I am struggling to know how to do ministry these days. Where I live in the Midwest, things were fairly normal until 2020 and Covid. Pastors on the East and West coasts had been describing what was happening in their Church communities, and it had not hit my Church until then.

The massive shift is that people attend worship 1-2 times a month. It used to be that people were here 3-4 times a month, and an absence was the exception, not the rule. Now, people come once or twice, and it will take a month to six weeks before I see them again.

This change has led me to many questions that I am still not sure how to answer:

1. How do you preach a sermon series to people who might only be here for one sermon in it?
2. How do you disciple people who are not here regularly to learn, connect, and serve?
3. How do I care for people when they attend 12-15 times a year and few are connected to them?
4. How do I help people live like Jesus when they are so busy with other things?
5. How do I get people to know their Bible in this culture?

As I dream and ask God to direct me into 2025 and beyond, these questions are plaguing my soul. I have no idea how to minister in this world. I am struggling to assist people in following Jesus, growing in faith, and becoming spiritually mature.

The world has changed while the Church remains on the same mission of making more and better disciples. Lately, I have more questions than answers, and I pray that God will direct me and other Church leaders in ways that will help us do his work effectively.