Since March of this year, Barna has been researching digital church trends that have surfaced (or simply been emphasized) as a result of COVID-19. As part of our State of the Church 2020 project, we’d already uncovered new data on what we called “worship shifting” and considered some of the uncertain digital and physical realities facing churches.

Now, three months into America’s fight against COVID-19, with some churches continuing to social distance and others now beginning to welcome members back into their physical buildings for worship services, we’re curious how engagement with services—both online and in-person—continues to evolve. Here are some key things we’ve learned during this unique period in our nation’s history and our worship gatherings.

Half of Churched Adults Have Not Streamed a Church Service in the Past Four Weeks The majority of pastors (96%) reports their churches have been streaming their worship services online during the pandemic. But that may not matter for nearly half of churched adults—that is, those who say they have attended church in the past six months; 48 percent of this group report they have not streamed an online service in the last month. Even looking at a more consistent segment—practicing Christians, who are typically characterized by at least monthly attendance—one in three (32%) admits they have not streamed an online service during this time.

Researchers were surprised to see this seeming dip among regular attenders, particularly considering that a plurality of Protestant pastors (40%) has reported an increase in virtual attendance since the pandemic pushed services online. Additionally, weekend schedules during the crisis have likely looked more open, and many churches now offer on-demand streaming after an initial service or upload; 29 percent of practicing Christians and 20 percent of non-practicing Christians say they take advantage of this option on a day other than Sunday. These are all reasons virtual attendance could have been boosted, but it’s possible that enthusiasm for only online service options has dwindled as the weeks have passed.

Churched adults logging in for services usually opt for their regular church home (40%), though 23 percent have streamed services from a different church, essentially “church-hopping” online. One-third of practicing Christians (34% vs. 16% non-practicing Christians) has also virtually attended a church other than their own in the past month; indeed, we see one-quarter of practicing Christians (26% vs. 12% non-practicing Christians) notes that, during the pandemic, this has become typical of their online attendance. This might not be such a departure from pre-COVID-19 attendance habits, as 35 percent of churched adults and 26 percent of practicing Christians that they usually divide their attendance among two or more churches.