Before the COVID-19 crisis, churches were already seeing pews begin to empty. Polls have long indicated that Americans identifying as Christians are declining and fewer new people are joining churches. Those who do attend were attending less often and were becoming less active overall.

What, then, are churches to expect when COVID-19 is over? Will congregations ever come back to worship God together again?

These are some of the hard questions churches across the nation are asking themselves. Pastor Beau Underwood admitted in a blog post that he is “afraid”, but is staying hopeful by praying “that absence will have made the heart grow fonder.” Like his colleagues, he is “deeply worried about the physical and spiritual well-being of God’s people.”

There is some good news coming out of the pandemic. A survey found that churches are seeing higher “attendance” for their online weekend services since social distancing began. Churches are able to use platforms like Facebook Live and Zoom to broadcast their sermons, musical ministry, and more to a larger audience. The ease of these live videos, where you don’t have to get ready early in the morning and drive down to the physical building, is part of the reason for the uptick. They can also worship on their own schedule.

There still are problems with this though. Financial giving is trending significantly down, and many ministries have also been suspended. People are missing connections with other believers that help them stay committed to the church.

Even as some states start to open, most people don’t feel safe in public places anymore. People have been told to wear face masks in public, to have at least six feet of distance between people, to use hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes regularly, and to wash their hands often.

Paul Sims, Minister of Music and Worship at First Baptist Church of Corbin, recently said, “At First Baptist, we are carefully considering information garnered from various sources. Including ‘Guidelines for Opening Up American Again,’ from The White House and Centers for Disease Control, TeamKentucky Covid-19 Response from the Office of the Governor, and from our denomination, The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. With this information at hand, our church council will determine what protocols will need to be in place before an opening date can be announced. Protocols will include things like reduced capacity, physical distancing, and cleaning and sanitizing strategies. The church council will also determine a timeline for reopening our various activities.”

“Like others, I have talked to, I assumed that our first Sunday back to church would be something like Easter, with a church full of people glad to be there. Reality, I’m afraid, will be something altogether different. Rather than one grand re-opening, church activities will resume gradually, over a period of months. During the time of shut-down, and during the period of re-opening, we will learn new ways to be the church, to continue the work of Jesus in our lives and in our community.”

Churches are taking this seriously, and trying to provide a clean and safe area for their congregations to come back to. Whether or not people will, though, is still up for discussion. Churches need to start preparing now for when they can open up again.