Every Easter, my family and I have much to reflect on — the Good News of the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ being at the center of these reflections. This year, it couldn’t be more critical to draw close to Him as the number of believers is on a sharp decline. And while the ChiCom Virus pandemic might be blamed for the bulk of this lack of church attendance, this phenomenon has been happening for years.

According to the latest data published by the Pew Research Center, from 2018 to 2019, America saw a 12% decline in self-declared Christians (down to 65% of the population), while the group that considers itself nonreligious (atheist, agnostics, and those who believe in “nothing in particular”) has risen 17% (rising to 26% of the population). This growth in religious “nones” spans across race and gender and is happening in every region.

In contrast, there’s also a surge in suffering. Americans have grown lonelier, more irritable, and are feeling less of a sense of community. As church doors close, bottles open. More people are drinking and turning to drug use to deal with lockdowns and the ongoing, depressing news commentary about a virus with a 98% survival rate. These people are spiritually dying if not spiritually dead, begging for the mercy of elected officials who make promise after promise of freedom and the restoration of rights only God can give.

But there’s a lot that these new nonbelievers and non-churchgoers don’t know about how the Church formed, and this knowledge brings the remaining body of Christ much hope to get through each day.

If these “masketeers” ever want to know why we can walk around with our heads held high and mask-free, how we can bypass the COVID testing centers without a flinch, how we can forgo the jab with great confidence — it’s because we understand who God is. He designed our human form with a beauty that scientists can only hope to comprehend with their limited mortal understanding.

Those of us in the Body of Christ have never come apart, enjoying fellowship and community while choosing to honor Him with joy. We defied restrictions because we understand that we are free — not by government mandate but by God’s command. What makes us different from those without faith is that we operate by permission from our Heavenly Father, not waiting for direction from some popular human figure, politician, world leader, and the like. We understand that we may exist in this world, but we are not of this world. This is why a virus with a 98% recovery rate is the least of our concerns. This is why we can sleep soundly at night, cradled by our faith.

Our forefathers of the original apostolic church understood this better than anyone. Even under the threat of death and persecution, they still gathered. Today, we approach the Church from a distance, closing up our cathedrals while hiding our faces behind online conference screens. We’re logged on, but our connection to the Church is dubious at best.

Black churchgoers are the most terrified — which is to be expected, as a majority of this demographic heeds every word of the government before it heeds the Word of God. If Christianity ever became illegal in America, you can bet that black Americans would convert to other faiths in droves. Hypocritically, black pastors had no problem hosting a “Souls to the Polls” event, urging black Christians to vote for the next mayor. These same church leaders would draw believers together for votes but couldn’t draw the Body together for praise. This scenario makes it crystal clear to me that we’ve traded in the authority of Christ for the mercy of elected officials, and those who know their Bible will find this very familiar.

If we are to restore community, normalcy, and a connection to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must understand who it is we worship. If we put our faith in man, we will certainly face disappointment. But with faith in God and His Son who died and is risen, we will only know life.