Last week, I began a newsletter article series on the state of the church, especially concerning the next generation (children up to young adults). This is a burden God has placed on my heart, as well as on the hearts of the elders and staff of The Bridge Church. Troubling signs are all around regarding the vitality of the church in the global West in this emerging generation. In the second half of this series I’ll write about how I believe things can change. This week I’m reflecting on the impact of COVID. While the ripple effects of COVID over the last two years have been wide-reaching, I’m going to focus on the way it has kept many people from participating in-person in church life.
Inevitably when you bring up COVID, anxieties rise. Where’s he going with this? It’s a controversial subject! Which is kind of crazy, considering it’s a virus. What’s controversial about that? Of course, it’s not the virus itself but our response to it that is so rife with division. But no matter how you look at it, COVID has been a challenge to the church.
If you are someone who believes COVID is a significant threat and that government health measures have been a necessary and appropriate response, then you have likely seen avoidance of in-person church gatherings as a necessary and appropriate step to mitigate that threat. In this case, it is the virus itself that has prevented church participation.
If you are someone who believes the threat of COVID has been overblown by the media and that government health measures have been an unnecessary overreach that undermine the liberty of citizens, you still have had to live in a society with those restrictions. In this case, it’s the government that has inhibited church participation. Even after restrictions lifted, you might blame some people’s reluctance to return in-person on the cultivation of fear by our authorities. Either way, the circumstances of the pandemic at some point curtailed your freedom to worship as you would in “normal” times.
Here’s the thing: church attendance was already in decline in North America. COVID didn’t do that. What COVID did was accelerate that trend (acceleration of previous trends is something that crises tend to do). But the acceleration has been significant. Surveys show that there has been a big drop in regular church attendance among seniors in the last two years (not a huge surprise, considering they are the most at-risk to the virus). The difference is much less marked for those between 35-64. But what about for people between the ages of 18-34, who are at the least risk of serious disease from the virus (besides those even younger)? There’s a 10% difference in church attendance between 2019-2021.
Some people thought that COVID would drive church attendance up because people would turn to faith in the midst of uncertainty and fear. While some churches (including The Bridge) saw huge numbers join online for the first couple of months after the pandemic began, that effect began to wear off after the initial shock. In its place, some smaller churches began to close their doors for good and many formerly regular churchgoers simply stopped going, even when restrictions were lifted. Some stayed online, others quit any participation. And apparently, given the numbers above, that is especially the case for millennials and iGens- our emerging generations who will shape the world for years to come.
Everyone recognizes the importance of establishing good habits and disciplines. We also recognize the danger of bad habits. That’s why some mothers pay their kids a dollar for every day they don’t chew their nails. Participating in corporate worship is a discipline that is critical for our growth as believers in Jesus. I have often used the image of a thumb disconnected from the body, mistakenly thinking it can thrive just as well on its own as it wriggles along the ground. It can’t. It needs to be attached to the body! “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). You are built for community, and Jesus has saved you into his body.
The bottom line is that “church” is a central and crucial discipline God calls us to. But for many, that discipline has been broken in the last two years. After a year or two of watching online or not participating at all, joining others for worship is no longer part of their regular commitment or schedule. For older adults who committed to that discipline for decades prior to the pandemic, it’s a practice that will be easier to restore. But for teens who are in the most formational stage of life, this 1-2 year break in worshipping together with God’s people could be much more definitive. It could direct their path for life. You probably know of situations where this is proving true. You might be living it out in your own home.
What do we do about this? How should we think about this?
First of all, don’t lose hope. We say it again and again, and we have seen it in the book of Acts. God can take the evil in the world, He can take the evil that is done to the church, and He can redeem it. He is on the throne and works to accomplish His purposes. Could He be using these circumstances to test our endurance? “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of m any kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3) Down the road, could there be people who had stepped away for a period of time, only to later encounter a healthy church and experience significant renewal? Will He use the increased digital presence of churches to reach those who wouldn’t have otherwise heard the good news? (There’s definitely evidence He has already done that.) I don’t know all that God will do, but I’m confident He is not despairing because of a virus or because of societal response to it.
Second, pray. Pray for those who have been disconnected from the church for the last two years. Pray especially for people who are in danger of losing all attachment to Christ’s body, and in the process, Christ. Pray for this emerging generation and for the trial that COVID has been to their faith.
Third, if you are one of those disconnected ones, look for ways to re-establish that connection. If you can, come worship with God’s people at The Bridge. If for various reasons you can’t, look for a smaller group of believers you can do this with. Being part of the body of Christ is so crucial.
And fourth, if you know someone who has become disconnected, invite them in. If you have influence in the lives of this next generation, do what you can to encourage them to come and be part of the body of Christ. If you have kids at home, make participation in the church a priority. Model it for them. Arrange your family life so that corporate worship and growth is central. That’s obviously going to be different depending on stage of life. If your kids are young, they have to go with you everywhere. They have no choice! As they get older, there’s more independence and your ability to get them into corporate worship might be limited. Discern how the Spirit is leading you to lead your family in this way.
COVID, no matter how you dice it, doesn’t need to have destroyed a generation of believers. And no matter what happens, God is able to work for redemption. But we should also be realistic about the serious danger that exists here. We must be alert to it and act accordingly, empowered and led by the Holy Spirit.
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