The Church's Response to Covid 19

Case Study Ten: Lean on God as the Source of all Wisdom Lea Gauthier Lea Gauthier is both a doer and a learner of life, seeking to learn how to more fully lean on Jesus as she pursues Him and His purpose in her life. She is a wife, step-mom, sister, daughter, IT professional, and nonprofit leader, currently relishing a season of study, as she pursues a depth of Biblical understanding through the MA Biblical Studies program at Asbury Theological Seminary.

Context: Suburban Ohio Affiliation: Church of the Nazarene Size: About 280 in attendance Church Context Congregations throughout the world responded to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 in a variety of ways. The following is just one example of how a Nazarene congregation located in suburban Ohio responded.

The congregation is located on the outskirts of a major metropolitan city that was significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It is of moderate size, reporting a membership of 426 members on their annual report as of June 1st, 2020. The lead pastor, Pastor David, reports that weekly attendance was approximately 280 individuals per week prior to the pandemic. Before the pandemic, the congregation held two Sunday morning worship services each week. Both services were of the same format, with a contemporary worship style. Services shifted to a single, online only service format in March 2020. Adult in-person Sunday morning services restarted at the end of May, with the children’s Sunday morning program reopening in July. Small group and mid-week programing either stopped or shifted to a virtual meeting format in 155