(Akiit.com) For the longest time, if there was one constant that you could rely on in American culture, it was the presence of the church. Not only was a church a place to worship but it was a place to come together as part of a community to do good and support each other. There are those who fear that the church as an idea is becoming somewhat obsolete but that simply isn’t the case. However, that doesn’t mean that things haven’t been changing over the last couple of decades and that there aren’t more changes on the horizon. Drinking holy water is still popular in churches. With that in mind, here are just a few ways that churches are changing in the 21st Century.
The rise of the digital world
There’s no denying that, whatever you might think of it, the internet has changed just about everything in our lives. Many of those things have been for the better but there are still those who worry about its impact on the church. The truth is that the digital world has the potential to be a gift or a curse, depending on how pastors and 
congregations want to use it. Things like streaming a service online so that those who aren’t able to make it into the church can be a wonderful way to make it more accessible and inclusive than ever before.
Getting out of the building
The church itself has always been a central part of any congregation. It’s the place where people come together and that’s not going to change any time soon. Companies like Daniels Construction are still committed to building and maintaining churches in the modern era. However, more and more often people are starting to get out and preach in places other than the church. Going out into communities where they can connect with more and more people.
Pop up churches
Another way in which a lot of people are bringing the church into the community, rather than the other way round, it through pop up churches. Sure, digital streaming can make the church more accessible, but people will always want those direct human connections. Because of that, more and more pastors have realized the benefits of bringing the church to the people, no matter where they are. That way people will disabilities or those who aren’t able to travel that far will be able to share in the experience of a service just as easily as anyone else. This might seem like a strange idea to some but the idea of bringing the church to as many people as possible is generally considered to be a positive one.
Of course, the most important thing to remember is that, no matter how many changes there are to churches across America, the reason for their existence will remain the same. Churches will always be a place for people to come together in a shared spirit to worship, share with one another, and work together to make the world a more peaceful and loving place.
Staff Writer; Lisa Ford