If you're planning on attending Easter church services in person this weekend, the pews may not be as packed as they once were.

I watched a short news clip of a Palm Sunday service at a church in Columbus, Ohio, that recently reopened its doors after going online two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The modest number in attendance were mostly older adults. Many were still wearing masks, and the congregation continues to socially distance regarding seating. Some of the older members who were interviewed expressed joy at just being able to see their fellow parishioners even though they could not entirely look upon their faces.

Before COVID, church attendance in America was on the decline, and more young adults did not identify with a specific faith. The Pew Research Center administered telephone surveys from 2009 to 2019 that included religion along with other political topics and found a "large generation gap." Results from 2018 and 2019 revealed that millennials had the highest percentage of non-religious affiliation at 40% compared to 10% of the Silent Generation and 17% of Baby Boomers. Twenty-five percent of Gen Xers, my generation, stated that they were not religious. The lack of church attendance among older Gen Zers, adults who are now in their early 20s, was included in a March 2022 study titled "Generation Z and the Future of Faith in America." Daniel A. Cox, the author of this study and director of the Survey Center on American Life, found that Gen Zers are rapidly departing from church and that they were less likely to have grown up participating in worship services compared to older generations. "In terms of identity, Generation Z is the least religious generation yet," Cox wrote, pointing out "(t)hey are also far more likely to identify as atheist or agnostic."

Studies like Cox's, along with Pew data, paint a bleak picture regarding the growth of the church in America, with a primary focus on Christian denominations. Seeing that Cox's report came out a few weeks before Easter, I thought about my years growing up in church and how people had to get to service early to find a seat on Easter Sunday, or basically any Sunday for that matter. I grew up in a Black Baptist church in Athens, Georgia, and church activities were a major part of my life. I taught Sunday school as a teenager, played the piano for Vacation Bible School during summers and sang in the teen choir. I like to say that I fell in love with the magnificence of God's splendor and the power of His sovereignty described in Scripture as a child.

I do realize that my youth church experiences are characterized for older generations in research like Cox's, which brings me to what I think is the most critical question concerning his findings: What is the deep-rooted reason many young people are leaving the church or feel disconnected to faith? Quantitative numbers only provide a measure of insight. I believe the spiritual answer to this question is simply that many churches are lukewarm and have lost their fire. In Revelation 3:15, Jesus gives a stern rebuke to the church at Laodicea, telling them that he knew their "works" and that they were "neither cold nor hot." A "hot" church, or one that is on fire, would attract young people because they do not like anything dry or boring, and a "hot" church would draw back many older adults who have left their faith. In Acts 2:41, it is recorded that "about three thousand souls" were baptized in one day and added to the congregation in the early church. People were drawn to the ministry established by the apostles because they were on fire for God. They were continuing the miraculous works of Christ by healing the sick and raising the dead. These are the tangible results of their faith that people saw, which brought excitement and zeal to spread the Gospel.

In order for church attendance to begin trending upward again for Gen Zers and even for those in older generations, many in the body of Christ need to examine themselves and ask God for a spiritual rekindling. I include myself in this as well, and Easter is a perfect time for reflection and repentance. After all, during Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, whose Word is not dull and inert but vigorous and life-transforming.

Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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