during the pandemic , including 15 % who say they normally don ’ t attend church , according to a 2021 Lifeway Research study . The pandemic continues to have a lasting impact on congregations , and most pastors say that it ’ s been a negative one , according to the survey . Half ( 51 %) say COVID-19 revealed weaknesses that already existed in their ministry , and 14 % say the pandemic caused considerable damage to the church ’ s ministry . Far fewer say COVID-19 has hardly had any ministry impact on the congregation ( 12 %) or has launched the church to greater levels of ministry ( 17 %). Most congregations have faced COVID-19 directly . Almost 9 in 10 pastors ( 88 %) say someone in their church has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the last six months . Around 1 in 5 congregations ( 21 %) say a churchgoer has died from COVID-19 . According to the research , while only 12 % of churches say they have grown numerically during the pandemic , most say they have connected with new people during the last six months . More than 4 in 5 pastors ( 83 %) say new people who haven ’ t attended their church in the past have recently attended or connected in person . Around 3 in 4 pastors ( 74 %) say they ’ ve had new people attend or connect with their church online in the past six months . Still , a third of pastors ( 33 %) say the considerable number of needs within their congregation has made it hard to focus on reaching their community . The study found that in addition to returning to in-person worship services , most U . S . Protestant pastors say their churches are also restarting small groups , student ministry and kids ministry . More small groups are meeting now , and more are meeting in person compared to last January . On average , pastors now report 79 % of their small group classes for adults that existed prior to the pandemic are now meeting , including 69 % that are gathering in person . In January 2021 , 36 % of groups that existed before COVID-19 met in person , 25 % connected online or by phone , 33 % didn ’ t meet and 6 % no longer existed . Today , 13 % of groups aren ’ t meeting and 8 % no longer exist . Lifeway noted that among churches that had student and kids ministry activities prior to the pandemic , most have restarted but have yet to see their attendance return to pre-pandemic levels . Churches also remain more hesitant to resume all activities for children compared to teenagers . Almost 9 in 10 pastors who had student ministries prior to COVID-19 say they have resumed at least some activities in person ( 86 %), including 70 % who say all their activities are back to meeting in person .
Most Pastors See Racial Diversity in the Church as a Goal but Not Reality
Most Protestant pastors say every church should strive to achieve racial diversity , but few are achieving it , according to a new study conducted by Lifeway Research . They study surveyed 1,000 Protestant pastors to learn their views on race and racial reconciliation in the church . According to Lifeway , the findings reveal some gaps among churches , including the difference between what pastors say they want for their churches as far as racial diversity and what their churches actually look like . There are also differences between what African American pastors are doing to lead their churches toward racial reconciliation and what steps white pastors are taking toward this end . Most Protestant pastors in the United States say their churches are predominantly one racial or ethnic group ( 76 %). There has been some progress over the past five years , however , as more pastors say there is at least some racial or ethnic diversity in their churches today ( 22 %) than said so in a 2017 Lifeway Research study ( 17 %).
White pastors are more likely than pastors of any other race to say their churches predominantly represent one racial or ethnic group . Furthermore , the more education a pastor has , the more likely that pastor ’ s congregation is to consist of predominantly one racial or ethnic group . Pastors with master ’ s degrees are most likely to pastor primarily monoracial churches ( 82 %) with the likelihood decreasing among pastors who have a bachelor ’ s degree ( 73 %) or no college degree ( 66 %). Lifeway explains that despite the reality that most churches are made up of predominantly one racial or ethnic group , most pastors think racial diversity should be a goal for their churches . Today , 88 % of Protestant pastors say every church should strive to achieve racial diversity . That ’ s a noticeable decrease from the 93 % who said the same in 2017 . This drop is seen most clearly when looking at the number of Protestant pastors who strongly agree that every church should strive to achieve racial diversity . Whereas 80 % of pastors strongly agreed with this statement in 2017 , only 68 % strongly agree today . At the same time , there was an increase in pastors who somewhat agree from 2017 ( 13 %) to 2021 ( 20 %). Although the majority of pastors across every age demographic say churches should strive for racial diversity , the youngest demographic of pastors ( those age 18-44 ) are more likely to say they want racially diverse churches ( 91 %) than older pastors ( 86 %). Mainline pastors are also more likely to agree churches should strive for racial diversity ( 93 %) than evangelical pastors ( 86 %). And pastors in the South are more likely to agree ( 90 %) than those in the West ( 83 %). Pastors with a master ’ s degree ( 60 %) or a doctoral degree ( 54 %) are more likely to consider racism the bigger threat to the church than pastors with no college degree ( 28 %) or a bachelor ’ s degree ( 38 %). Pastors aged 18 to 44 ( 56 %) and 55 to 64 ( 51 %) are more likely to say racism is the bigger threat to churches than pastors over the age of 65 ( 37 %). Mainline pastors ( 70 %) are significantly more likely to say racism is the more significant threat than evangelical pastors ( 38 %). According to Lifeway , one way pastors are addressing issues of racism and racial reconciliation in the church is by preaching on the topic . According to the study , 40 % of pastors say they preach on racial reconciliation several times a year , with 19 % saying they preach on it at least once a month . In 2014 , 35 % of pastors said they preached on racial reconciliation several times a year . Although the number of pastors who preach on racial reconciliation at least several times a year has increased slightly since 2014 from 55 % to 60 %, 25 % of pastors still say they rarely or never preach on racial reconciliation . The reported noted that more than any other group , African American pastors ( 97 %) see the need for racial diversity within the church , and they want to see the church striving to achieve such diversity . Meanwhile , 87 % of white pastors and 83 % of pastors of other ethnicities say the same . African American pastors are also the most likely to say they preach on racial reconciliation several times a month ( 21 %).
30 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | MAR / APR 2022