I have posted several times over the past three months, sharing how our church has coped during the pandemic. I this post I’ll share what we’ve done in regard to reopening the church.
We began holding in person worship services on May 24th. This was in accordance with the recommendations of our state government (Texas) and state Baptist convention. We taped off every other pew and encouraged our folks to distance themselves on the occupied pews. We left most of the interior doors open. We did not pass the offering plates, and we did not have a greeting time. We placed hand sanitizer stations at all the exits. In that service our attendance was about 60 percent of what it was before the pandemic. Lots of our older folks stayed home, and young families did, also, because we did not offer childcare. The folks who did come worshiped with great enthusiasm. Very few wore masks.
On May 31st we again worshiped in person. We took the same precautions. On that Sunday we observed the Lord’s Supper, using the little prepackaged kits. Again, our attendance was about 60 percent of our pre-pandemic attendance. More of our senior adults attended on that Sunday. In fact, our oldest member, who is over ninety, went around the auditorium hugging people.
On June 7th, our attendance dipped a bit, but I believe this was because our senior pastor was on vacation. For this service we removed the tape and allowed people to sit where they wished. Again, our folks worshiped with enthusiasm. On this Sunday several of our adult Sunday school classes resumed in person teaching. We had taught the previous weeks, using ZOOM.
We had originally planned to reopen completely—Sunday school for all ages, nursery, children’s church—on June 7th; however, some complications with our Preschool Division prompted us to postpone the complete reopening until June 28th.
We did not offer in person worship for ten weeks. During those weeks, we produced and webcast a video service via Facebook and YouTube. We had good viewership during those weeks, though we noticed that the number of viewers declined weekly. However, we did observe that more folks were accessing the worship video on our church website. That made us think that our members came to realize that they could watch the worship video at another, more convenient time.
Through the weeks of the pandemic, our offerings were good, really beyond good. The first week we only received about 50 percent of our weekly budget need. I thought, “Oh man, this is going to be a rough journey.” However, our tithes and offerings for the second week were way above our budget need, and they have continued to be good until now. They have been good in the weeks since we resumed in person worship, also.
If you had told me that our church would emerge from the pandemic more unified and more financially sound, I would have said, “You’re nuts.” But, both of those statements are true. I wish I could say that our financial blessings were the result of a brilliant plan the staff concocted, but that is not true. We did not do anything. It was due to God’s blessing and generous members.
Our deacon chairman asked me what I had learned from the pandemic. Now, that is a great question, and it really made me think. I answered, “First, this experience has humbled me.” I have served in the ministry for 50 years, and I earned a PhD at Southwestern Baptist Seminary. Most things that arise I know how to handle. That is absolutely not true about ministry during the pandemic. I did not have a clue about what we should do. Our senior pastor also has 50 years of ministry experience, and about once a week we look at each other and shake our heads. We’ve never seen a situation like this. Second, I told the deacon that this pandemic has reminded me of the goodness of God. God has been so good to our church. God has guided our staff to make helpful decisions, and our members have pitched in to help in many ways.
What has your reopening experience been like?
Our situation was very similar! Another reason God is worthy to be praised.
As far as I know we are only allowed limited seating. I don’t go yet so no idea how many are wearing masks.
I will say this: yikes! to vigorous singing, or not wearing face masks, or double yikes to anyone going around hugging folks.
Please tell us in 2-4 weeks if things are still going well. Our county had very few cases up until two weeks ago. Since then we have now almost quadrupled in cases as churches, businesses, etc reopen.
It ain’t over til it is over. Which it ain’t. That is how one pastor is phrasing it.
Thanks to William for posting this for me. In our small town in Texas, we have only had one case of COVID-19. One of our deacons is on the city council, and I asked him. That case was back in March, so our situation is different than other places. As I wrote, we follow the guidelines for churches provided by our state government. I conducted a funeral yesterday, and the funeral director told me that his church in Dallas would not reopen until the middle of August. So, there are lots of different opinions on reopening. I would say the… Read more »
Sarah, I was having the same reaction as you! Thanks, Mark, for clarifying that the virus really didn’t strike your area at all. Our county has been low in cases, but the numbers continue about the same day by day here in our state. We hoped to start our service last week, but the pastor’s family had one member with a fever Saturday night, and we decided to cancel. We will try again this week. We met with each family that regularly attends. It was decided to wear face masks only for singing. The number of songs has gone from… Read more »
One thing I’ve learned the past three weeks; our church decided to be extra safe and open a few weeks later than some of those around us. We closed a week or so earlier than some. That extended window cost us several members who attended other services during the time we were closed and decided to leave altogether. Part of it was that we pushed for masks, distancing etc. While the churches that lured them away have no restrictions or precautions at all. The other part attended mega churches and we’re drawn away by all the flash and bling of… Read more »
Which is more important? Losing members to another church or maybe losing them to death?
Our county held very low until everything started opening back up. We have now quadrupled in the last two weeks, and some of those work at nursing homes or work at/attend a daycare center.
There are AME churches and many churches in the northern plains of various denoms not yet meeting together. They are not closed, just the buildings are closed. There are other means to stay connected!