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What can Church Learn From Lockdown?

Heather Khoo
23 June 2020 11:56

With COVID-19 still making headlines I wonder what history will say about how the Church responded? Was it a time when lives were changed and communities reached? Or was it the beginning of the end for many congregations, with Christianity being seen as irrelevant and out-dated?

At Church Pages we work with many churches, and here are 3 things that we've learned:

1. Live services have changed the face of church, with online church attendance outstripping normal Sunday attendance

Our Church Pages' websites have seen a surge in the number of people attending their online weekly services. And these churches are not alone, according to Tearfund research, a quarter of adults in the UK have watched or listened to a religious service since lockdown, 5% of whom have never gone to church.

At the beginning of lockdown we were very busy facilitating online services for our churches, but now everything seems to be running smoothly. We have encouraged all our new sites to launch with "live services" so that they can not only connect with their congregation, but also their wider community. I have loved watching our church's service on YouTube and seeing the live chat taking place with comments from people who've never been to church, but are actively searching for answers.

The question remains whether there is a space for live services after lockdown. Oddly enough with engagement as high as it has been there may well be an argument for churches to retain an online service. This might be a lot of work, but if lockdown has shown us one thing it is that there is a spiritual hunger that is not being met.

2. Attendance at online courses such as Alpha or the Marriage Course have increased

Both with the cohort of churches that we support, and indeed nationally, there has been a rise in the number of people engaging with online church courses. Holy Trinity Brompton has double the number of participants than usual on its latest Alpha course, and their marriage course has attracted 5,500 couples, compared to their usual 100!

Whether this is because people are searching for answers to questions about faith or relationships is unclear, but lockdown has provided the time and opportunity for more people to look at the deeper questions of life.

3. Engagement with your website is key

Jesus said in Luke 10 that "The harvest is ripe, but the workers are few", and I do believe that this sentiment still has pertinence today because online church takes commitment. But what we have seen since lockdown is that there has been a spiritual awakening with people re-engaging with their faith, or exploring faith for the first time.

With this renewed interest in faith then it is essential that your website is:

  • Easy to navigate on all devices

Ask someone outside of the congregation, who is not a Christian, to look at your website and feed back on how easy it was to get around the site, and what they can now tell you about your church.

  • Relevant to your community

With all the fear and uncertainty surrounding COVID this is the ideal opportunity for you to ensure that your website engages with the unchurched. As Christians we know that Jesus offers the peace that the world cannot give. However, does your website get that message across? Are there activities that those outside of the church could engage in? And do you have a section in your website where you look at the deeper issues in life? Or at least link to sites that explore these topics well? Podcasts are an excellent way of doing this, and are easy to add to your website.

  • Professional and well designed

A well designed website engenders trust and research has shown that online consumer trust is intricately linked with site design. The look of your church's website is evaluated within the first few seconds, and a poorly designed site can lead to a high bounce rate, whereas a well designed site can engage people and lead them to where you want them to go.

Conclusion

Looking over the past 3 months we have seen a significant upturn with people engaging with churches. This seems to have been mirrored nationally and led to a revolutionary approach to "Church online". The success of this new approach cannot be underestimated, and with interest in Christianity at an unprecedented level. churches must do all that they can to ensure that their website is "fit for purpose" and encourages their community to come and join in from the safety of their home.

Will online church be continued after lockdown? I'd like to think so because despite the effort the harvest is ripe.

References:

Tearfund - Many Brits Look to Faith During Lockdown

Dr Liz Sillence


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