Francis Chan has lamented divisions in society over responses to the pandemic, but he also fears that churches are no different.
The Crazy Love author shared his thoughts about the pandemic while in conversation with Gospel for Asia founder KP Yohannan.
"How is the world ever going to recover, the division, the anger, the economy? It's just getting more and more split and sadly churches are following suit," Chan said.
He said his experience of being East Asia had given him a new perspective on the weaknesses in the Western Church.
Reflecting on how things were prior to the pandemic, Chan said he was "saddened" that people would only turn up for prayer meetings "if there was a great speaker or the 'right' worship band present".
"What happens in Asia opened my eyes significantly," he said.
"When people hear of a prayer meeting they get excited. This just doesn't happen in the West."
He also spoke about the necessity of Christians continuing to meet in person.
"Church leaders are struggling in this pandemic and I want to urge them to continue to meet when they can and celebrate the body and blood of Christ," he said.
Research early on in the pandemic showed that people were praying more but research into church attendance has been less promising.
Barna president David Kinnaman recently warned that at least one in five churches will not survive the pandemic because fewer people have returned to services even after the end of restrictions.
This pessimism seems to be shared by many pastors, with over half predicting a decline in church attendance by the time the pandemic is over.
