Most churches in the United States (76%) met in person in January. But that percentage dropped 11% from September 2020, which indicates that the early winter surge of Covid cases led to churches stepping back into a temporary state of being “online only.”

We are just weeks away from the one-year mark when Covid-19 disrupted the world and forced us all into a season of quarantine. Twelve months later, with most schools and restaurants reopened, we’ve learned how to go on with life while seeking to mitigate the spread of the disease and protect frontline medical workers from being overwhelmed with cases.

The majority of churches have reopened as well, but ministries geared toward adults, students, and children have lagged behind worship services. Even as vaccinations are on the rise and hospitalizations are falling, pastors are unsure about the future. Here is a snapshot of the latest from Lifeway Research (see all the findings here, and another summary from Aaron Earls.).

General Church Attendance

Most churches in the United States (76%) met in person in January. But that percentage dropped 11% from September 2020, which indicates that the early winter surge of Covid cases led to churches stepping back into a temporary state of being “online only.”

Even though most churches are meeting again, the difference from a year ago is drastic. Of the churches meeting in person, a third of pastors say they are averaging only 50% of their attendance a year before. Another third say their attendance is at least 70% of what it was in January 2020. Within that number, only 8% of pastors say they are 90% or above of their attendance from the first month of 2020. (See the full report for some of the denominational and regional differences.) In short, for the vast majority of churches in the United States, in-person gatherings have resumed, but the number of attendees is significantly lower.

Read More