HIGH POINT, N.C. —  Most churches went online when the pandemic struck. Now that the worst of COVID-19 seems to be in the rearview, some houses of worship are still opting for a hybrid model for their services, similiar to the way many companies are operating. 

          What You Need To Know

  • 41% of those with jobs that can be done remotely are working a hybrid model, according to a Pew Research Survey

  • Nonprofits and other organizations like churches are also adopting this model

  • Pastor Joseph Pridgen says The Power Church continued to meet only virtually post-pandemic until recently  

 

Zoom, which came to define remote work for many, is asking employees who live within a 50-mile radius of its offices to work onsite two days a week, according to the Associated Press.

Their new hybrid policy is in line with a growing trend found in a Pew Research Survey released in March. The survey found that 41% of those with jobs that can be done remotely are working a hybrid model with both remote and in-office.

Nonprofits and other organizations like churches are also adopting this model, and not just for workers. 

Pastor Joseph Pridgen said The Power Church continued to meet only virtually post-pandemic until recently.

Now, they have begun to hold one weekly in-person service at his home in High Point.

"Sometimes just having it in a different space will just wake them up and allow them to apply the scriptures to their life," he explained.

Pridgen said the hybrid model will allow him to keep the new audience he captured during the pandemic and give access to local believers to worship together.

“It just depends on the person and where they are in life. Some people who were in-person people before the pandemic are online people now. I met some people who were online when I started in person," Pridgen said.

Now, only 35% of workers who can work from home are doing so all the time, a 43% decrease from the start of 2022.