Happenings 30 April 2020

As you may expect, there has been a lot of thinking and writing recently about how covid-19 will change the face of churches going forward. And make no mistake, it will. The question of ‘how?’ is another thing altogether! I was reading a recent article by American, Michael Frost who noted that since covid-19 hit, church growth (in terms of numbers viewing online services) as increased by 300%! On the surface of it, this is amazing. And yet Michael sounds a warning note. He writes … “Back then, “church shoppers” had to drive around to their few favourite churches to try what each one had to offer on any given Sunday. The bigger ones advertised on billboards and television, but it was still a “try-before-you-buy” arrangement. Then, with the Internet and the proliferation of church websites and advertising campaigns, church shoppers could check out who was preaching or what was on offer (like viewing a menu) and then attend whichever service caught their fancy. But they still had to get in their car and turn up to the service. Now that all these church services are online every Sunday, they don’t even need to leave the comfort of their own home. Church shopping has taken on a whole new meaning. It’s UberEats for churches … My grave fear is that this spike in online attendance will be as illusory as the growth of megachurches last century. It will serve to mask the reality that less and less people are devoted to a wholehearted commitment to Christ, and more and more people see church as an event, a shot in the arm, a convenient uplift that doesn’t challenge their everyday life in any way.’ Frost goes on to note the difference between a consumer church and a church that is truly missional. In consumer church, ‘church is seen as a dispenser of religious goods and services. People come to church to be “fed”, to have their needs met through quality programs, and to have the professionals teach their children about God.’ In contrast, missional church is ‘a body of people sent on mission, who gather in community for worship, community encouragement and teaching from the Word in addition to what they are self-feeding themselves throughout the week.’ With consumer church, the catch cry is “I go to church”; with missional church it is, “I am the church”. May we use all the technology and opportunities that God has placed before us. But let us also not lose touch with what being the church actually is. (Source: https://mikefrost.net/coronavirus-could-set-the-church-back-25-years/).

In Him,
Murray