Leadership Thought: Are You Ever Coming Back to the Church Building? (Thoughts on Online and In Person Worship)

Dear Friend

Will they ever come back? That is the question that church leaders across the country are asking. Will church members ever return to in service worship? If most church surveys are correct, the answer may be no.

57 % of those who are 55 and younger prefer online services to in person gatherings, and many of those church members will remain home on Sunday mornings rather than attend in person worship.

While statistics vary on how many church members will eventually return to in person worship, most analysis suggest as many as 20-40% will choose to remain at home and worship in the comfort of their own living rooms. Many churches are already investing more of their resources in developing and improving their online services in anticipation this change.

71 % of those over 55 prefer in person worship and many of them who chose to remain at home during the Pandemic, have now begun to trickle back. But the unanswered question is will those making up the Millennials and Gen X population ever return.

The quandary that many churches are facing in view of these numbers, is whether to close down online services as some churches have recently done, in an effort to promote in person gatherings.

A member of our church recently sent me the following message that she had seen on the internet.

“As online services become very convenient, it's important to remember why church attendance for you and your family matters so much.

You can't serve from your sofa. You can't have community of faith on your sofa. You can experience the power of a roomful of believers worshiping together on your sofa.

Christians aren't consumers. We are contributors. We don't watch. We engage. We give. We sacrifice. We encourage. We pray by laying hands on the hurting. We do life together. The church needs you. And you need the church.”

Now the bias of the writer is obvious, and some might argue with the writer’s premise. However, the Bible says, “Christ makes us one body individuals who are connected to each other.” (Romans 12:5) We experience a new connection when we become children of God- we begin to belong to each other as brothers and sisters.

Personally, I find it hard to imagine how this kind of connection can exist if we are never face to face with one another.

“The body we are talking about is "Christ body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped- off finger or-cut off toe we wouldn't amount to much.” (Romans 12: 5 The Message Bible).”

If one of our fingers was chopped off, that finger would not only cease growing, it would cease living. Can we maintain the kind of closeness with one another without being physically connected?  How can we touch one another, hug one another, laugh and cry with one another through the computer screen?

While I recognize the value of online training programs, prayer groups, conferences and seminars, I find it difficult to imagine how the church can really function as the church without people being able to personally and physically connect with one another on Sunday mornings.

The California Department of Mental Health once did a study and discovered that if you isolate yourself from others and don't develop close friendships- like in a church or a small group- you are …

Three times more likely to die from an early death.

Four times more likely to suffer from emotional burnout.

Five times more likely to be clinically depressed.

Ten times more likely to be hospitalized for an emotional for mental disorder.

“You are members of God’s very own family….and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian” (Ephesians 2:19 The Living Bible)

We need each other, so if you are one of those who prefers to stay at home and worship, keep in mind there are brothers and sisters in the flock who need you, who long to see you, and who are never going to be the same without your presence.

Yours in Faith and friendship,

Tom