Small Church Ministry During a Pandemic
All of our churches (and ministries) have been in unchartered waters since earlier this year when a previously unheard-of virus entered our lives. For many people in the world, this coronavirus has been quite disruptive, altering people’s jobs and livelihoods. Every congregation has had to be creative in order to remain active. Fortunately, many churches have figured out wonderful approaches to keep their people involved.* Worship services, Bible classes, daily devotions broadcast on YouTube, Facebook, Zoom, or some other medium have become mainstream in many churches since March 2020. In medium to large churches, this is the norm now. But just like with so many other things, small churches enter into this pandemic with a unique set of strategies and difficulties.
Some things have been easier for those of us in small churches. Although the specific examples I’ll offer here apply in my home context, I am sure many other small congregations might identify. First, we never stopped meeting on Sunday mornings. Yes, our attendance suffered tremendously in those early weeks, but every single Sunday we were still open for worship for any who felt comfortable attending in person. And, yes, we were still able to practice social distancing. Our auditorium is large enough that we didn’t have to worry about sitting too close to each other. There are some members here who could not imagine being anywhere else on a Sunday than here in the building. And so I still prepared new sermons and led a worship service every single Sunday without exception. That was, however, our only time per week when we would come together. We tried a few social media methods to stay connected, but most who viewed these lessons were actually not from this congregation. It is fair to say that most of our members do not use social media, so posting our worship services online did not hit the desired audience, and so we stopped doing this after about ten weeks.
We have recently resumed our Wednesday night meetings, but we have intentionally delayed starting back with our Bible classes and Sunday nights to avoid overworking our janitor. This way we do not have him constantly sanitizing everything. But if and when things in the world improve, we will add those times of fellowship back into our regular opportunities of worship.
Another tremendous benefit that I noticed was how much closer I grew to our members during these socially distant times. I was on the phone a lot more, checking in on our members. Not only were we talking more often, but I was also learning about the things these dear members were missing. And when I say missing, I mean that literally. Many of these people I called were widows or very limited in their ability to get out of the house to do their normal shopping. So my wife and I would gather a list of items to purchase from the nearby big city (Amarillo!) and make a weekly trip wearing masks and sometimes even rubber gloves.
One major regret is that we’ve been unable to participate in worship services with our two local nursing homes. Under normal conditions we would drop in on each of them every Sunday, sing several songs, administer the Lord’s Supper, and I would offer a mini-sermon. More importantly, we got to visit with people who often go un-visited. The rules now prohibit us doing any of that, which is sad for those residents as well as us.
This pandemic has not ended, but we are at a different place today than we were several months ago. Most of our members have returned to regular Sunday worship and we appreciate one another’s presence so much more. I don’t see the hugs or handshakes like we were one accustomed to, but to talk face-to-face (from a bit of a distance) is something we no longer take for granted.
Just a few months ago, I feared that a pandemic with people staying away would irreparably harm the church. Mostly to the contrary, I believe it has strengthened it, at least in our small church. We long to be with one another. We long for normalcy in a world that seems no longer normal. We no longer take for granted our reliance upon one another. Someday it will be healthy enough in the world that we will resume our world famous potlucks. We long for that day!
—
*For instance, see “When the Main Dish Is Delayed, the Party Must Go On” by Eric Gentry, “Church in the Time of COVID-19: Findings From a National Survey (Part 2)” by Suzie Macaluso, and “Live Into Hope!” by Carson Reed.
