We are one week removed from the celebration of Easter 2021. Compared to last Easter, most churches were able to hold regular services in their normal fashion. A new report from the Barna Group provided insight into how different this Easter was compared to last year. The same study also provided insight into what people missed during the pandemic when most worship had to take place online.
In the fourth week of March 2020, Barna surveyed over two hundred pastors on their plans for Easter worship. Almost half (45%) were planning live online worship, and 10% were planning an outdoor service. Thirteen percent (13%) were planning on recording their Easter worship and then making it available to members. Since it was still early in the pandemic, one-in-five (20%) of the pastors polled still had no idea how they were going to celebrate Easter. Only 2% planned to still hold indoor worship.
In a similar poll of over 500 Protestant pastors done from March 16-22, 2021 found that four in five (80%) planned to hold regular indoor worship with COVID-19 precautions. An almost equal 71% still planned to offer online worship, a strong indication that hybrid church is here to stay. Additionally, over one-in-five (22%) planned to offer an outdoor service, encouraging social distancing. One-in-ten (11%) of the pastors polled reported they planned to hold worship indoors with no COVID-19 restrictions.
As people begin to return to regular church attendance, the team at Barna was also curious as to what people said they had missed during their time away. The top overall response was “receiving the sacrament/eucharist” (24%). Other responses tended to indicate the importance of fellowship. Overall, 23% responded “socializing with other churchgoers before and after services” and 19% “the chance to connect with like-minded people.”
There was a huge difference when it came to generations and what they most missed during the time they could not gather in-person. “Receiving the sacrament/eucharist” was more important to Baby Boomers than to Millennials (16%) and Gen X (18%) church attenders. “Socializing with other churchgoers before and after services” (27%) was also a higher priority for Baby Boomers than it was for younger attenders (17% of Millennials and 21% of Gen X’ers).
I see a couple of disturbing trends in the new report from Barna. From my perspective, they all impact our effort to reach the next generation.
A social gathering of like-minded people: Two of the top responses to what people missed from not attending in-person worship underscore the reality that church is viewed as a social gathering spot. When the primary reason for attending worship is to “socialize” and “gather with like-minded people,” I think we have a problem.
Discipleship is not a high priority. According to the research from Barna, involvement in “Sunday school / Small groups / Bible study” was missed by only 8% of Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers and 13% of Millennials. Additionally, only one-in-five (23%) of those polled miss “listening to a live sermon or homily.”
Little desire to meet new people: If the church is to grow, there must be a willingness to welcome new people in the community. Over all, only 9% of those polled indicated “the chance to meet new people” as something they missed over the last year. Millennials were more open to meeting new people with 17% reporting that was something they missed.
The bottom line is the church has a long way to go if it is to grow. The reality is the lost are not going to find their way to us. We are going to have to meet them where they are at. That requires equipping people to be the feet and hands of Jesus where they live, work and play. In the post-pandemic world, if our church buildings are going to be devalued and viewed only as a gathering place for believers that will be an obstacle.
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