We are all familiar with traffic signals: the red light tells us to stop, the green gives permission to go, and yellow alerts us that the signal is about to change; that we should prepare to stop or proceed with caution. On occasion, someone — either in a hurry or aggressive by nature — speeds through a yellow light and risks an accident.
Today the coronavirus pandemic has America facing a traffic-signal-in-reverse. The light has been red — our economy, our everyday lives have been slowed to near stop under federal guidelines and state orders designed to slow the spread of the virus and keep our health care system from collapsing under the weight of an explosive caseload. Now, we are gradually moving to yellow, easing restrictions to open our economy.
But, as Ed Yong documents in his story at The Atlantic, “Why the Coronavirus Is So Confusing,” there is still much we don’t know about this virus and the COVID-19 disease it causes. So, correctly deciding when this reverse signal has turned yellow remains a challenge.
As states begin to relax their orders and restrictions, they are searching for the right mix of progress and caution, pushing the accelerator to reach optimum speed. Some are opening up most sectors of the economy at the same time. Many are easing slowly ahead with phased re-openings. Others have yet to take their foot off the brake.
Churches are facing a similar dilemma. When governments began to issue shelter in place orders, the vast majority of churches followed their lead. For most, the primary reason was not simply to show respect for the civil authority, but proper concern for the health and safety of their congregants and neighbors. Christian leaders are painfully aware that early in the pandemic church attendance and participating in choir practice hastened the spread of the disease.
The dangers illustrated by incidents like these weighed heavily on church leaders. According to a poll conducted by LifeWay Research, by the end of March, 93% of Protestant churches were no longer meeting in person, whether their governments had issued orders or not. Of these, 92% continued to hold “virtual” services via livestream or video.
But the very word translated “church” in the New Testament, ekklesia, means a “gathering in a public place.” So naturally, as states begin to open their economies, churches think about a return to in-person worship. To prepare wisely, a church must answer two questions: When to return? And under what conditions?
The two are closely related. The coronavirus is still active and deadly, meaning that churches mustn’t return to public worship until they are able to provide ample protection.
In an article in Christianity Today entitled “What Relaunching the Church Might Look Like Over the Next 3-12 Months,” Ed Stetzer and Josh Laxton suggest a phased return. Borrowing a metaphor from an article by Tomas Pueyo, they compare the church’s response to the coronavirus to a hammer and a dance. The hammer represents the initial period when churches abandoned their buildings and moved online. Churches will enter the dance as they slowly return to those buildings to gather for worship once again. Like a dance, Stetzer and Laxton say, this will require a “rhythm, rules, and moves.”
New City (Ohio) plans to organize a committee of medical experts that will put together a phased approach for their return to worship and resumption of other ministries.
They identify the rhythm as the gating criteria set by the federal government for moving between three phases of reopening. The rules they identify deal with the physical distancing practices appropriate to each phase (strict to moderate to limited). Moves include developing practical plans and procedures to move forward, setting priorities in case finances require budgets to be reassessed, re-thinking ministry models for corporate worship, small groups, next-generation ministries, and volunteers, and reassessing mission strategy in light of the pandemic (and ultimately, post-pandemic) environment.
While Stetzer and Laxton’s article suggests an overall strategy, others focus on the nuts and bolts of preparing to meet in-person. One of the more comprehensive papers, “Guidelines for Reopening and Returning to Church Buildings,” has been prepared by the Georgia Baptist Convention. These guidelines are updated as new recommendations are issued by the Georgia Governor’s Office. The paper addresses topics such as how thoroughly the facility must be cleaned before the congregation returns; ways to enhance social distancing and good hygiene in services; whether, when, and how to restart Sunday school, small groups, and children’s ministry; guidelines for praise teams, tech teams, choirs and even orchestras. While not all of the guidelines will be appropriate for churches of every size, the article contains suggestions appropriate for churches of any size.
And PCA churches of all sizes are wrestling with the decision of when and how to return to gathered worship.
A Church Plant Perspective
For the past five years, James Kessler has been planting New City Presbyterian Church in Hilliard, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The church had reached nearly 100 in attendance and was on the brink of electing elders and organizing as a particular congregation when the pandemic hit.
New City has not developed a timeline for their return to in-person worship. While Kessler is expecting Ohio to ease restrictions on public gatherings at the end of May, he has not pushed the issue; the many medical professionals in his congregation applaud his caution.
New City plans to organize a committee of medical experts that will put together a phased approach for their return to worship and resumption of other ministries. Kessler will use video and email to communicate this plan to the congregation; the message will be couched in the same terms that were used when worship went online: this is an expression of love for our neighbors.
The church already has a sanitizing team — two people to wipe down everything before and after worship. Leadership also expects that many in the congregation will wear masks after their return. And though Kessler doesn’t anticipate an immediate problem with social distancing when on-site worship resumes, he strongly encourages vulnerable members to stay home and watch the livestream. He anticipates that one-third of the congregation will stay home until much later in the summer or early fall.
