News
Monday, September 4, 2023
Report: Churches Rebounding After Pandemic, but Still Struggling in Some Areas
A comprehensive report on the state of the nation's churches reveals both positive signs of recovery and persistent challenges in the wake of the pandemic.
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Back to Normal? Churches Rebounding After Pandemic, but Still Struggling in Some Areas
A comprehensive report regarding the condition of the nation's churches presents a combination of positive signs of recovery and persistent challenges following the pandemic's impact. Hartford Institute’s fourth report examining how U.S. congregations are navigating the COVID-19 pandemi
Monday, May 8, 2023
How to Thrive in a Plague: Letting Vulnerability Foster Community
When I arrived at my current church as the new lead pastor back in 2016, someone asked me in an open forum, “How will you bring stability to our congregation?” They were a midsized urban congregation in the Bay Area with muscle memory for being a much larger and more complex church. They were lo
Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Presentation: Stories of Hope & Resilience
In April, members of the EPIC team traveled to Chicago to present “Stories of Hope & Resilience: Exploring the Pandemic’s Congregational Challenges” at the 2023 Religion Communicators Council/Associated Church Press annual Convention.
Friday, April 7, 2023
Mapping Our Topical Survey Respondents
In Summer 2021, November 2021, and Spring 2022, we conducted targeted topical national key informant surveys addressing the congregational response to the pandemic and related emerging issues.
Sunday, April 2, 2023
Ministries Find Ways to Collaborate Despite COVID
When everything came to a halt due to COVID restrictions starting in 2020, Together Chicago in Illinois and Love Out Loud in North Carolina — two ministries aimed at unifying their communities — had to keep going.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
The Pandemic Church: Adapting to a Digital Culture and On Demand Context
Reflections from our Principal Investigator on the role of congregations in adapting to a digital culture and the virtual “on demand” context of our society, especially in a post-pandemic world.
Monday, February 27, 2023
New Report Reflects on How Churches’ Views of Technology Shifted Over the First Two Years of the Pandemic
The second report of the Tech in Churches During COVID-19 project explores how churches' initial perceptions about technology evolved as they embraced and adapted to doing church online.
Monday, February 13, 2023
Hybrid Hope
When I was a kid, I took myself down the street to a small Methodist church. I joined that church at the age of eight. My parents came, but they did not love that church as I did. When we moved, the first thing I did was find a local church to join. As it happens, this was a much larger and fancier