by Emily Swanson

Top of mind today for most pastors and church leaders is how the physical separation caused by the pandemic has impacted long-term connections with their congregants. Leaders are left wondering will people come back to church when this is all over. Our church health assessment allies at Holy Cow! Consulting (HC!C) have some interesting insights to share after surveying 3,000 congregants over the last four months.

  • How do they feel about the church? More than 70 percent clearly agree their church has done a good job adapting to help people stay connected, and 74 percent say this time away has made them more grateful for their church.
  • What do they miss? Forty-six percent said they miss worship, while 30 percent said they miss seeing other congregation members and friends. Interestingly, there is no close third place in this question. This data suggests that if people have worship and interpersonal connections, it is far more important than program ministries (education, classes, various ministries).
  • How are they doing? Responders credit their friends and family for their current spiritual health and growth at a higher rate than worship or other church offerings. At the same time, 39 percent have a mental health concern for themselves or a member of their household.
  • What about regathering? Twenty-two percent of the responders indicated they will not be returning to church at this time regardless of the safety measures that are taken. Most of those are waiting for a vaccine or a decrease in the number of COVID cases. Of those who would attend, more than 64 percent would require masks and social distancing. Over 52 percent would be willing to give more financially to cover the costs of sanitation and other COVID safety measures for their church.

If you would like to find out how your congregation is doing, a church health assessment is a great way to move from intuition or speculation to real-time information. Holy Cow! Consulting (www.holycowconsulting.com) has been conducting congregational assessments for more than 25 years.

Congregational health data is valid, reliable, and benchmarked. NL Moore & Associates (www.nlmoore.com) has used the congregational assessment tool (CAT) for more than a decade with exceptional results. If you are interested in learning more about the health of your congregation during these unprecedented times, please reach out for more information to ann@nlmoore.com.