The pandemic has revealed that we do not understand the importance of being the church.

Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell wouldn’t prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Why, then, are we constantly hearing reports that the church is in decline? How should we respond when evil or failure appears to be triumphant? The church has always faced opposition. In fact, it often thrives under persecution. The faith of our fathers has persevered despite the constant pressure and attacks of the devil. Yet, we still see churches closing all around us. How can this happen if the words of Jesus are true? 

 

The simple answer is that churches struggle as a result of inward conflict rather than outward oppression. The letters to the seven churches in Revelation explain why God would remove His presence from a local church. It is usually the result of mission drift, theological compromise, or internal discord. 

 

Churches don’t simply grow old and obsolete as a result of time. There is always an underlying cause. This past pandemic has revealed a weakness in our churches and we ought to pay attention to the leading causes of decline. 

 

Forsaking the Assembling Together

 

It is no surprise that the pandemic caused a large number of people to stay home instead of attending church. Many churches, including my own, suspended services for a period of time. While some were quick to integrate new technology and livestream their services, it still meant that a lot of people were missing out on the gathering of believers.

I’ll admit that we, as church leaders, were too quick to adjust our services without considering the consequences. I struggled with preaching to an empty room even though I had years of experience recording radio broadcasts in a studio. It was even more difficult to maintain the personal touch of ministry without the opportunity to fellowship with the congregation following the service. All of this led to a growing concern that our modern understanding of the purpose for public worship gatherings had been diminished. 

 

The pandemic has revealed that we do not understand the importance of being the church. We have become too complacent in our pews. It tells us that the fellowship that was happening in many churches before the pandemic was simply the causal effect of proximity rather than the intentional effort to make disciples. 

 

Church is more than simply downloading a message into our brains. Assembling together is more than offering an audience to the pastor’s sermons. We need to be amongst other believers so that we can stir each other up to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). That is lost when we are not physically present and intentional about our fellowship as an element of worship. 

 

Sheep Without Shepherds

 

One of the most troubling consequences of the pandemic is the various churches that find themselves without pastors. I’ve heard it explained that in most cases this is the result of early retirement. While there is nothing inherently wrong with a pastor retiring from ministry, the suddenness and number of pastorless churches does raise some concerns. 

 

First, pastors have been under a great deal of pressure long before the pandemic hit. The stress that many pastors face during a normal year is often far greater than people realize. Burnout has always been a challenge for ministry leaders. This isn’t new. The pandemic just seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

 

We need to do a better job of supporting our local pastors. Outside of the cities and suburbs, the pastors that are serving in our rural communities are often isolated and alone. They may be the only preacher proclaiming the gospel in their region. Many are bivocational, overworked, and underpaid. In an area of the Northeast where fifty counties are under 3% evangelical, pastorless churches are not something that we can afford. 

 

Secondly, the amount of empty pulpits reveal that we have not done an adequate job of raising up the next generation for ministry. Churches make pastors, not seminaries. We cannot expect leaders to spawn out of thin air. They must be identified, set apart, discipled, and equipped. 

 

It is the pastor’s job to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12). That means that everyone in the church is to be a minister, not just the pastor. If God gives spiritual gifts to the church, we must conclude that He has given every church the right amount of people and gifts to accomplish their given mission. God is not withholding gifts from the congregation, those gifts are simply not being cultivated through discipleship. 

 

Outsourcing Outreach

 

As the pandemic hit, churches closed their doors. Programs ceased and events were postponed or taken off the calendar entirely. If pastors were feeling burnt out, so were the many volunteers. This left a devastating void in our mission to reach the lost. 

 

I started my pastorate last year right at the beginning of it all.  We had three weeks together before we had to shift to online services. I was worried (rightly so) that I wouldn’t be able to adequately minister to my congregation. I was so focused on doing inreach, that any talk of outreach seemed completely out of the question. How was I going to minister to the surrounding community when everyone was sheltering in place? 

 

Fortunately, our church had a thrift store attached to it. It was exactly what I needed. I placed my chair in the middle of the store and interacted with the customers as they came into the shop. It was evident that the people in our area were suffering. The pandemic had affected them in more ways than I could have imagined. They would pour out their hearts, happy to have someone who would listen. It continues to be one of the most fruitful ministries I have experienced in years.

 

I was fortunate to have a means of ministering to our community, but it still took a great deal of prayer and creative thinking to recognize the opportunity that God had given me. It would have been easy to just focus on our own internal challenges and leave the needs of our community to the local municipalities. After all, we were just doing what we were being asked to do. 

 

We cannot lose sight of our mission to be the church and reach the lost. It is more pressing now for the church to be on mission than any time before. We must maintain the mindset that we are frontline workers in the battle for the Kingdom of God. We cannot wait to treat the wounded until the crossfire has ceased. Followers of Christ must consider their lives as a living sacrifice for the mission of the church. 

 

We have a lot to learn from these past two years. We need to take a closer examination of ourselves and see why the church is in decline. It is not the external pressures but the internal struggles that will cause us to fail our mission. Hopefully we can recognize our vulnerabilities, fortify our weaknesses, and deepen our resolve to do what God has called us to do. 

 

Let us not neglect our worship gatherings, but come together with a purpose to stir up the gifts and encourage each other to love and good works.