Like it or lump it, the headcount at your youth program matters to your church. And the problem with that is that youth pastors count terribly – it is a proven fact. I think it might even be a ressive gene found universally in pastors? When faced with any size crowd, a pastor quickly assess the room with a margin of error of plus or minus about 150. Actually, I’ve never met a pastor who counted less, so it would be +150. Either way, here’s 7 ways to know if you count like a senior pastor:

7. You count the any band members, student leaders, staff, and volunteers that are there for multiple services.
6. You count empty seats instead of filled ones, and minus that number from the room’s fire capacity.
5. You don’t even bother to count, you close your eyes and optimistically ask God to speak to you the grand total.
4. If someone enters the room for a few minutes then leaves, you still add them to your count. If it is the senior pastor/elder/deacon, you are in such shock and awe that you forget your count and you have to start all over again. You immediately mentally begin to prepare statements defending the attendance.
3. If a pregnant woman or someone enters carrying an infant, they totally count as two. You secretly pray for triplets inside the womb of an expectant mother on your volunteer team.
2. You vigorously disagree with the actual count when someone else does the counting. There’s no way it could possibly have been that low – the room was packed … er, right?
1. If a student goes to the bathroom and comes back, bingo! Add them in again without thinking twice.

JG