The COVID pandemic finally appears to be receding and churches everywhere are taking a deep breath.
Church leaders, ministers, and staff have spent the better part of two years changing on the fly, restructuring services, updating, and learning new technologies, and expending extra energy at a rate unimaginable just a few months back. Some changes will drift away and be forgotten, others like increased use of social media and video streaming have opened new avenues of communication that are likely to become key means of reaching churched and un-churched audiences.
So now is the perfect time to stop reacting and move to a time of review, revision, and re-centering on our post-pandemic church life.
A recent publication from “aware3” provides some interesting insights and resources to help churches evaluate and plan for their post-pandemic missions. They breakdown their plan into three sections: A Shift in Perspective, Time to Evaluate, and Futurize Your Church.
Virtually everyone looks at the world a little differently now, but people are ready to get back into the world and engage with other people. They cite research that says 52% of churched adults still believe in-person church is best once COVID restrictions are lifted. However, nearly two-thirds believe churches should continue to use digital resources as a bridge to spiritual formation and discipleship, and 7-in-10 see digital resources as important to engage their neighborhoods.
Other key considerations shift by age group. For instance, 71% of Boomers (1946-1964) prefer physical gatherings, while Millennials (1984-1998) say hybrid church just as much as physical church meets their needs. Gen Z (13–17-year-olds), after a year of streaming and distance learning, will be looking for ways to contribute to real church life.
To evaluate your congregation’s focus “aware3” provides survey tools to help refocus on Communications, Giving, Relationships and Participation from emotional, spiritual, mission and technology perspectives.
And to help futurize your church they suggest four steps:
- Simplify and Centralize. Start with your church’s brand and how your message is received. Make things easy on yourself and your people. Be true to who you are. A great brand is about building a culture that builds bridges between who you are and those you are trying to reach. Church Brand Guide
- Be Clear, and Consistent. Keep the communication streams open. People want to know what’s going on so be transparent about your goals on a regular basis through newsletters, texting, social media, handwritten notes, etc.
- Invest in People and Tools. Invest in tools that help consolidate and streamline processes, communication, and connection. Use data through surveys to help inform and boost confidence in decision-making. Try new things. Getting involved in the community is about reaching our community with this good news, using means that are available and legitimate. 10 Ways Your Church Can Get Involved in Your Community.
- Engage. Look local and connect with your community. Analyze what local businesses, organizations, or groups resonate with your church. People connect emotionally with people. 7 Great Ways Churches Can Engage With Their Communities
As you look to your post-pandemic church, consider your path forward as an exciting time of change. And be reassured by this statistic that, “90% of churched adults say they primarily engaged with the same church they were committed to before the pandemic.”