John Coulter: The big challenge for churches is to get people into pews - particularly young people

While the initial covid lockdown ended some four years ago, many places of worship are still struggling not just to reboot their roles in the community, but also to attract people back to the pews in significant numbers.

The Christian churches are facing so much competition for the hearts, minds and time in today’s increasingly secular and pluralist society; again, especially among the youth, writes John Coulter

Lockdown also forced many churches to embrace the digital revolution, as the only way to keep in touch with the flocks was to live stream or pre-record Sunday services, mid-week Bible studies and prayer meetings.

Ironically, many places of worship saw an increase in ‘attendances’ as people, for example, could simply roll out of bed at 11.25am on a Sunday morning in time to log on to the live service at 11.30am.

There was no need to don the so-called ‘Sunday best’ suit or dress for such live streamed services; many people could watch worship in their pyjamas.

In spite of many restrictions now lifted and some kind of worship normality restored in 2024, numerous churches have still reported a decline in the numbers in the pews at Sunday worship and mid-week events, particularly among the youth.

Long gone are the days when only two buildings - the school and the church - dominated community life, both rural and urban.

The Christian churches are facing so much competition for the hearts, minds and time in today’s increasingly secular and pluralist society; again, especially among the youth.

For many parents and guardians, especially with children of primary school age, church organisations, such as youth clubs and uniformed organisations, are perceived as convenient and free child minding services.

The challenges facing many Christian churches is two-fold - keeping those children interested in church-based organisations when they move to secondary education, and getting the parents and guardians interested in attending worship in the first place.

So often, a church junior youth club which meets on a Friday evening can attract upwards of 40 primary school aged children, only to see them drift away once they have left primary seven and moved into secondary education.

The challenge for the churches remains how to integrate those primary school children into Sunday school, Bible class, a senior youth club or a Sunday evening youth fellowship once their primary education has ended.

Television and the web are offering stiff competition for the churches compared to the seventies when terrestrial TV could only offer four channels at best along with a fuzzy signal from RTE.

As for the adults, the churches face the bigger challenge of actually getting the folk into the pews in the first place.

Many churches have adopted the men’s breakfast and ladies lunch tactics to attract more worshippers.

Churches can certainly organise such activities very competently, but what happens when the clubs and societies become the primary focus instead of spreading the Gospel message?

It’s one thing to encourage folk to come to the church’s badminton, bowls, squash or afternoon tea club; it’s another challenge to get those folk to come to pews on Sundays.

The real danger is that churches emphasise their clubs and societies to the degree that places of worship become nothing more than convenient social clubs, and the preaching of the Gospel - even at epilogue events - is pushed down the league of priorities.

Many church leaderships can devise a host of grand ideas for clubs, societies and events. But if the end goal is not creating a situation where people can hear the Gospel message, then quite frankly, the churches are wasting their time.

For example, very soon, the school year will come to an end and the summer holidays will begin.

Many churches will run their annual summer schemes and Bible weeks which will be attended by hundreds of children across Northern Ireland.

The children will have great fun; the parents and guardians will have a few hours’ respite while their children attend such events.

Yes, the children will hear the Gospel message, but how many will progress from the summer scheme to church attendance? That’s the real challenge for places of worship in 2024.

It seems as each generation emerges, there is less and less interest in church activities, given the competition from the secular world.

Churches can no longer rely on the comfort blanket that the elderly will continue to support church activities. That generation of loyal church attenders is quite literally dying out.

The future of many places of worship will be the children. Without young people coming through the ranks of churches in significant numbers, the pews will steadily become empty.

The balancing act for churches is how to get folk - especially the youth - back into the pews, keep them in the pews for years to come, without becoming nothing more than convenient social clubs with no Gospel message.

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Dr John Coulter has been a journalist since 1978