The Church Post COVID-19

It was four weeks ago that Barb and I were scheduled to attend a Michael W. Smith concert.  The initial warnings about avoid large groups to avoid the coronavirus were just coming out.  We decided to skip the concert, which was eventually cancelled anyway.  That Sunday, March 14, we experienced online worship for the first time.  We have been sheltered in place ever since.  Now we are preparing to celebrate Easter without the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Some have said that this might be the closest we’ve ever come to the first Easter when the Jesus’ followers were sheltered in place. 

I have been ending each day with the thought that it is one step closer to a return normalcy, but now I am coming to the reality that when I come out of hibernation I will be entering a very different world.  COVID-19 has really changed everything.  I am confident the world, including the church, will be very different because of this experience.  Here are a few things I suspect will be different:

Fewer Hugs: I suspect once this is past people are going to be reluctant to have the physical contact we’ve known in the past.  I expect fewer handshake and more elbow bumps.  I also anticipate people less enthusiastic in giving hugs.  The “stand and greet” time prior to beginning each worship service is going to be very different.  I expect remnants of the “social distancing” will carry over to the fellowship time between services.

Online Worship: Some worship communities were already live-streaming their Sunday morning worship, now out of necessity, every church has had to adapt.  It has always been viewed a way to make the service available to those physically unable to attend, even those who have to work on Sundays can still participate at their convenience. I suspect in the future some may choose to continue to worship this way.  This is will especially be the case for those in the community who want to hear God’s Word without affiliating with a worship community. 

Virtual Discipleship: The Barna Group has reported that participation in online participation in Bible studies and church small groups has increased by 50% over the last two weeks.  What a gift that we have tools like Zoom and Facebook.  We would not have had the ability to minister to people in this way twenty years ago.  I suspect there will be more of this in the future.   

While things will undoubtedly be very different moving forward the Good News of Jesus remains the same.  The church has been in need to renewal for decades.  We have experienced over fifty years of decline, perhaps this is the turning point.