Around half of Protestant churches in the United States have experienced growth in worship service attendance since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent study.
A report by Lifeway Research published Tuesday found that 52% of surveyed Protestant congregations saw their worship attendance grow by at least 4% over the past two years.
By contrast, 33% of the surveyed congregations said attendance had plateaued with between 4% decline to 4% growth, while 15% reported experiencing over 4% decline in worship attendance.
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The report also found that more growth was reported among Evangelical pastors than Mainline Protestant pastors, with 57% of Evangelical congregations reporting at least 4% growth versus 46% of Mainline congregations reporting the same.
Additionally, 62% of Pentecostal congregations have seen at least 4% growth within the last two years, as well as 59% of Baptist congregations. By contrast, 43% of Methodist congregations and 37% of Lutheran congregations reported a growth of at least 4%.
“Clearly, the last two years of attendance growth was aided by people returning to regular attendance after being away since the start of the pandemic,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, as quoted in the report.
“Most pastors wish they had returned earlier, but their attendance is a source of optimism, though future growth will need to come from brand new contacts.”
For its findings, the report drew from a phone survey of 1,001 Protestant pastors conducted Sept. 17 – Oct. 8, 2024, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1% at the 95% confidence level.
The report also found that 28% of churches reported seeing 20 or more people “indicate a new commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior” within the last 12 months. From there, 24% of churches reported seeing between 10 and 19 new commitments, 42% saw between one and nine new commitments, and 6% saw zero new commitments.
“While studies find most churches falling short of pre-pandemic numbers, this study finds a small uptick in conversions per attendee,” McConnell added. “Many churches are being intentional about sharing the Gospel with the next generation and those outside their churches.”
In 2020, in response to the spread of COVID-19, the vast majority of churches temporarily halted in-person worship due to government orders. Some churches, however, were forced to close for prolonged periods, and many fought back against state government restrictions at a time when strip clubs were allowed to remain open. Other churches were even banned from holding outdoor services where churchgoers remained in their vehicles.
Since pandemic restrictions have been lifted, there have been mixed results in the efforts of congregations across denominational affiliations to recoup their attendance losses.
In August 2023, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research at Hartford International University released a study which found that while approximately one-third of the 4,809 surveyed churches said their attendance increased since 2020, over half reported declining in attendance compared to before the pandemic began.
“This finding raises the question of what impact the pandemic has had on congregational growth and decline trajectories. While the pattern of decline isn’t dramatic at this point, neither is the pandemic impact over,” noted the Hartford Institute study.
“Congregations remain optimistic about their future, but it is also apparent they are continuing to wrestle with the troubling conditions that were in existence long before COVID-19 arrived.”
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