The estimates vary about church attendance in the future compared to pre-COVID numbers, but many researchers rightly suspect that some pre-COVID attenders won’t be returning to church. That reality doesn’t give us permission to neglect the non-returnees, however. We may not devote all our time to this work, but we do need to give them some attention. Here’s why:
- Neglected people become forgotten people. It just happens that way, even for the best of us who don’t want it to happen. Few of us carry for very long a burden for forgotten attenders.
- The non-returnees are still created in the image of God and in need of a growing relationship with their Creator. I realize that’s a spiritualized reason, but that’s why we do much of what we do in ministry. We want all people to know and follow the Lord.
- They are a ready-made prospect list for churches too often internally focused. In my experience as an evangelism professor, I meet many believers who don’t really know many people who need to be reached. Reaching out to non-returnees may or may not require evangelism, but it will require an outward focus.
- Some of the non-returnees are hurting for various reasons, and they’ve not reached out to the church. Their reasons could be many—and not even valid ones at times—but they might still welcome ministry if we take the initiative to connect with them.
- Some are non-believers. In many of these cases, they were already attending only sporadically prior to COVID—and the pandemic only expedited their departure from sitting under the gospel in a local congregation. They still need Jesus, though.
- Their presence (or lack thereof) ought to call us to persistent prayer on their behalf. The likelihood we will simply convince them to return is not very good; God will have to do the convincing. He often does that on the wings of our prayers.
- Every church I know needs to work at connecting their members more deeply with the body. Anything we can do to strengthen our assimilation strategies will be a plus for most congregations.
My suggestion? Enlist a team of outgoing, people-oriented, strong-shouldered members who can pursue the non-returnees, reconnect with them, hear them out, and prayerfully encourage them to return. You might select a churchwide team, or you might ask each small group/life group to create their own team. Rejoice with every single person who eventually returns.
Right now, Kentucky is hard hit by COVID-19. My county has been identified as a high transmission county. To make matters worse, the people of the county are divided on how to response to the pandemic. Some get vaccinated, wear face masks, and avoid large indoor gatherings and poorly ventilated spaces as recommended by the county health department; others ignore the CHD’s recommendations. They act as if there is no pandemic. My church lost a member to COVID-19 this past week. He developed pneumonia; one lung collapsed. He was put on a ventilator and did not recover from his bout with the virus. My church requires face masks, encourages vaccination, and has air scrubbers in the sanctuary. Sunday school classes are advised to meet online if their usual meeting place is poorly ventilated. For example, it is small, has no windows, and if it has windows, they cannot be opened. Sunday school classes are asked to leave their doors open. But as I noticed this past Sunday, one class was not following this recommendation. It closed its door. As long as conditions that help to spread the virus in the community and at church persist, people who have returned on health and safety grounds are not going to return. We certainly should maintain contact with them and offer worship services, including communion services, and small groups on cable TV and online, which my church does. Having a ministry team to work with them is also a good idea. However, we are not going to coax them back into church until they are satisfied IN THEIR OWN MINDS, it is safe to return to church. They are not going to injure their health. If we love them as we love ourselves, we will understand their concerns. We will not dismiss them as some pastors and churches do. One way we found to encourage some people to return is to engage them in a ministry once a month or more frequently. For example, we invite them to help distribute food boxes to the food insecure one day a month. We offer them a steppingstone. Online small groups enable people to stay connected. Recognizing and promoting a ministry in which they are involved outside of the church is a third way. It will take time and a downturn in COVID-19 infections to get them back in the sanctuary. We must not forget that if they are believers and have the Holy Spirit, they are in the church. The Holy Spirit unites us to Jesus and to each other in the Body of Christ. We all are part of the Body of Christ irrespective of whether we are meeting together in the same room, It is not occupying the same space that unites us but the Spirit of God. This is something of which we not only need to remind ourselves but also our members and attendees who have not yet returned to the sanctuary. We are also being presented with a marvelous opportunity to form those who have returned and those who have yet to return into genuine disciples of Jesus. Following Jesus is not just about going to church. Far from it. I would add to your list an ongoing discipleship course made up of video-recorded modules that members and attendees can watch in their Sunday school classes, in their in-person or online small groups, or at home by themselves. It would emphasize how we can be disciples as individuals and as a small group or a church.
I invariably make a mistake in my comments. This time it was “divided on how to response to the pandemic,” which should have been “divided on how to respond to the pandemic.” Traditionally a flaw is woven into a Persian rug since God alone is perfect. I habitually make a mistake in my comments. I may be unconsciously following the same tradition.