We’re just not going to church as much as we used to, according to several surveys taken in the past couple years. But Worldreach Ministries pastor Dr. Mike Smalley says that’s only telling part of the story. “Religious interest is up,” Smalley points out. It’s just that people are necessarily going to church services on Sunday mornings, but that doesn’t mean they have lost faith, or lost their way. They’re just adapting to new options being made available by technology. “People are more time conscious now. Technology is playing a big, big role. When you look at people that are watching online, live services, satellite cable radio and all that, it’s really an upward spike trend right now,” he tells KTRH News. Many pastors are offering congregants services through Facebook live and Periscope, and for many followers daily devotionals delivered in
Attending services on large holidays, such as Easter and Christmas, has become a common theme; it’s just the other Sundays of the year where numbers of church attendance are dropping. Pastor Lon Kvanli, the pastor of First Lutheran Church in Mitchell, said the average attendance on Easter is around 544, rising again to 570 for Christmas Eve services. But a typical Sunday draws in approximately 278 people.
Nationwide, approximately 36 percent of United States citizens said they attend religious services once per week. That’s down from the 39 percent that told the Pre Research center in 2007 that they attend services.