How many churches are actually closing because of the Coronavirus pandemic? We are asking that question each week and sharing our research on this page.
Weekly Percentage of Churches Closed, Modified, or Normal Schedule
| 3/15 | 3/22 | 3/29 | 4/5 | 4/12 | 4/19 | 4/26 | 5/3 | 5/10 | 5/17 | 5/24 | 5/31 | |
| Online Only | 25.6 | 85.6 | 93.5 | 95.4 | 95.0 | 96.4 | 95.2 | 89.7 | 87.2 | 75.1 | 73.8 | 63.5 |
| Modified | 8.5 | 6.3 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 5.7 | 8.3 | 16.8 | 16.6 | 20.3 |
| Normal Schedule | 65.9 | 8.1 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 2.2 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 8.0 | 9.5 | 16.1 |
| 6/7 | 6/14 | 6/21 | 6/28 | 7/5 | |
| Online / Nothing in Person | 44.0 | 42.7 | 41.9 | 44.6 | TBD |
| In Person Worship + Online Options | 36.3 | 40.5 | 37.2 | 37.9 | |
| In Person Worship + Online + Sunday School | 19.7 | 16.7 | 20.8 | 17.5 |
*Current weekly poll still open and results may change through Sunday.
This page is the archive of closure polls which began the weekend of March 15, 2020 – the first Sunday after the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
Church leaders are faced with the hard choice to cancel worship services and other ministry programs. We respect that decision process – praying only that all can discern the best available actions in this historic Coronavirus outbreak. We recommend the CDC advice for faith based organizations as an essential starting point.
27% of churches were open on 5/24/2020
25% of churches were open on 5/17/2020
12.8% of churches were open on 5/10/2020 MOTHER’S DAY
10.3% of churches were open on 5/3/2020
5% of churches were open on 4/26/2020
4% of churches were open on 4/19/2020
5% of churches were open on 4/12/2020 EASTER SUNDAY
5% of churches were open on 4/5/2020 PALM SUNDAY
7% of churches were open on 3/29/2020
20% or about 1/5 of churches were open on 3/22/2020
60% or about 3/5 of churches were open on 3/15/2020
(1st Sunday after WHO pandemic declaration)
Ministry-To-Children Poll on Coronavirus Church Closures
COVID-19 Church Closure & Reopen Statistics: How many churches are open back this week?
Our unscientific survey was available to anyone browsing the website. It was shared many times outside the website as well. I see this as a low-end estimate because readers to Ministry-To-Children are primarily here seeking resources for their weekend ministry. This is a self selecting sample and would over report the number of open churches. In February 2020, our website served 704,000 readers. This makes Ministry-To-Children one of the largest platforms that reach church ministry leaders.
Facebook Polls: Closed or Open Church?
| 3/15 | 3/22 | 3/29 | 4/5 | 4/12 | 4/19 | 4/26 | 5/3 | 5/10 | 5/17 | 5/24 | 5/31* | |
| Online / Building Closed | 44% | 94% | 90% | 91% | 88% | 85% | 95% | 93% | 79% | 80% | 78% | ? |
| In Person Events | 56% | 6% | 10% | 9% | 12% | 15% | 5% | 7% | 21% | 20% | 22% | ? |
May 31, 2020 Poll
May 24, 2020 POLL:
May 17, 2020 POLL
May 10, 2020 POLL: 21% In Person Events — 79% Online / Building Closed
May 3, 2020 POLL: 7% In Person Events — 93% Online / Building Closed
April 26, 2020 POLL: 5% In Person Events — 95% Online / Building Closed
April 19, 2020 POLL: 15% In Person Events — 88% Online / Building Closed
April 12, 2020 POLL: 12% In Person Events — 88% Online / Building Closed
April 5, 2020 POLL: 9% In Person Events — 91% Online / Building Closed
March 29, 2020 POLL: 9% Normal Schedule — 91%Closed // online only.
March 22, 2020 POLL: 6% Normal Schedule — 94%Closed // online only.
March 15, 2020 POLL: 56% normal schedule — 44% closed / online only
This was a smaller number of respondents but from a wider audience. This poll was shared on several children’s ministry groups. I see this as a high-end estimate because readers on Facebook were actively talking about what they should do about the closures. This group would over report the number of churches closed.
Limitations of our Church Closure Research
Beyond the unscientific nature of these findings, we see the following limitations in our methods:
- Our audience does not represent all Christian denominations equally. We have very few Roman Catholic readers and serve a mainly Protestant audience.
- Our audience does not represent all sizes of churches equally. Our readers often come from smaller congregations.
Our surveys have many limitations, but for now this is the best snapshot available on church closures due to the COVID19 outbreak.
Scientific Research on Coronavirus Church Closings?
That’s what I’m waiting to see, I expect more surveys to come from these type organizations in the coming weeks. We’re looking at you LifeWay and Barna.
Will your church be open or closed next weekend?
I’m repeat these same polls next Friday through Sunday. My guess is that we will see less than 1/3 remaining open next weekend. Come back next week to see the updated information.
Our church did not meet today and probably will not next week. We made videos of different sections of our worship service and posted on FaceBook (not live streaming).