For decades, more than two-thirds of Americans belonged to a church. But by 2020, less than half were church members, an unprecedented low since Gallup started keeping track in 1937.

Americans’ trust in churches and pastors has fallen, too. Gallup reported that in 2009, 52% of adults had confidence in the church as an institution. By 2021, only 37% did, and only 36% had trust in pastors, a new low.

Pastors regularly face stress, and many deal with depression, but a local ministry that offers retreats to encourage and restore pastors says that pressures related to changes brought by COVID have sent rates of stress and depression soaring.

“Basically, no matter what choice they made, there were going to be lot of people upset,” says Giles Armstrong, president of Sonscape Retreats, a ministry in Divide that has helped thousands of pastors, missionaries and other Christian leaders with its weeklong retreats since its founding in 1984.

Many pastors have told Armstrong that decisions they made about masks and other issues ignited divisions rivaling the intensity of the “worship wars” that pitted hymn-loving traditionalists against those who favor contemporary worship music.

COVID temporarily prevented many churches from meeting, which led many congrega

tions to scramble and put Sunday services online for the first time.

Decisions about when to resume in-person services caused controversy, and many congregants chose to continue watching services from the comfort of home or migrated to other online services more to their liking.

At many churches, attendance has not returned to PRE-COVID numbers. Hundreds of smaller churches have closed, and hundreds of pastors have resigned.

Decisions about whether to require masks led to new divisions, says Armstrong, who worked as a pastor in Berean churches before joining Sonscape in 2019.

“Some people said, ‘If we wear masks, I’m not coming.’ While others said, ‘If we don’t wear masks, I’m not coming.’ Pastors ran themselves ragged trying to meet the needs of their people in a constantly shifting system that might change in a week or two.”

Armstrong says the new pressures COVID put on churches exposed congregations’ lack of spiritual vitality and maturity, making things harder for pastors, the leaders Peter called the “shepherds of God’s flock.”

“Pastors are trying to figure out how to shepherd sheep that don’t love the other sheep,” Armstrong said. “And if we can’t love the person in the pew next to us, how can we love the person in our community that we’re supposed to be reaching for Christ?”

Now, many pastors are struggling with how they can get members to love one another, or at least quit fighting each other.

“In their hearts, shepherds want to serve people and love people,” Armstrong says. “To have a lot of people upset with them devastates a pastor’s heart.”

Partisan politics have increased division in the pews. During recent revival services in the Springs, evangelist Mario Murillo, an associate of Andrew Wommack, insisted that pastors “should be speaking out in our pulpits against the left, against the Democrat Party.”

Armstrong, who has lived in other countries, believes America is “one of the greatest nations on Earth.” But he fears some churches are too politically entrenched.

“The challenge is: Are we here to save America or save Americans? Are we trying to save a way of life instead of living our lives in such a way that we reveal Jesus, the author of life?”

This year, about 300 leaders and spouses will attend Sonscape retreats at its retreat center in Divide and in Texas, Michigan, New York, India and Colombia. The goal now is the same as when Sonscape was founded nearly 40 years ago: helping pastors be healthier emotionally, spiritually and physically.

The ministry’s motto is:

“Rest, renewal, and life change.”

Couples who attend Sonscape retreats spend a week learning about pastoral stress and other warning signs, receiving counseling on emotional issues, and engaging in common activities many pastors often skip: conversations with their spouse, recreational activities and time for personal prayer and spiritual development.

“Pastors don’t do a good job of taking care of ourselves,” said Armstrong, who attended Sonscape retreats when he was a pastor. “Soul care and self-care are not high on pastors’ to-do lists.

“If pastors don’t build these things into their lives ahead of a crisis, they won’t be able to build these things during a crisis,” Armstrong said.