The Pandemic Church

Scripture teaches us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes, and if we build our lives on His foundation, we will be able to navigate the changes around us. And, our mission or, as it's been described, our "assignment" from God may change, but we can be totally reliant on Him. Hebrews 10 states:
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

In the midst of change and uncertainty, we can continue to proclaim through our words and deeds the reliable nature of an all-powerful God, knowing that He is faithful. And, we can encourage one another to be involved in the work of the Lord, as the Church mobilizes and moves together in Him to touch people's lives at the point of their need.  We can, essentially, cheer one another one a we follow Christ and do His will.

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We each have a purpose in Christ, and we have been equipped by the internal presence of Christ to be involved in external service for Him. Philippians 1 says:
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

It does seem like that we have been facing a mighty adversary for the past two years. Even though church attendance has been dramatically affected during the last two years due to the coronavirus, a new study shows that churches are using the crisis to launch new opportunities.

The Hartford Institute for Religion Research has issued a new report and, according to ReligionNews.com:

If their findings are representative of the roughly 320,000 Christian congregations in the country, the institute said, the researchers estimate that nearly 175,000 churches launched or expanded ministries, funds and supplies in response to the pandemic over the past two years.

The article says that these latest findings, from the second in a series of surveys, are "based on a collaboration among 13 denominations from the Faith Communities Today cooperative partnership and institute staffers." Religion News goes on to say: "Less than three-quarters (73%) agreed in 2020 that their congregations were willing to change to meet new challenges. That increased to 86% in November."  The survey also found that churches' attitude toward be willing to be involved in their  community increased over that period - from 70 to 82%.

The article also notes:

The project’s first report, based on responses from summer 2021, showed that about a third of congregations had increased requests for food. About a quarter received more requests for financial assistance during the pandemic. The November survey found that 22% said they had added or increased food distribution and 21% had enhanced or begun financial assistance for their community.

The report also found that 28% of churches "have started or expanded community support ministries, using phone trees to inform and encourage members and nonmembers or offering elder care options, such as providing rides to medical appointments." Plus, with the use of church buildings limited, "about a quarter of congregations expanded the use of their buildings for other activities, from helping homeless people to offering child care and tutoring."

The Hartford Institute report itself stated that, "When asked if they started a new ministry or expanded and increased an existing one, over half of congregations (54%) said they had. On average, these churches had begun or expanded over three of their outreach ministries. Many of these churches also did not feel constrained or limited by their resources to try something new, with 46% of congregations responding that they felt they had the resources to pursue new ministry opportunities."  Just under 3/4 of churches related they have offered "some form of community service or ministry" during the pandemic.

And there is promising news regarding church attendance; ReligionNews.com notes:

While attendance remains depressed, the survey found the rate of attendance decline between 2019 and 2021 was 9%. It had been down 12% in the summer.

The number of congregations reporting a severe decline of 25% or more fell from 35.2% in the summer to 30.3% in November. And the number reporting growth of 5% or more increased from 28% to 37%.

There is no question that crisis brings opportunity. We can become discouraged in our pain and struggle, or we can allow our adversity to embolden us to walk more deeply with the Lord and to be prepared to reach out to those in need. The Spirit of God will mobilize and equip us to do the work foR the Lord.

We can also consider what God is calling us to do - specifically.  As Pat Bradley of Crisis Aid International was discussing on The Meeting House earlier this week, when he saw the needs of people in South Sudan in Africa, he realized that to do nothing was not an option. Perhaps there is a new work that God will use us to start - we can pray and ask the Lord how we can help and depend on Him for the direction and resources we need to carry it out. 

The effect of COVID can be devastating - while there has been a negative impact on church attendance, which seems to be rebounding, God has raised up new forms of communicating the gospel through technology.  And, church people, as this survey indicates, are more open and involved in their communities. We can be challenged to remain open to the movement of the Holy Spirit through us.