(The New Normal May Actually Be Better)
You may be one of many who are sick of hearing the word “covid”. The word is more than just a term to describe a virus. The word has been used as a weapon to traumatize and divide our culture. It has even divided the church. However, there may be some upside for the church to be found in the Covid saga. Here are six things that could be seen as positive developments for the church as a result of Covid 19.
1. A “weeding” of the church has taken place, and that’s not all bad.
It will likely work to the church’s benefit that many token believers have been thinned out. Most didn’t need much of an excuse to stop attending regularly, as it had likely already been their practice. But for many, it has now become “permanent”.
As a result, many pastors have learned who they can really count on. As the old saying goes: “When the goin gets tough, the tough get goin.” But here’s another side to the saying: “When the goin gets rough, the fair-weather disciples bail. When attendance becomes risky or costly, many will flee. It happened to Jesus, and it happens to us. That’s not all bad.
I am reminded of God’s instruction to Gideon in Judges 7. “Whittle the fighting force down in order to be victorious.” Perhaps the “pandemic” has done this for us in some ways.
2. The church is finding new ways to be “essential”.
Many of us were alarmed at being deemed “non-essential”… but were those in authority actually all wrong? Many churches have morphed into “non-essential” social clubs over the years of relative safety. A good question to honestly answer is this: If your church closed next month, would anyone except your attenders really miss it? The best way not to be deemed “non-essential” is to become “essential” to our communities. There are many creative ways to do this if you desire to do so.
3. Average age of congregation matters more than ever to church health and viability.
Many churches have been decimated because Covid took more seniors lives than young lives. It’s easy for a church to get old and die. We must not fail to continue reaching out to a younger demographic. Nickels & Noses aren’t the only way to measure church health, but they are still an important factor. But perhaps along with attendance and offerings, we ought to also look at “decreasing average age” as an indicator of church health. And maybe the idea that you don’t need a children’s church ought to be a red flag health indicator for a church.
4. Livestreaming is good, but it’s not BEST.
Livestreaming is a Good Egg, but it’s not the Golden Egg.
It’s good for OUTREACH when done well,
but INTAKE should still be the goal. In person attendance should
still be seen as the desirable outcome. That’s because online presence is different
than “being present”. Churches that thrive will likely continue to have an
online presence, but “being present” with the gathered church will still be a priority
teaching and practice. We should think of online presence as advertising the
product, not the product itself. It should be seen as “second best” when
attendance is not an option for some reason.
The reality is that many are finding “Online Church” unsatisfying for the long term and they are returning in person. And if you look at average view time stats, they indicate that “onliners” don’t stick with the whole service on most occasions.
5. The Government is not our friend, and definitely not our servant.
Churches will never look at government the same way again, and that is a good thing. Most pastors went the extra mile when politicians asked them to shut down for a period, (remember “14 days to flatten the curve”). But when it went on for months while Walmart remained open, we knew something was amiss. Over and over, governors and mayors had no problem with people loitering in shopping malls, or packing into casinos, or cheering at ball games, but they kept churches closed. If you had any illusions that we were a “Christian nation”, I think they should have been blown up by now. If you don’t think we live in a secular society, then it’s time to think again. Moving forward, we must be more vigilant than ever to protect our right to worship. But the days of getting in bed with the government are hopefully over.
6. In times of crisis, small groups become more important than ever.
Some smaller churches function as a small group. But any expected and sustained growth brings with it the need for smaller groups of prayer and community. A single cell can only get so big before it must divide or cease to function.
The small group may be the key to spiritual well being if the government becomes more hostile… or disaster, or war, or further pandemics prevent large gatherings. Cultivating small groups in various forms and developing their leaders should be high on our list of priorities.
CONCLUSION
While we would not and should not wish for a return of the virus or the restrictions, let us acknowledge that this period of time had some benefits for the church that may be helpful in growing the Kingdom. Be encouraged and take advantage of every opportunity.