I write regularly here about my work as a hospital chaplain. I’ve been talking recently about my work as a teacher. I don’t talk much about my work as a researcher. 

I’ve been part of Arbor Research Group since 2016. People come to us with questions about their organizations and their communities, and we use survey and focus group and interview research tools to help them find answers to those questions. Many of us have PhDs, have ministry experience, and we work together very well. Our work has been clarifying to those who have hired us. But because our reports are for internal audiences, I don’t talk publicly about what we do. 

Today, however, is the public rollout of a project we’ve been working on, and I wanted to share it with you. 

During 2022, ChurchSalary (a ministry of Christianity Today) and Arbor studied the impact of COVID-19 on US churches. We did a nationwide survey of church leaders, led focus groups and interviews, and did case studies in several communities. We then spent months reviewing the data. I had the opportunity to help design and conduct the research, and then be part of the podcast and write parts of the white paper. 

Today, ChurchSalary releases a podcast series and 111-page e-book of our results: The Impact of COVID-19 on the American Church.

As I say in the intro episode, we know THAT the pandemic happened, but we haven’t had opportunities to reflect on what happened. This research helps with that process. After being on the healthcare side of the pandemic, it was a privilege to hear from church leaders about their experiences. 

For those who take time to listen and read, you’ll have a better sense of what happened and why there is lingering confusion and pain in congregations and in leaders. 

Over at ChurchSalary, you can listen to the podcasts, you can download the ebook, and you can read more about the project. Over at Arbor, you can learn about our team. 

I’m grateful for Terry Linhart, who created this team years ago and included me. I’m grateful for the mix of things I get to do in my life. And I’m particularly grateful to all the people who told their stories and shared their pain through this research. We heard. And have done our best to understand and explain and tell those stories.