Thursday was just a normal Thursday in an unnormal era of a pandemic. With high hopes, I excitedly was looking forward to being able to open our church fully. As everyone is getting their vaccinations and more of our world returning to normal, it gave me hope. Then it happened, our county moved back a phase 2 with more restrictions due to rising infection rates. Then Thursday comes and I was told that there's a rumor that we may move back to Phase 1 of Covid-19 restrictions. Oh No!!! Hopefully that's all it is, just a rumor.
As things get back to (new)normal, what will our church look like in the near future? That's been on mind a lot lately. I know that some trends seen in churches around the nation may come to us here at PFBC. For instance, digital church strategies will complement in-person gatherings. This is a must for us because we have regular "attenders" online that don't live in our area, but are connected to our church. Zoom small group meetings allows those who don't drive or just don't want to get out to participate in our classes.
Another trend the experts, whoever they may be, tell us is as the pandemic stabilizes and the number of cases decline, churches' average worship attendance will be down 20% to 30% from pre-pandemic levels. In fact I heard one statistic that says 80% of the churches will not reach pre-pandemic attendance levels. As for us, our online attendance and in person have consistent with our pre-pandemic levels with a slight increase. I'm truly thankful for that and for your faithfulness!
What do you think our church will look like a year from now? I would love to hear your ideas. What do we need to do as we "restart", begin new ministries, and start new groups like a youth group? Please email me at pastor@parklandfirst.com or call me and let me know. I eagerly await your input.
What Will The Church Look Like Post COVID?
Thursday was just a normal Thursday in an unnormal era of a pandemic. With high hopes, I excitedly was looking forward to being able to open our church fully. As everyone is getting their vaccinations and more of our world returning to normal, it gave me hope. Then it happened, our county moved back a phase 2 with more restrictions due to rising infection rates. Then Thursday comes and I was told that there's a rumor that we may move back to Phase 1 of Covid-19 restrictions. Oh No!!! Hopefully that's all it is, just a rumor.
As things get back to (new)normal, what will our church look like in the near future? That's been on mind a lot lately. I know that some trends seen in churches around the nation may come to us here at PFBC. For instance, digital church strategies will complement in-person gatherings. This is a must for us because we have regular "attenders" online that don't live in our area, but are connected to our church. Zoom small group meetings allows those who don't drive or just don't want to get out to participate in our classes.
Another trend the experts, whoever they may be, tell us is as the pandemic stabilizes and the number of cases decline, churches' average worship attendance will be down 20% to 30% from pre-pandemic levels. In fact I heard one statistic that says 80% of the churches will not reach pre-pandemic attendance levels. As for us, our online attendance and in person have consistent with our pre-pandemic levels with a slight increase. I'm truly thankful for that and for your faithfulness!
What do you think our church will look like a year from now? I would love to hear your ideas. What do we need to do as we "restart", begin new ministries, and start new groups like a youth group? Please email me at pastor@parklandfirst.com or call me and let me know. I eagerly await your input.
As always, Onward and Upward!