How did COVID-19 affect the church in the United States? How did pastors cope with the pandemic and its aftermath? Most of us understand the impact on a micro level – our local church or association of churches – but we don’t understand the impact on a macro level – the church in the United States.

Christianity Today published a year-long study of 1,164 pastors around the United States in 2023. The authors also utilized 17 focus groups with participants from 27 states. Finally, they conducted 9 case studies in 9 different cities to arrive at their results. The results have been published in an article entitled “The Impact of COVID-19 on the American Church.” If you want to read the complete report, you can access it here. https://pages.churchsalary.com/covidstudy

After reading the report, I have six summary observations about the results.

The loss of presence in ministry was extremely painful and disorienting for pastors.

“I’m a pastor, not a CEO. I want to be with my people, and it’s extremely hard not to be,” one pastor said. Ministry was frozen, and pastors felt isolated. They mourned the loss of personal connections with people. Telephone calls and ZOOM meetings didn’t satisfy the need to be physically present with their people. Pastors were lonely. One said, “At work, it was a big empty church on Sunday. I tried to keep things going administratively, but nobody came, and it was just lonely as all getup.” In focus groups, many pastors cried as they shared what they said was the hardest times they have ever experienced in ministry.

COVID exposed the political polarization and spiritual immaturity already present in many churches.

Political polarization tore many churches apart. Pastors were put in an impossible situation. They “couldn’t please anybody.” How to manage pandemic restrictions led to severe tensions in churches. Pastors couldn’t win. Those who tried to remain neutral said they were “constantly attacked by both sides for not taking a side.” Navigating mask policies caused members on both sides to leave, no matter what churches decided. There was no middle ground in many churches. One out of every three churches declined in attendance, with as many as 1/3 or 1/2 not returning after the pandemic. More churches closed than opened. One church lost 2/3s of its membership. Another fired the pastor for asking people to wear masks. Most pastors were shocked at how rapidly people turned against one another. One pastor said that “it revealed people for who they are.” Another said, “Where two or three are gathered, one of them is really mean.”

Churches that adapted quickly to new ways of offering church outside the walls experienced growth.

Churches that rapidly adopted new technology to serve people found success. Many churches took the opportunity to evaluate church programming and jettison programs that were inefficient or unproductive. COVID revealed that churches relied on traditional events and programming far too much. Churches that developed ministries outside the walls of the building saw positive outcomes in attendance and giving. Those who stopped doing church the way they had been doing church and implemented innovative ministries were more successful. Those who found it difficult to adapt to reaching people outside their four walls struggled. One pastor said, “I almost feel like we started our church over again, you know, we’re like back to basics.” Surprisingly, many saw giving remain stable or even increase. One pastor said COVID was a “net gain” as they shut down failed programs and found new ways to serve people.

The severity of state government restrictions did not significantly affect local church attendance or giving.

We might assume churches in states with greater government restrictions would have worse attendance outcomes. However, the study found that the “severity and length” of state pandemic restrictions had no significant impact on church attendance and giving. Blue states or Red states did not determine the dividing line between healthy and hurting churches. Instead, the line was drawn through the middle of each church. The way a church handled the conflict determined the success or failure of the church. Generally, the churches that could stay neutral and unified fared better in the end.

Constant criticism and interpersonal conflict drove many pastors to mental and emotional exhaustion.

For many pastors, the pandemic was “the most mentally exhausting time” of their careers. Pastors felt like “punching bags” for church members. One pastor said, “The political climate awakened a feeling of being extra critical of pastors” about every decision. People picked sides about almost every decision, leaving pastors stuck in the middle. “The most challenging thing was to make right decisions knowing there was no way to win,” one pastor said. In 2020, only 1/3 of the pastors said they were handling the stress “very or extremely well.” Over half are still struggling now to handle the stress well. One in six pastors seriously considered resigning from the ministry.

Ministry workload increased significantly for most pastors.

Because churches no longer gathered in large groups, pastors were forced to do more work one-on-one. Almost every pastor said that the pandemic increased their workload significantly. “I can’t keep up the pace that I have during the pandemic,” one pastor observed. New technology needs introduced a steep learning curve, with 70% of pastors reporting an increase in their technology responsibilities. Over half reported an increase in pastoral care and counseling. Adapting to changing guidelines and people’s needs almost weekly was exhausting. One pastor said, “I would love to have a week when I’m not adapting. I feel like I’m adapting and adjusting every single week. … I’m tired. I don’t want to have to adapt every single week.”

I know one thing for sure. Pastors need our prayers.