On May 5, 2022, I posted an article (https://nicksigur.com/church-is-not-enough/) noting that during the pandemic, one out of three practicing Christians dropped out of church completely. They felt that they could do church sitting in front of their televisions at home. In 2022, many church attendees listened to sermons and, more often than not, worship performances. They learned they could get better sermons and watch better worship on TV.
Churches responded with several intentional strategies to counter passive “living room viewing” and encourage congregants back into physical gatherings:
Some churches deliberately shut off live broadcasts once health restrictions lifted, framing physical presence as essential to corporate worship. Rather than broadcasting live on Sunday morning, many congregations shifted to posting audio podcasts or edited video recordings mid-week. This preserves access for the homebound, sick, or traveling, while eliminating the temptation for healthy members to treat Sunday broadcast as an easy substitute.
Pastors began treating the digital stream as an evangelism or discovery tool for seekers and newcomers, rather than a permanent home for regular members. Preaching frequently addresses theological themes around embodied fellowship and mutual encouragement (often drawing on passages like Hebrews 10:24–25) to illustrate why Christian life cannot be reduced to consuming a broadcast. Churches have leaned heavily into the physical ordinances—communion, baptism, and laying on of hands—that lose their theological and sensory weight through a screen. Many congregations de-emphasized high-production stage performances
(which only invite comparison to slick YouTube concerts) in favor of congregational participation, louder collective singing, and responsive readings.
Expanding pre- and post-service gatherings—such as coffee hours, shared breakfast tables, and courtyard mingling—provides the interpersonal warmth, spontaneous conversation, and mutual support that cannot happen via remote control.
Churches recognized that if Sunday morning feels like an auditorium lecture, a TV screen can easily replace it. In response, they pivoted resources into home small groups, mid-week dinner circles, and micro-gatherings where members actually know and carry one another’s burdens.
Leaders combat spectator Christianity by recruiting congregants into active service roles—such as greeting, hospitality, youth and children’s ministry, or local community outreach. When an attendee has a practical role to play and teammates relying on them, passive viewing loses its appeal
These strategies seem to be working. Now 43% of men and 36% of women attend church weekly. Prior to 2019, Millennials and Gen Z adults were the least likely cohorts to attend church weekly. Today, young adults report some of the highest regular participation rates, driven heavily by young men. Among Gen Z and Millennials, 34% report attending church more frequently. Married dads have become the most consistent weekly churchgoers. In contrast, single mothers report the lowest attendance frequency, suggesting practical and relational barriers to re-engaging with congregational life.
Of course, “regular” attendance doesn’t mean every Sunday. The average U.S. churchgoer now attends roughly 1.6 weekends per month.
Studies on why young adults attend show prayer (45%) and communal worship/fellowship (38%) as the top spiritual drivers, well ahead of routine institutional duty. In other words, seekers want more communion with God and other believers.
I guess I’m part of the trend. I don’t attend services every week. When I do, it’s because the associate pastor is a friend. I notice the dress is pretty casual, and services are 1/2 worship and 1/2 teaching, lasting an hour. You can catch the service online, but both the website and the pastors emphasize connection, with many opportunities to fellowship and to serve. I have to admit, so far I haven’t fellowshiped or served. On the other hand, I haven’t taken to watching services from home.
The early church is still the ideal:
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2
If we are going to approach that standard, each of us must increase our communion with God and each other.
I hope I’m not too old and set in my ways for that.
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