As many churches have now reopened their doors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic only a minority of them still view in-person worship services as the church model of the future. A majority see a hybrid model utilizing various online technologies as the new normal according to a new study from Pushpay.
In their 2023 State of Church Technology report, Pushpay, the leading payments and engagement solutions provider for faith-based and non-profit sectors, the company said when their researchers asked church leaders what the future of their church will look like in 12 months only 28% of respondents indicated in-person only while many had multiple outlooks.
“Surprisingly, instead of selecting a single answer, hundreds of respondents selected two or more options. This indicates significant uncertainty about what their ministries may look like in a year’s time,” Pushpay researchers said. “That level of doubt hampers a church’s ability to make informed tech decisions. Adopting new digital tools should be grounded in a vision of the future—but at this inflection point, that may be difficult for many ministries.”
While 28% of respondents saw in-person only services in the next 12 months, an almost equal share, 25% believe the church will be meeting in the metaverse, which Facebook describes as “a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.”
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