Of Churches and Restaurants
At the height of the pandemic churches applied for PPP Loans and relied on Zoom, Facebook and YouTube to deliver the Sunday Service. Many technology-challenged individuals were pushed into the proverbial social media pool. And, like the initial cold-water shock of jumping in, people finally warmed up to the new way of doing church.
But, for every action, there is a reaction. We are now seeing a new phenomenon – almost half the congregation is staying home. It is not yet clear whether folks are watching the service on-line at their own convenience, or if they have found other things to do on Sunday.
I find this situation worthy of a deep dive – not by me, but by skilled analysts. My own anecdotal observation looks at the restaurant business. People got used to “take-out” meals during the pandemic. But now restaurants owners are complaining they can’t get enough help to handle the crowd of customers that want the dining experience. I imagine that people who are dining out this weekend may be the same ones that prefer the online “YouTube” church.
People are back to the restaurants because they like the experience of better tasting food and friendly wait staff. Some people get to know the restaurant owner, which makes the dining experience even more relational.
I think it is important to study why people are back to restaurants but only half have returned to church. It could mean that the hybrid church service is here to stay. It could also mean a major decline in future membership, especially for our smaller churches. The problem with the hybrid model is that you can easily church shop. That large non-denominational church in town has a dynamic pastor and a professional praise band. They meet in the old movie theater, so they have great lighting and a sound system that works well for YouTube. If I’m new to town and checking out churches online, which one will I choose? And it is not all about presentation. I’ve heard from more than one person who prefers to watch the church service of their childhood.
Technology has changed, and will continue to change, how the church functions. There is a blessing and a curse with these changes. Grandparents can facetime grandchildren 2000 miles away. A blessing. Meanwhile at dinner, two teens haven’t even looked up from their phones. A curse. What these changes mean for the church will depend largely on how well we study behavior and embrace technology.