Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Moving the Church into the 21st Century

 

 

    For decades church attendance has been declining. While there are some exceptions, generally speaking, in-person/in sanctuary attendance is becoming an experience of the past.

   The current Covid 19 situation has caused many churches to cease operation and also has caused many people to stay home from church.

   Many churches offer online streaming services, some have radio broadcasts. I am anticipating that by the time there is a vaccine for this Covid 19 many folk who previously had good habit and routine of physical attendance at church will have lost that habit and will remain at home on Sundays.

   I further anticipate that churches that can pivot from a physical presence worship experience to an online service will be the churches that will survive long-term into the 21st Century.

This is not anything to feel bewildered about.

Regarding corporate shareholders...

“Globally, a significant majority of meetings have fewer than 100 attendees, and in many markets the attendance level is declining. Smaller companies may see only a handful of attendees, if any.” (see source 1 at bottom) Yet the shareholders who do not attend in person remain shareholders in full with right to vote by proxy. They are not less of a shareholder because they are not physically present.

Viewership of sports on television is measured in the millions whereas an arena or stadium holds less than 100,000 in attendance. (See source 2)

And, in 2019 the Beatles album ranked number 3 on Billboard though they have not provided a concert for over fifty years. (source 3)

One is not less a fan just because they have not been in person at a sporting event or a concert.

Likewise, one can be fully Christian, enjoy a meaningful experience, and be inspired by an online service. It is definitely the church that can make the pivot from physical focus to online that will do well as time goes on.

Even the idea of church membership or affiliation may move outside of the physical sanctuary. The church that can extend its affiliation structure will gain new relationships.

 

During 1969-1970 my grandmother would listen to a Christian broadcast on radio station WCMR in Dunlap Indiana. I could tell that she was fully engaged spiritually with that broadcast. Having left her home church of Cedar Hill Baptist church in Lafollette Tennessee and arriving here, she could not find a physical church in which she felt comfortable. But that radio program was fully and totally the experience that fed her spiritually.

 

There is nothing lacking in an online service or a radio service.

As time goes on and younger generations feel less of a need for a 20th century, physical building experience, we have opportunities to reach far many more people than ever our buildings could hold.

   Churches that are willing to let go of the 20th century model for church stand the better chance of stepping into the 21st century church opportunity.

 

 Sources

 

1.

(https://configio.blob.core.windows.net/media/em_ICSACanada/Attachments/Document%20Library/CGQ/Summer/The_future_of_shareholder_meetings.pdf)

 

2.

 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/619023/number-tv-viewers-sporting-events-usa/)

 

3.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8532282/the-beatles-abbey-road-returns-billboard-200-chart-top-3