Although few of the surveyed churches held in-person worship, ninety-seven per cent had some digital alternative, a five per cent increase from March.“By the end of March, the gravity of the pandemic had changed churches’ behaviour across the nation,” said LifeWay Research Executive Director Scott Mc Connell in a statement.

LifeWay also found that most surveyed churches were in the process of planning out their in-person services, which were expected to return soon due to the lifting of restrictions. The report found that nearly a third of surveyed churches were planning to hold small in-person services first, while sixteen per cent planned to resume normal activities immediately.

In efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, most churches in the U.S. halted their in-person worship services, largely switching to online alternatives. A small number of congregations continued to hold in-person services, often adding protective measures like having people sit farther apart from each other and avoiding handshakes.

As many states are looking to ease restrictions on mass gatherings gradually, many congregations are weighing how they will return to a regular worship schedule. Last month, the conservative law firm the Liberty Counsel called upon churches to reopen on the 3rd of May. The organisation argued that churches were “more essential than ever,” but said that reopening must include “appropriate measures of sanitisation” and “social distancing between families.”

Source: christianpost.com