Amidst the bills and circulars, good news sometimes comes to my snail mailbox. This week I received a church newsletter of something unexpected and positive that has come of the COVID-19 crisis. This church usually had 500 to 700 in multiple Sunday services prior to the pandemic. They continued and upgraded their livestream service after the shutdown. Although they have resumed one service with social distancing and other precautions and have 300 in the sanctuary every week, they also have over 5000 watching or listening through an online presence! As a result, they have upgraded their production capability with additional cameras, improved lighting, and updated control systems. They are investing for the future.
To put this in context, this is a church near a large military facility, so they have former members scattered across the nation and world, so they already had an audience prepared to connect in this way. Even so, there may be many new worshippers who have joined them during this unique time. They are taking advantage of lessons learned during a challenging time.
For every story like this, I know that there are churches struggling to minister, worship, serve congregants, and make budget during the pandemic, but some have become very creative in their work and are finding ways to do all of these things. They have engaged in adaptive change. But what happens next?
In ReShaping Church, Mark Tidsworth challenges churches to enter into a time of assessment. He suggests that part of that process is sorting our COVID-19 practices into three buckets:
- The Continue Bucket--What did we start doing which may need continuing or expanding?
- The Stop Bucket--What did we stop doing that may not need restarting?
- The Explore Bucket--What else might the Holy Spirit be nudging us to do as a result of our experience?
The enhanced online ministry of the church mentioned in the introduction is an example of continue and expand. They have found an unexpected way to minister and they will both continue and develop it.
In the Stop Bucket, we might consider all the committee meetings that we have forgone during the pandemic. How necessary were they? What programs did we stop offering during the pandemic? Will anyone miss them if we never offered them again?
Many churches have discovered some opportunities as well as gaps in their ministry that might fill the Explore Bucket. How can we expand our ministry to those who are isolated? Are there service opportunities that we tried during the pandemic that should be continued and strengthened?
We have been and continue to go through difficult times, but we can learn from the experience and be more effect going forward.
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