Over the past few years, many alternative worship services went from being the largest on campus to a struggling remnant. The collapse of ‘contemporary worship’ may be one of the most remarkable trends in mainline churches of the past decade. The bands have aged, the young folks got distracted (and in many cases post-Covid, they went missing altogether). Sometimes, those who lead and serve outnumber all the other worshipers combined. It is really remarkable, when I recall how adding such a service was my most common recommendation in church consultations before 2005. In some cases, this choice stopped attendance decline and reduced median age on campus for several years.
