5 Ways Local Church Ministry Will Never Be the Same

The Church has gone through a radical shift over the past year during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. I remember when we first closed our church doors and thought we were just taking a break for a couple of weeks. We looked forward to “getting back to normal.”

Even when a vaccine is made available, church will not go back exactly the way it was before. It may look closer than it is right at the moment but some things will never be the same.

Here are five changes in the way local church ministry.

1. Greater reliance on technology. Many churches thought they were pretty tech savvy before but we all had to learn a lot over the past few months. Other pastors and churches that were not interested in an online presence had their minds changed for them. Even once in-person worship services are completely safe, there will be a reliance on technology and online sharing.
2. Less loyalty to physical attendance. While many people have really missed attending services, there were others that enjoyed staying home, especially with an online option. Those who once pushed through when they didn’t feel well or the weather was not nice, will now at least consider staying home.
3. Less reliance on the building. Many equate “the church” with the building. Going to church is going to the building. We were forced to close our buildings and find other options for Christian ministry. This pandemic may have helped break (or at least weaken) the building-reliance on ministry.
4. Greater openness to change. I joke that “we don’t mind change as long as it’s the same kind of change we always have.” Many churches (as with other organizations) are known to be change resistant. However, this pandemic has demonstrated that congregations can and will change, even over a relatively short period of time.
5. Less reliance on programs. How do you find a good church? You look for the one with the most programs. Or do you? Ministry has been equated with programs. Many programs have had to shut down or at least be reinvented. Organized gatherings were replaced with more organic relationships. Programs will return but may not retain their former importance.

What other changes do you think will happen in local church ministry?

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