Post-COVID Perspective: Pandemic challenges brought refocus to many churches
NASHVILLE (BP) – College basketball fans know the third month of the year as March Madness. Fans fill out brackets and college teams compete for their one shining moment.
FIRST-PERSON: Rebuilding a small church post-COVID
KELLY, N.C. (BP) – Post-COVID church attendance studies indicate a positive trend in many congregations as members and guests alike return. Still, U.S. Protestant churches report current attendance at 85 percent of their typical worship service levels prior to COVID. These statistics may concern church leaders, seeing pandemic wounds heal but wondering about the metaphorical scar tissue left behind.
More Americans stay away from church as pandemic nears year three
(RNS) — At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly every congregation in the United States shut down, at least for a while.
Pandemic religious restrictions led to oppressive actions, study finds
About one-fourth of nearly 200 nations studied by the Pew Research Center used force to prevent religious gatherings during the COVID pandemic.
Did faith fall off a cliff during COVID? New study says no.
(RNS) – When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many Americans lost the habit of churchgoing after almost every church in the country closed down their in-person services and shifted online.
Churches are open but still recovering from pandemic attendance losses
NASHVILLE (BP) — Almost every church in the U.S. is holding in-person services again, but some pre-pandemic churchgoers still haven’t returned.
Hispanic pastors discuss leading a church out of COVID
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Hispanic pastors from California, Florida and Texas discussed strategies to lead the church in a post-COVID world during a panel hosted by the CP Stage at the SBC Executive Committee section of the exhibit hall at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting.
SBC DIGEST: IMB revises COVID policy; Guidepost removes out-of-context quote from report
IMB revises COVID-19 vaccine policy in response to improved global access; Guidepost removes paragraph that included out-of-context Jim Richards quote.
COVID-19, overdoses pushed U.S. to highest death total ever
NEW YORK (AP) – 2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history, and new data and research are offering more insights into how it got that bad.
EXPLAINER: Alcohol abuse and drug overdoses rose during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every family in America. Some are still dealing with the aftermath of the disease. But the problem of substance abuse exacerbated by the pandemic might be a problem that lasts longer than the coronavirus.
