According to this article in Christianity Today, the rate of people leaving and joining churches has increased since the pandemic - with the first increasing more than the second.
Online worship was a great opportunity to explore a different church - they were all there at your fingertips. And your normal church wouldn't even notice your absence.
Then there were a bunch of people who decided not to return. Even once all churches were open only three-quarters of people had returned.
Of course, it turns out that the active attenders ("active" in the sense of sitting in a pew) are attending even more, and the "back row" not-so-much.
"We’re seeing that the people who came 8 or 12 times a year have stopped attending"
The mix of people switching churches and worshiping online has created mystery around the true number of members who have exited church permanently.
One interviewee said, “Maybe God is placing people where they need to be for his kingdom to grow in post-pandemic times.”
For some, it seems, that ideal place is outside the church.
