Shallow Discipleship: The Church’s Primary Ailment Revealed by Crisis

When COVID-19 swept across the world and churches shuttered their doors, something deeper was exposed—something more concerning than empty sanctuaries or disrupted schedules. It became apparent that many churches had built systems that produced attendance but not resilience, volunteers but not disciples, consumers but not witnesses.

The pandemic didn’t create the problem. It revealed and accelerated it. Shallow discipleship—a condition where people profess faith in Jesus but lack the formation to live it out—has become the defining ailment of the modern American church. And the social and political turbulence that followed only deepened the diagnosis.

We now have the data and the lived experience: churches that were numerically strong pre-COVID saw many regular attenders disappear. Others fractured under political and cultural pressure. Believers—some long considered “mature”—struggled to remain rooted in Christ amidst confusion, fear, and ideological warfare.

The question is not, “What happened to our people?” The question is, “What were we forming them into before the storm hit?”

What Shallow Discipleship Looks Like

Shallow discipleship is not about bad intentions. In fact, it often grows in churches with vibrant programs, dynamic preaching, and high energy. But it lacks depth. It forms people to attend church, not to be the Church. It encourages knowing about Jesus, but not abiding in Him. It emphasizes behavioral conformity over spiritual transformation.

Shallow discipleship shows up when:

• Believers confuse political identity with spiritual maturity.

• People fall apart spiritually when rhythms of church attendance are disrupted.

• Social media has more formative power than Scripture.

• Conflict causes division rather than deeper grace and dialogue.

• Faith is personalized and privatized, rarely spilling into public life.

When a crisis hits—and COVID-19 was a generational one—shallow roots are exposed. Jesus said it clearly in the parable of the soils: “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away” (Matthew 13:21). The problem isn’t that trouble came. The problem is that roots were too thin.

Why the Storms Revealed the Cracks

1. The Pandemic Disrupted the Program-Driven Church

For decades, churches measured discipleship by participation in programs. Sunday school, Bible studies, small groups, and events became the primary discipleship engines. But when these programs disappeared or moved online, it became painfully clear that many believers had no personal rhythms of prayer, Scripture, or community outside the institution.

The scaffolding came down, and for some, there was no structure left.

2. The Social and Political Climate Exposed Faulty Foundations

From racial injustice and protests, to the 2020 election, to mask mandates and vaccine debates, churches became battlegrounds of ideology. Instead of being rooted in the character and teachings of Jesus, many Christians were more shaped by partisan news cycles, internet influencers, and cultural echo chambers.

Where was the fruit of the Spirit? Where was humility, gentleness, peacemaking, and love of neighbor?

Too often, discipleship had not prepared believers to engage difficult issues with theological depth, emotional maturity, or Kingdom ethics.

3. Digital Church Was a Mirror, Not the Problem

Much has been said about “screen fatigue” and the limitations of digital worship. But the issue wasn’t primarily with the format—it was with formation. Digital church didn’t make discipleship shallow; it simply revealed how dependent people were on the structure of Sunday gathering to maintain their faith.

Without that weekly spiritual boost, many discovered that their own spiritual lives had little strength.

How We Move Forward: Forming Deep Disciples for a Disrupted World

The solution is not to return to business as usual. The urgency now is to rebuild our discipleship models around depth, resilience, and mission—not just content delivery or program participation.

Here are three shifts churches must make:

1. From Programs to Practices

Rather than just plugging people into events, we must teach them how to cultivate daily practices of following Jesus:

• How to pray deeply.

• How to read and meditate on Scripture.

• How to confess sin, forgive, and walk in holiness.

• How to discern truth in a noisy world.

We must train people to feed themselves spiritually and follow Christ with or without the scaffolding of a program.

2. From Content to Formation

Information alone doesn’t form disciples. Transformation happens when truth is embodied. That means:

• Slowing down to allow reflection and obedience.

• Creating environments where questions, struggle, and accountability are welcomed.

• Helping people practice the way of Jesus, not just study it.

3. From Attendance to Activation

Discipleship must lead to mission. The goal is not churchgoers—it’s everyday missionaries. We must equip people to:

• Live their faith in their workplaces and neighborhoods.

• Share the Gospel in natural ways.

• Serve the vulnerable and love their enemies.

Discipleship divorced from mission is incomplete. We are formed to be sent.

The Time for Shallow Discipleship Is Over

The last few years were a wake-up call. The systems and assumptions that once sustained church life no longer hold. But this moment also holds immense opportunity:

A church that forms deep, resilient, missional disciples can thrive in a disrupted world. It will not be the loudest church, or the most polished church, or the biggest church—it will be the deepest church.

Pastor, leader, disciple-maker: this is your moment to reimagine what formation looks like. Let the pain of the past years fuel your resolve to go deeper. The Church does not need more activity. It needs more abiding.

Let us be found forming disciples who can stand in the storm, live like Jesus, and shine like light in the darkness. The world is watching—not for perfection, but for depth. Let’s give it to them.