About 11% of U.S. churchgoers have not returned to in-person worship since the COVID-19 pandemic ended in May, a new survey shows.
About 9 out of 10 churchgoers have returned to in-person worship, and Protestant pastors report that current attendance equals about 89% of pre-COVID figures in early 2020, according to the evangelical Christian survey firm Lifeway Research.
Smaller congregations have more quickly recovered pre-pandemic attendance levels, the survey found. Most small churches (58%) reported being near or above the attendance levels they had before the outbreak.
Two-thirds of Protestant congregations (67%) said they have fewer than 100 people at a typical worship service; the figure includes 30% of churches where attendance is fewer than 50 people. Seven percent of congregations reported attendance of 250 or more, while 26% averaged between 100 and 249 attendees weekly.
The return to in-person worship took some time. From a low of 10% of congregations holding in-person services in April 2020, attendance climbed to 70% in June and 87% by September of that year.
The in-person numbers dropped to 76% in January 2021, when more than 95,000 people died from COVID-19. However, 98% of churches met in person by August of that year, with attendance hitting 100% in August 2022.
“During the height of the pandemic, churches took very different approaches on whether and how to meet in person,” said Scott McConnell, Lifeway Research’s executive director. “Two years ago, almost all churches that would reopen had done so.”
While many churches saw declines during the pandemic, numbers have stabilized or even grown since then, Lifeway said.
About 23% of congregations said their worship services draw more people now than in early 2020, with 17% saying their attendance is between 90% and 100% of pre-pandemic figures.
“Even before the pandemic, growth was not what the typical church was experiencing,” Mr. McConnell said. “COVID-19 leveled church experiences to where almost no one was seeing growth. Today a noticeable number of churches are growing again. But mindsets have adjusted to the reality that growth is a gift from God and is not to be taken for granted.”
Lifeway conducted a phone survey of 1,004 Protestant pastors conducted Aug. 29-Sept. 20 using a random sample of churches. It said the survey sample provides a 95% confidence level, and the sampling error does not exceed plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Lifeway’s complete survey can be found at https://research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Pastors-Sept-2023-Attendance-Report.pdf.
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.
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