Matt Adair, a discipleship coach, recently asked 50 pastors this question:

“On this side of the pandemic, what’s the most painful challenge your church is facing in its efforts to disciple people?”

He reported that 85% of the pastors responded by essentially saying that people have lost the habit of following Jesus together. It’s not hard to see why. Coming through a pandemic that required shutting down in-person gatherings presented huge challenges. Even now that we’re gathering again, old habits die hard. Many people are just no longer showing up for church and mid-week activities.

There’s no silver bullet for reversing this trend. But one thing is clear: it’s going to take changing the very culture of churches, to prioritize once again serving and learning and growing together. Building a Culture of Discipleship is a great place to start. This resource uses assessments, studies, and how-to articles to help make your congregation a place that nurtures discipleship.

Speaking of the importance of gathering physically, I did a double take when I saw the title of this article, “AI Can Preach and Sing. So Why Can’t It Worship God?” The tongue-and-check title has a serious point though: the worship of God requires a physical body.