A recent study indicates that around half of Protestant churches in the United States have experienced growth in worship service attendance since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report by Lifeway Research, published on Tuesday, is based on a telephone survey of 1,001 Protestant pastors conducted between September 17 and October 8, 2024.
The study found that 52% of the surveyed Protestant congregations reported at least a 4% increase in worship attendance over the past two years.
In contrast, 33% of the surveyed congregations indicated that their attendance had plateaued, registering between a 4% decline to a 4% increase, while 15% reported a drop in worship attendance exceeding 4%.
More growth was noted among Evangelical pastors compared to Mainline Protestant pastors, with 57% of Evangelical congregations experiencing at least 4% growth versus 46% of Mainline congregations.
62% of Pentecostal congregations and 59% of Baptist congregations saw an increase of at least 4% in attendance. In comparison, only 43% of Methodist congregations and 37% of Lutheran congregations experienced such growth.
The report also found that 28% of churches reported that 20 or more individuals had made “a new commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior” in the past year.
Furthermore, 24% of churches noted between 10 and 19 new commitments, 42% reported between one and nine new commitments, and 6% said they had seen no new commitments.
Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, remarked, “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.” He added, “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.”
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led most churches to temporarily halt in-person worship services due to government mandates. Since the lifting of pandemic restrictions, congregations across various denominations have experienced mixed results in their efforts to recover lost attendance.
In August 2023, a study released by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research found that while approximately one-third of the 4,809 surveyed churches reported increases in attendance since 2020, over half indicated a decline in attendance compared to the period before the pandemic began.
