Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 on the Church in America

As we slowly emerge out from sheltering in place to a “new” normal, what will the new normal look like for churches in America?

As I write, there are states, regions, cities, and towns either “reopening” or gearing up to reopen. This means the reemergence of life from the grasps of “shelter in place.”

Thus, people are going back to work, dining in at a restaurant, working out at a gym, receiving a haircut, and even gathering together with the church—but they are doing so with new policies and procedures that seek to protect each other from contracting the virus.

So as we slowly emerge out from sheltering in place to a “new” normal—which is the term people use—what will the new normal look like for churches in America?

Before I discuss both short-term and long-term effects that COVID-19 will have on the church, I want to address some of my counter-thoughts to what I (as well as many) have heard throughout the crisis the “new” normal will be. Read More