Technology, harsh economy threaten church attendance in Nigeria

…As members join services online

…Trend denying Churches resources to carry out programmes

…Many yet to wean selves off Covid-19 era

Advancement in technology and the current worsening economic challenge in Nigeria are taking many people away from church programmes, particularly on Sundays. BusinessDay Sunday’s checks have shown.

Whereas it was fashionable in the past for members to be physically present in their churches on Sundays and other mid-week services, today, many tend to stay back in the comfort of their homes and log in to their church’s site where services are streamed live.

For many worshippers, technology has brought the church into people’s homes. However, the harsh economy in addition to technology adoption has further discouraged many from attending physical church services.

According to BDSUNDAY’s checks, some worshippers now calculate the cost of attending a physical church service in terms of transportation and the offerings they would give, on the back of the current economic reality and the oil subsidy removal by the government, and would rather stay away than attend a physical church service.

Our findings also indicated that these factors, not only affect the resources that should help the church carry out its programmes, they also erode the beauty of fellowship for many of the worshippers.

“The current harsh economy has also affected church attendance seriously as many couldn’t meet up with the transportation demand due to cost of materials which has taken a larger chunk of their income leaving little or nothing for transportation to church or to fuel their cars,” Raph Ben Eniolorunda, a Lagos-based pastor told BDSUNDAY.

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According to him, the emergence of technology and knowledge of church to leverage on it has drastically reduced physical church attendance for online service. He said further that with technology adoption, churches now have the benefits of reaching a larger audience via their social media platforms.

Eniolorunda said that the current economic hardship, especially the hike in transportation fare has made many to either change their place of worship or resort to online service.

“The disadvantage of this is lukewarm and spiritual laxity. Human beings are created for relationships and not isolation but inability to relate with fellow believers as they attend church has deprived worshippers this privilege,” Eniolorunda said.

However, proffering a solution to the identified challenges, Eniolorunda disclosed that Churches should encourage hybrids, provide or subsidised transportation either by supporting members or make shuttle buses available and put more effort to make their members attend cell fellowship where they can get what they do not get online.

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Olufemi Popoola, a Baptist pastor based outside Nigeria, told BDSUNDAY that while Nigerian worshippers struggle with economic hardship, the case is not the same in the west, where people battle with living free of religion.

According to him, churches in the west battle with worshippers that seek freedom of life without regard for religious life.

“But to be honest with you, the situation is not the same. Here, the economic issue is not there per se and the idea of technology is no big deal as well. The main threat to church attendance here concerns post-modernism,” Popoola said.

Currently, technology and Nigeria’s harsh economy are posing significant threats to church attendance in the country. For decades, Nigeria has been renowned for its strong Christian faith, with millions attending church services on Sunday and within the week.

However, with the rise of technology and the prevailing economic conditions, the narrative is changing. On one hand, technology has made it easier for people to access spiritual content from the comfort of their homes.

But, with the proliferation of online sermons, social media, and streaming services, many Nigerians are opting to stay home and worship rather than physically attend church services.

Also, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic accelerated this trend, as churches were forced to adopt online services to reach their congregations. While this was initially seen as a temporary measure, it has become a permanent fixture in many Nigerian churches.