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Lifeway Research: Almost All Churches and Most Churchgoers Are Now Gathering in Person

lifeway research gathering in person

More U.S. Protestant churches are gathering in person since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and pastors say most churchgoers have returned as well.

Almost all U.S. Protestant pastors (98%) say their church met in person in August, according to a new Lifeway Research study. This marks the highest percentage of churches holding in-person services since March 2020, when COVID-19 became a national health issue.

During the first week of March last year, 99% of Protestant churches met in person. By the end of the month, only 7% did so, according to a previous Lifeway Research study. A majority of churches didn’t start holding in-person services again until June 2020. By September 2020, 87% met physically, but that dropped to 76% in January 2021, according to Lifeway Research studies conducted at the time. In August 2021, however, only 2% of churches did not meet in person at all.

“Every church’s path has been different during the pandemic, and each stage of resuming specific aspects of ministry is significant,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Worshiping together as a physical assembly of believers in Jesus Christ is an important element of the Christian faith. For almost all Protestant churches, this stage of ministry is now active again, though other aspects of ministry may not be.”

Return of the Churchgoer?

Earlier this year, even as fewer churches held in-person services, 91% of churchgoers told Lifeway Research they planned on attending church services as much as they did prior to the pandemic or even more once COVID-19 was no longer an active threat to people’s health.

By September 2020, U.S. Protestant pastors reported most churchgoers had returned. The average church drew 63% of their pre-pandemic attendance levels. That dipped slightly in January 2021 to 60%. By August, the average pastor saw 73% of their church members in person on Sunday morning.

“Many pastors and church leaders are anxious for the whole congregation to gather physically together,” said McConnell. “Worship attendance is improving, but there is still a large gap between today’s in-person attendance and pre-COVID levels.”

While some churches are still below 50% of their January 2020 attendance levels, others report growing during the pandemic. Almost 1 in 8 (13%) say they had less than half of their pre-COVID-19 crowd in August. That percentage is down substantially from earlier in the pandemic. In both September 2020 and January 2021, more than 1 in 4 churches had less than half their normal Sunday morning crowds.

A plurality of pastors (35%) report attendance between 50% and 70% in August 2021. For 30% of pastors, late summer congregations were 70% to less than 90%. Another 1 in 8 (13%) were 90% to 100% of their previous levels, while 9% say they had more people in attendance in August than they did prior to COVID-19. Only 2% of pastors reported growth in January this year.