As unreal as it may seem, we are now at the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our church met in person for the last time on March 15, before we were mandated to close for over two months. Even though we began gathering in person again on Memorial Day weekend in 2020, the last 10 months have looked much different than anything we experienced before.<\/p>\n
While I\u2019m not an expert by any means, I want to share three things I\u2019ve learned through the pandemic.<\/p>\n
1. Worshiping with the local church is a blessing.<\/strong><\/p>\n While I would have certainly affirmed this reality before March 2020, the past year has revealed just how much of a blessing the local church is. Almighty God has bestowed a gift upon us in the ability to gather with other believers who are joined together as a local church. I didn\u2019t realize how much I valued this until I found myself standing in a mostly empty sanctuary preaching to a camera for two months. I\u2019ve pledged to myself that I will never again take for granted the ability we have to gather as believers to worship, fellowship and open the Word together.<\/p>\n 2. The excuse \u201cI don\u2019t have time\u201d doesn\u2019t work.<\/strong><\/p>\n I found myself saying this often. \u201cWell, I\u2019m just so busy at the church. We have so many activities. I just can\u2019t spend as much time in the Word and in prayer as I\u2019d like.\u201d Then, suddenly, all the church activities ground to a halt. Summer plans and events were canceled. While the early days of the pandemic were among the busiest I\u2019ve ever experienced in ministry, eventually I settled into a new routine. And I found that I waste far more time on social media and games than I care to admit. This required a pretty serious heart-check on my own part. I\u2019m learning, slowly, how to be a better steward of the time I have.<\/p>\n 3. Some folks will not return to church.<\/strong><\/p>\n While the first two lessons here are primarily personal, I\u2019ve had to grapple with this important reality over the past few months. When we first resumed in-person worship, I kept saying to myself, \u201cEven though our in-person attendance is low, it will come back quickly. Folks will return.\u201d While many (I could say most) have, some have not. As I\u2019ve seen folks resume many \u201cnormal\u201d activities, I\u2019ve noticed that some \u2014 who are comfortable sending their kids to school in-person, eating in restaurants or going to a local gym to work out \u2014 have not returned to attending church. And despite assurances like, \u201cDon\u2019t worry, pastor. We\u2019ll be back someday,\u201d I remain a bit skeptical.<\/p>\n Despite my skepticism, I am not discouraged, however. While I wish everyone would come back, I\u2019ve learned that those who do return are committed to the mission of the church. I believe we\u2019ll see some folks return as more people are vaccinated and mask mandates are lifted, but I do think the reality is that many churches will see fewer people return in-person for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n Continuing Question<\/strong><\/p>\n Every pastor will still have to wrestle with some questions as we move into a post-pandemic world. These two are important for us to think through:<\/p>\n