As more churches return to in-person services, new LifeWay Research reflects on the creative services of COVID-19.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, churches responded to serve churchgoers in a variety of ways, and churchgoers are overwhelmingly proud of how their church handled the crisis.
According to Nashville-based Lifeway Research, almost 9 in 10 Protestant churchgoers (86%) say they are proud of how their church has responded during the coronavirus pandemic, with 58% strongly agreeing. Few (9%) disagree.
Inversely, few (12%) say they are ashamed of how their church responded to the crisis. More than 4 in 5 (84%) disagree, with 73% strongly disagreeing.
Some churchgoers, however, are more likely than others to see their church’s handling as shameful. Young adult churchgoers (aged 18 to 29) are more likely to agree (26%).
“Pastors have heard their share of second-guessing for how they have handled their church’s response to COVID-19,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “But a large majority of churchgoers agree with their church’s various responses, and few are critical overall.”
In-person Services
In January 2021, half of Protestant churchgoers (51%) didn’t attend any in-person church services. For some, that was because their congregation didn’t gather in person, which has been the case throughout the pandemic.
In late March and April of 2020, fewer than 1 in 10 Protestant churches held in-person services in a given week, according to a previous Lifeway Research study among pastors. By June, however, the majority of churches were gathering in person again. In September, 87% of churches held in-person services, but that fell to 76% of churches in January 2021.
In the latest study, Lifeway Research found attending in person has not been an option recently for ...
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