Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100, NIV
We will never forget the global COVID pandemic of 2020. Many of us were forced into isolation, unable to go to work, to see friends and family, or to meet at church for worship. The effects of the social isolation alone are still reverberating through society. The US Surgeon General published a report in 2023 that stated: “Disconnection fundamentally affects our mental, physical, and societal health. In fact, loneliness and isolation increase the risk for individuals to develop mental health challenges in their lives, and lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking daily.”[1]
During the pandemic, many churches temporarily shut down in order to prevent the spread of COVID. The Global Church Member Survey 2023 found that, around the world, nearly one in five members (21.7%) reported that their church continued to meet face to face, virtually the same proportion (21.3%) reported that their church closed for a time, with no remote-worship option, 53.3% of members’ churches met remotely during the period they could not meet in person, and, sadly, 3.8% of members reported that their church closed permanently due to the pandemic.
When members were asked about their worship experience during the pandemic, 21.1% said that they had continued to worship face-to-face in a church, and 31.5% that they had met face-to-face with other Adventists in a non-church setting, such as a home church. Around 27% of members attended their local church remotely, and 6.9% attended remotely at an Adventist church located in a different place. Just over 12% admitted that they stopped attending church for a period of time, and 1.2% attended a non-Adventist church, either face-to-face or remotely.
Unfortunately, there is no data yet on how many of the people who stopped attending church altogether during the pandemic have just never gone back. Hopefully the next Global Church Member Survey might be able to give us those answers. In the meantime, we need to find out who is missing from our churches and make an effort to reach out and bring them back. The recent study of ex-members provided clear evidence that many people drift away from the church, not because of doctrinal issues, but because of some major event in their life (a death, divorce, new job, major move, or global pandemic), when they are too busy or stressed or grieving to attend church. One week becomes two weeks or a month, and the longer they stay away, the harder it is to make the effort to go back. It is our responsibility, as a church family, to notice when we haven’t seen our friends for a week or two and give them a call or a visit to find out how they are doing and if we can help.
You can access the full report here.
Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry.
Published by ASTR on 08/28/2024.
[1] https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/03/new-surgeon-general-advisory-raises-alarm-about-devastating-impact-epidemic-loneliness-isolation-united-states.html