The Post-Pandemic Small Group Boom

A year ago everything stopped. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a global pandemic. Almost no one had experienced a pandemic of this degree except a few centenarians who were babies in 1918 during the Spanish Influenza. The whole world came to an abrupt halt. Originally, a few weeks of quarantine were given in exchange for normalcy resuming quickly. Then, it stretched to Easter and beyond.

COVID separated the church. The church did not “close,” because the church is a body of believers — not a building, not a service, not an institution. The church couldn’t gather for in-person meetings: worship, small groups, or anything else, but the church never closed.

Many small groups went to Zoom or other online platforms — synchronous or asynchronous. While many groups tolerated meeting online, some have discovered the opportunity of online groups to connect to others who are far from them and far from God. But, Zoom fatigue set in quickly. Online groups are just not the same as in-person groups. And, we found our way around that issue too by making online groups completely different and calling them by another name.

But, right now you are in an unprecedented moment – Small Groups are about to boom!

People have been separated and in their houses for a long time. Of course, restrictions and attitudes vary across North America. While some churches still haven’t regathered for groups or worship, I know of one church that never stopped their in-person services. I’m not judging right or wrong. I’m just saying “different” restrictions and attitudes. While this is also my first global pandemic, this is where I see things going in 2021 with small groups. Read More

Churches certainly should be preparing to launch more small groups in the fall. Whether these groups should be in-person, online, or hybrid, synchronous or asynchronous, will be determined by what happens over the summer and in the fall. I see a definite disconnect between articles like this one in which the authors are talking post-pandemic recovery and what the health experts are talking--new surge. 

I read and evaluate a steady stream of information on the COVID-19 pandemic from reliable sources. What I am reading is that if Americans do not lower their guard and if they get vaccinated, we might dodge a new surge. Working against this outcome is that COVID-19 fatigue is spreading and people are relaxing their vigilance,  the more infectious British variant of COVID-19 has become the dominant variant in the United States, this variant is spreading among the younger, healthier segment of the population, a number of states have relaxed their restrictions prematurely, and a segment of the population is refusing to take the vaccine. 42% of the vaccine doses in my state went unused last week. Allen White may be overly-optimistic in his article. According to health experts, if Europe experiences a surge, the United States will experience a surge about four weeks later. This is a reoccurring pattern. Right now Europe is in the midst of a new surge.

In my state and region small gatherings involving two or more households, gatherings like extended family get-togethers, barbecues, birthday parties, and the like have been identified as one of the primary ways that COVID-19 is transmitted.  Nationally sports events and day care centers are playing a significant role in the spread of the new variants. Among the high risk activities that have been identified are working out at the gym, indoor dining, and drinking in a bar. 

Churches need to be monitoring the changing situation and to be prepared for a variety of scenarios. They should be planning for the worst case scenario as well as the best case scenario. If anything the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us is the importance of being flexible and adaptable. Churches must  be nimble on their feet and able to change course at the drop of a hat. This is easier for some churches than others.