7 minute read
Open For Business
By Dr. Franklin R. Dumond, Director of Congregational Ministries
Pastor Craig Moore summed it up so well when he said, “On March 15, in an amazing service, we baptized four individuals, and then the very next Sunday the shutdown began.”
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This kind of story repeated itself hundreds of times in mid-March as the threat of Covid-19 gripped the nation. Originally it appeared that a few weeks of social distance might stop the virus in its tracks. Doors were propped open. Bulletins were no longer handed out. Pew Bibles and hymnals disappeared. Even offering plates were quarantined to central locations so no one could accidentally touch a surface touched by someone else.
A few days later, churches abruptly stopped in-person meetings out of concern for public safety. Some churches were “shuttered” while others were “scattered.” A few chose to just say “closed,” but the net result was the same. For several weeks churches did not offer in-person worship.
Pastors and church leaders rose to the occasion. Most local pastors became televangelists by way of Facebook and YouTube. Just a few weeks into the shut down the back porches of many churches became platforms for drive-in, parking lot services. Some of these parking lot services featured portable sound systems positioned to broadcast across the “crowd” of parked cars. Others used special FM equipment to broadcast live services that could be tuned in on car radios.
One dedicated volunteer reported, “Our church is doing drive-in worship but our pastor will not allow my husband to assist with set up because of his medical conditions. Since we can’t help we show up early and watch everyone get ready. They’re doing a great job!”
A church treasurer, concerned about receiving the offering at their drive-in worship found a simple solution. She posted on the church Facebook page, “I’ll have a bucket on the porch to use for an offering plate.” Then she added, “Please approach one at a time to drop in your offerings.”
Pastor Steve Tippen at Mt. Gilead Church, Bloomfield, Missouri, found another creative way to receive the offering at their drive-in worship. With no mail service on Sundays the parking lot crowd took to placing their offerings in the church mailbox as they arrived.
Pastor Tim Reese of Ava, Missouri, reported, “While Missouri was under the stay at home order, our congregation was broken up into groups with the group leaders calling, sending letters, or messaging their group members to care for one another. It was amazing seeing how people stepped up their efforts to care for one another above and beyond what they already do.”
Reflecting on the shut down Pastor Mike Melton of Camden, Tennessee, remarked, “We took the conservative approach to protect our people. We moved quickly and got equipment to broadcast parking lot FM radio. I preached from the porch each Sunday and did Facebook live…but it has been a great sacrifice to lose events like Easter, Mother’s Day and other important events in the life of the church.”
One church lay leader reported for the monthly board meeting, but on the way to that socially distant meeting room he said, “I just had to walk into the auditorium. It was so pleasant just to be in that room again and remember what it had been like just a few weeks ago.”
Facebook Live and other recorded videos filled the void when in-person worship was not an option. Zoom Bible Studies and conference calls provided many small group experiences.
Pastor Mike Brady of Halltown Church, Portland, Tennessee described their experience. “When the pandemic hit we didn’t panic but worked hard to stay effective. We shuttered our services on March 22 and did not meet in person again until June 14.
We immediately had a new website built with Halltown.tv with the ability to stream and give online. Our brothers and sisters at Generation Church helped us to start our online campus. They donated a camera, and a black magic web presenter, and we have added a switcher and now produce services each week.”
Many larger churches developed elaborate broadcast schedules so children’s ministry, youth groups and Bible Study Groups could function remotely alongside the live stream worship.
When churches began to return to in-person worship they sadly discovered not everyone was comfortable gathering in public groups. In fact, many churches found only 25-50% of folks returned to the in-person experience. In some cases, this absence is understandable as when underlying health conditions place some folks at very high risk in any public setting. Many others have accommodated to the on-line or livestreamed services many churches have continued. One mother of young children explained this to her pastor. “I could have returned to church but it is so much easier to enjoy the service on-line rather than gather the kids for the trip to church.”
In Ava, Missouri, the church saw an 80% return rate when in-person worship resumed in May. “When the virus came to our community in July people became much more cautious of in-person services. Then when it came to Ava General Baptist in September, that is when our in-person service attendance dropped dramatically.”
With the necessity of maintaining on-line and in-person connections, a new workload has been created for many pastors. Pastor Billy Henderson, Drasco, Arkansas, started a Wednesday Bible Study as one of his needed virtual connections during the shut-down. Now that in-person has resumed he finds the virtual connection is still needed to connect to the new on-line crowd he is reaching. But this means “Wednesday is a pretty busy day with the on-line study early in the day along with Wednesday evening”.
Pastor Mike Trotter arrived at the Mt. Zion Church, Wadesville, Indiana, as the new pastor just a few weeks before the pandemic caused the church to join the crowd that stopped in-person worship. “We were fortunate that we were already working to get our services online otherwise the transition might have been a challenge. Since many were stuck at home those first few weeks, I added a midweek Bible Study online that I plan to continue indefinitely.”
As churches resumed in-person worship a variety of plans were put in place to provide social distance and to monitor those attending. Some churches required that seats be reserved so they could insure appropriate social distance with reduced seating capacity. Others did temperature checks at the doors to screen obviously sick folks from attending. Still others, like McLeansboro First Church resumed with two morning services just as in pre-Covid days. But as Pastor Tyler Feller explained, “In the early service we require masks and social distance. In the late service we suggest masks and social distance.” This allowed worshippers who were anxious about public contact to have a choice as to which setting was “safer” for them.
“It is hard to sing the Lord’s songs in this strange land” reported Mike Melton of Camden, Tennessee. Billy Henderson of Drasco, Arkansas, echoes that sentiment, “It has been and continues to be a different kind of challenge, but we are reaching more people with the Facebook connection than we had in person. We have some people who have never attended our church in-person but faithfully watch and respond to our live presentation.”
