7 Ways to Help Your Church Bounce Back After the Pandemic.
By Jeff Schoch
Show Up! - Average church attendees attend somewhere between every other week and every third week. This trend has been exacerbated in recent years. The allure of youth sports, the beach, and sleeping in all compete for our time and our hearts. The truth is the church is better with you there. Being consistent will help you to grow spiritually and will impact your Christian witness. Going to church regularly will also reinforce the importance of sincere faith in your kids and family.
Be on time. - In most churches, there are folks who make it in after the service has started. If you are wandering in the door during the first song, by the time you drop the kids off at the Kids Ministry, grab a coffee, and find a seat it's now the final song before the announcements. If you prioritize corporate worship it will be significant for you but also for your family and your larger church community.
Serve - The single biggest struggle in many churches is getting people to volunteer consistently. In many communities, volunteer teams that took years to build were shattered by the pandemic and have yet to recover. The reasons people will abstain from serving are varied. Some don’t think they have the time, others assume someone else will take up the slack. I promise you there is a need in your church and a leader praying that your heart will soften and you will elect to serve in their ministry.
Give - The financial challenges brought on by Covid and inflation have created some difficult situations for many churches. The Bible teaches that we are to be generous and honor God with our offerings. If you are not giving this is a great time to begin the spiritual discipline of tithing. If you have been giving nominally, begin giving Biblically. (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/bible-commands-christians-to-tithe/)
Pray. - Pray for your church community. Ask for God’s blessing and protection for your Pastors and Leaders. Pray that God will use your faith community to make the good news known, for lives to be changed, and for God to be glorified in and through your church.
Invite - Many churches are still hovering around 60% of their pre-covid attendance. Churches have many “marketing” tools at their disposal; from social media to mailers. Despite our advances, there still is no substitute for a personal invitation. It can be difficult for new people to connect and build relationships in a church, by inviting your friends and family to church you are inviting people who already have a personal connection to your community.
Share - If your church posts to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok a really easy way to spread the word is to like and share social media posts. Due to the way the algorithms work, sharing posts will increase the reach of those posts causing more people to see the content your church is posting.