5 Years After COVID, How Have Churches Changed?

by

The Call | March 21, 2025

Key points

  • A consequence of closing United Methodist churches in 2020, to protect people from life-threatening COVID-19, was permanent loss of worshipers for many congregations.
  • Despite the losses, some church leaders say the pandemic led them to develop new ways to reach their flocks and to reevaluate how they do ministry.

ALCOA, Tenn. – Five years ago this month, COVID-19 rocked our world.

Church leaders know all too well what happened when COVID-19 began to shut down the nation in March 2020. A consequence of closing United Methodist churches for weeks and months, to protect people from life-threatening sickness, was permanent loss of worshipers for many congregations. 

“During the shutdown, half of our congregation left. Most chose churches that did not close,” said the Rev. Carol Alley, pastor of Valley Center United Methodist Church in Church Hill, Tennessee.  

Amid the hardships, however, church leaders say the pandemic led them to find creative new ways to reach their flocks at safe distances. Closing public spaces also gave some church workers time to reevaluate how they do ministry.

At Shades of Grace United Methodist Church, the Rev. Will Shewey said that closing the storefront ministry’s indoor space for two years gave his team time to make improvements that continue to pay off now in Kingsport, Tennessee.

“We were able to use extra time to have the floors completely finished commercially by a member of Saint Dominic Catholic Church,” said Shewey, who leads a busy ministry serving people struggling with addiction and homelessness. “We were also able to purchase new chairs, which are much more user-friendly.”

Seeing the need to do online worship, Shades of Grace hired a full-time music minister (instead of part-time) in the early months of the pandemic. When the church reopened, Shewey moved the weekly in-person worship service from Sunday to Saturday morning which brought in new people.

“To me, that was one of the most vital changes,” Shewey said. The Saturday morning service is now attended by 70-80 worshipers. The online worship service logs between 60,000 to 90,000 views.

At Central United Methodist Church in Lenoir City, Tennessee, the pandemic set the stage for leaders to gain a “fresh vision of helping people find and follow Jesus,” said the Rev. Scott Layer.

Instead of continuing a traditional Wednesday night dinner and multiple Bible studies, Central church began offering studies throughout the week -- at church as well as in people’s homes.

“We found people who were not in a traditional Sunday school class began to get connected in a small group that met at an alternative time or day,” Layer said.

Central also revamped their guest welcome strategy as people began returning to church once virus rates dropped. “We were more strategic with our greeters, having a designated attractive location, giving a personalized first-time gift, and following up with those who attend,” Layer said. “This has helped us better retain people when they visit.”

Many church leaders say the pandemic hurried them into stepping up their technological capabilities. Mafair United Methodist Church offered their first livestreamed worship on the first Sunday after Holston Conference churches were required to close in March 2020.

“We never did that before,” said the Rev. Adam Love, Mafair pastor in Kingsport, Tennessee. “When we started, I said that this was the train pulling us through this tunnel. Once we get through, we’ll all be back together and there'll be no need for it anymore. However, livestreaming is like air conditioning. Once you have it, it’s hard to give up.”

Since then, Mafair has learned a lot about how to offer worship online, Love said. “Many thanks to the staff and volunteers who’ve gotten us to this point. I’m not 100% comfortable with it as our faith is incarnational. On the other hand, for those who physically cannot show up, it’s a huge blessing.”

In Big Stone Gap, Virginia, Trinity United Methodist Church also leaned into the learning curve for offering online worship, says Christy Smith. Trinity members started by worshiping outside in the parsonage driveway, using a cell phone to broadcast the service live on the church’s Facebook page.

Later, Trinity received a Holston Foundation grant to buy a new media system, equipping them to offer online worship from the sanctuary.

“It has helped us reach people who grew up in our church but no longer live in the area or are not able to physically come to church,” Smith said. “We've also reached people who wanted to check us out before coming in person.”

When Karla Kurtz and her husband, the Rev. Billy Kurtz, were serving at Norris United Methodist Church, they found it to be “a challenge and struggle” to identify the best way to offer online worship.  

Yet the push to make it happen was worthwhile for the church in Norris, Tennessee, Karla Kurtz said. On Easter Sunday 2020, a 90-year-old woman who hadn't been able to attend church since the previous Easter was finally able to participate in online worship while staying safe at home.

“She was so happy and excited to attend worship again,” Kurtz said. Other church members were able to join online worship for the first time from their hospital beds or while on vacation.

Since then, Pastor Billy Kurtz has been reappointed to First United Methodist Church in Bluefield, Virginia, where online worship is a godsend for six homebound members, Karla Kurtz said.

Five years after COVID-19 began to fill hospital beds in the U.S., ultimately killing more than 7 million worldwide (according to the World Health Organization), many church leaders don’t seem ready to overfocus on silver linings of the crisis. Even pastors who acknowledge that valuable lessons were learned during the pandemic are quick to point out the downside.

“We are more aware of our online participants and thankful for them,” said the Rev. Nathan Malone, senior pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “However, there is also the concern that too many people have let that option prevent them from attending in person very much.”

Holston Conference includes United Methodist churches in East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and North Georgia, with main offices in Alcoa, Tennessee. Sign up for a free email subscription to The Call.

Annette Spence is editor of The Call, the Holston Conference source of news and stories.