

Still, unless the attendees are open to the action of the Holy Spirit stirring the people's hearts and minds, what you end up with is a dog and pony show of empty religion.

Because people want fast food theology

I'm so glad that McDonalds has a fillet of fish sandwich. That make's it so easy for me not to eat meat on Fridays during Lent.