Rethinking Church After Covid
It’s hard to believe. No one has been to church for about eight weeks. No small groups. No youth events. No seminars or classes or retreats or prayer meetings. Families have been sitting on their sofa, together, watching services from home. They have been giving money online, attending groups online, reading devotionals on their phones.
When we are allowed to gather again is anyone’s guess. In some locations, it is expected it could be months before large crowds can gather in the same space. The governor of California has said he won’t allow large crowds until a vaccine has been broadly released — likely spring 2021 or later.
I wonder how much will have changed in the minds of the average church member by then? Will things ever go back to the way they were?
I’m not sure. And maybe that’s good. As church leaders, we’ve had a chronic problem of burdening our people with excessive expectations. The average Joe church member can't possibly do everything we’ve said they should do. Consider this list of pre-Covid expectations our church members have felt, whether stated or not, from their leaders…
Attend church service weekly.
Volunteer during another service
Attend Bible study or Sunday school or midweek service (whatever brand your church offers).
Serve in a ministry that helps the poor and needy.
If you are a leader (and we know who you are), then we'll have a few more meetings to attend, contacts to make, events to organize and teams to rally.
Attend periodic special events hosted by the church.
Be a great husband or wife and invest time in your marriage.
Oh, and make sure you are involved in mens' or womens' ministry.
Get in a small group and meet regularly.
If you are a man, you must be in a men’s small group for accountability. Otherwise we know you look at porn.
If you are married, you probably should also be in a couples group if you care about your spouse.
Read your Bible every day. Anything less than 30 minutes is probably not enough.
Be a good citizen. Vote and get involved in your community.
Give ten percent of every penny that you make. And give to the special offerings. And give to the kids going on the missions trip. And give to the building fund.
Go on a missions trip. Been on a local trip? Overseas is your next step.
Invest in relationships in your neighborhood and at your workplace.
Invite people to church. Every week. The purpose of that, of course, is so you can get them to church so they can do #1 through #16 above.
Does reading this list wear you out? I wonder how many people are actually enjoying this forced stay-at-home season so they don’t have to feel guilty saying no or not showing up. We’ve been known to ask way too much of people. They keep trying and trying, doing and attending, but then life catches up and they feel like they can't ever keep up with our expectations. They feel deflated.
Because on top of everything we expect, everyone else in their life also has expectations of them. They normally have sports events to attend and in-laws to keep happy and PTA events to organize. They have complicated family relationships to navigate, second jobs to find so they can put braces on the kids and keep food on the table. They have long commutes and business travels, and many of them are involved in really good endeavors building into their communities or helping the under-resourced.
I wonder if we should prepare for a new way to do church—one that is focused less on coming to church and more on being the church. I wonder if it’s less about gathering for content and more about providing content that synergizes with everyday life.
I know that it’s not an either/or — and that gathering in community is actually a biblical concept. But I wonder if some people have been saying (or thinking), "Hey Church...we're just not that into you. You are teaching us some great things and we are growing in our love of Jesus. But we can't possibly do everything you are asking...give us a break!"
I think some of these people may not come back to church post-Covid. They may have discovered that driving to a building didn’t enhance their spiritual journey. They may realize it’s actually possible to take a next step without leaving their home.
I’m not sure what church will look like in two years. I just think it may look radically different than it did a few months ago. What do you think?
Leaders—how are you rethinking what church looks like after Covid?
Church Attender—how do you think your church participation will change, if at all, after Covid?