Humbe, Bernard P.Bernard P.Humbe2024-01-092024-01-092023978-3-86309-911-4https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/92500The emergence of Covid-19 paralyzed the global religious systems and disoriented the norm especially in the operations of the church activities. In the African continent the far-reaching effects of coronavirus on the church was felt when governments ordered a full shutdown of all but essential services. This meant that churches were not on the “essential list, thus, a virtual engagement became an exception. With the notion of COVID-19 and the virtual church on the fore, this chapter focuses on the Zimbabwean situation, drawing examples from African Initiated Churches (AICs). Qualitatively, the study uses a phenomenological approach, interviews, observations and documentary analysis to gather information which shows that AICs in Zimbabwe are a spiritual and physical entity. The chapter argues that the new norm of a virtual church bred both benefits and challenges for indigenous adherents’ spirituality. Partially, communication patterns, prayers and prophecies for believers have become easier to an extent of having a broader and often global reach. However, believers struggle to work out how best to worship and to feel connected to their faith in the absence of physical presence. This led some AICs to escape the government lockdown COVID-19 rules and regulations by resorting to forests as hide out places of worship. This is because most adherents are much more concerned about not being able to attend church, with all the trusted emotional and material support that it entails, than about COVID-19 itself. As the chapter (re)imagines spirituality in a pandemic context and beyond, it concludes noting that conservatism in AICs’ religiosity requires re-adjustment from the norm and embrace a spirituality that is endorsed by virtualization of the church.engAfrican Initiated ChurchesCOVID-19pandemicspiritualityvirtual church230bookpart