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The church is an onward-marching army. It is a repository of hope. It is a citadel where dead dreams, with a dose of faith, come to life. On the eve of each ensuing year, there are declarations of good will amidst cheers of excitement. The coming year shall be better, most preachers say. And who does not agree! We all look forward to glad tidings to happen to us.
The year, 2020 had the promise of a good year. Not even the news of an outbreak of a strange disease in Wuhan, China could temper the high hopes. Not long after the year had taken off, however, did things start to look bleak. Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) got onto a devastating rampage. Countries were taking turns to record infections, in tens, hundreds and sooner getting into thousands. The disease became a global pandemic, after it was declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a global emergency earlier. Global cases count as of time of writing this article stood at 7,574,506 (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus). Ghana joined the unfortunate trend on March 13, 2020. Our numbers started in single digits, but soon hit doubles and upwards. Our numbers have so far reached 10,358 cases, 48 deaths and 3824 total recoveries (data available as of 6/11/2020, 10:00 PM at (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus).
The rise in cases has called for critical decisions. Decisions were made for presidential reasons. With the decisions came a ban on church gatherings. The exuberance of faith and the enthusiasm to experience acceleration in the lives of believers soon begun to crawl, especially for the percentage that derives their greatest fortress in the corporate. Fast forward, and for yet another presidential reason, today, churches have the liberty to reconvene, albeit under some terms and conditions. How does the believing community welcome this sanction to go back to church?
How prepared is the church to adhere to safety protocols to keep her people safe from the damage of COVID-19? Church Addict Surveys went digging for answers. Using a cross-sectional approach and an online survey tool, a total of 201 respondents were reached over a 5-day period. Quite some interesting outcomes to share. Church leaders should find useful. The psyche of members is not the same after COVID-19. The faith of some is dwindling. What is the way forward?
Almost all respondents of the survey are educated, obtaining a minimum of Junior High School education. As many as 66% of respondents do not favour the idea of lifting ban on church gatherings. Indeed, a good percentage of respondents (47% in total) are not willing to go to church post ban-lifting. This stance is significantly influenced by the fact that as many as 70% of responses indicate that the church is not ready in respect of putting measures in place to safeguard the health of members. Of keen interest among respondents who have indicated this unwillingness is people with employment. They make 40% of the respondents. Aside from their spiritual well-being, this category of church members is likely to contribute significantly to the economic stability of the church, and more so in these dire economic times. It is needless to say that church leaders might need to pay attention to reaching all members through diverse means, paying particular attention to this category in question.
In conclusion, church leaders should anticipate a significant decline in attendance to church services post ban-lifting. A good number of absentee members are most likely going to be the educated members, as well as those who are engaged in one form of employment or another. Tailored strategies should be put in place towards getting this category of members to come to church. There is also every cause for churches to bring to the awareness of their members safety protocols put in place in response to directives from government. This will inure to assuaging any doubts in their minds. A few churches have taken the lead in so doing. Let others join in who haven’t if they indeed want to go back to church and have members in attendance.