If needed, New City will add an earlier service and may assign people to services alphabetically, by community groups, or some combination of the two. He expects the first service back will be lively and joyous.
Christ Church, Katy, Texas, Plans to Meet on May 24
Christ Church in the West Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, held its first service more than 20 years ago. Since then, it has grown to a congregation of around 300. The church’s first Sunday back in its building will be May 24, corresponding to the plans of the Texas government to enter Phase 2 on May 18.
Pastor Fred Greco says, “Our focus has been on reopening the core mission of the church, which is corporate worship.” Greco briefly communicated this decision on May 2 and announced it in the church’s livestream the next day. Throughout the crisis, the church has maintained an active coronavirus update page on its website; more information about plans to reopen will be posted there. Those plans include holding two morning worship services to ensure proper social distancing. Those attending the first service will sit in odd numbered rows; those in the second will occupy even numbered rows, minimizing contact with furniture by more than one person. The congregation will be advised to maintain two seats between family units and will be dismissed from the service by family unit.
While the church had already posted guidelines on hand washing and provided hand sanitizer before any stay-at-home order had been issued, it is now stocking up on hand sanitizer, masks, and additional cleaning supplies.
A 45-minute “buffer” between services will ensure limited contact between members between services. The church will continue to livestream one morning service and one evening service for those unable to come in person and those in the at-risk population. Greco, like Kessler, strongly advises older and at-risk members to stay home.
While the church had already posted guidelines on hand washing and had provided hand sanitizer before any stay-at-home order had been issued, it is now stocking up on hand sanitizer, masks, and additional cleaning supplies. As church leaders consider opening Sunday morning nursery and children’s ministry, they will track information about the virus carefully but expect these will remain closed at least through June, as many of their volunteers or the family members of volunteers are in the at-risk population. In the meantime, the church will continue its current practice of sending children’s Sunday school materials to families for use at home.
Christ Church plans to keep most of their other ministries closed at present, particularly as those ministries tend to “pause” through the summer. In the fall, leaders will carefully consider opening some ministries, particularly the church’s popular English as a Second Language ministry and children’s ministries.
How a Large Church Plans to Move Forward
It is the largest PCA churches that face the most complex decisions about meeting in person. The larger the crowd, the greater the risk of virus transmission. What precautions can congregations of 1,000 or more take that will enable them to resume ministry?
One PCA congregation that has been grappling with the question is Perimeter Church, outside Atlanta. On a typical weekend before the pandemic, Perimeter’s average worship attendance was between 3,500 and 4,000 adults. Attendance at their largest service, was typically around 1,800.
The church’s former practice of light cleaning during the week and thorough cleaning after the Sunday services will be replaced with disinfectant cleaning throughout the week. “We’ve ordered a disinfectant fogger, which can cover large areas like our main auditorium,” says Jamey Short, Perimeter’s executive director of internal ministries.
As the church considers returning to in-person ministry, Perimeter has adopted a four-phased approach based on federal and state guidelines. In the first two phases, worship continues online. During the second phase (roughly from mid-May to the end of May), leaders will meet to prepare for the events that are scheduled in the next phase. Employees will deep cleaning and sanitizing the facility, protocols that will continue through the third phase, which extends from the beginning of June until early July.
The church’s former practice of light cleaning during the week and thorough cleaning after the Sunday services will be replaced with disinfectant cleaning throughout the week. “We’ve ordered a disinfectant fogger, which can cover large areas like our main auditorium,” says Jamey Short, Perimeter’s executive director of internal ministries, “and we’ve added lots of hand-sanitizing stations, as well as sanitizing wipe stations so people can clean their seats before they sit down.”
During this third phase, the church will begin to hold a limited number of on-campus events. “We typically have 53,000 events each year, most of which involve 10 to 20 people,” says Short. “While we could probably maintain the social distancing for that number, there would be so many events each day that we wouldn’t have time to do the deep cleaning and disinfecting we need.”
One illustration of the challenges the church faces is its annual summer camp, Camp All American. The ministry normally serves some 9,000 kids over the summer, beginning in May. Besides trying to determine when to start the program, leaders also need to figure how to operate with fewer participants — necessitated by social distancing guidelines.
In phase three, Perimeter will also return to on-campus worship. Church leaders hope to hold that first service on June 14, though that is subject to change.
To prepare, they have had a limited number of families present in the auditorium during the livestream for the past few weeks. Short says this has enabled leaders to observe traffic patterns and interaction among the participants, which will allow them to make adjustments in areas where social distancing proves difficult. They also plan to create a nearly touchless experience by propping open as many doors as they can, including restroom doors, and assigning ushers to hold the exterior doors.
In addition, they are taking steps to provide as much opportunity as possible to practice social distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines. For example, they are considering using an additional four venues in addition to the main auditorium during their most popular worship time. They may also create an outdoor worship venue. However, they don’t plan to rope off pews or take other measures to enforce social distancing; that will be the responsibility of the members of the congregation. “Short of setting up a reservation system, there’s no way we could do it,“ Short says.
At this point they have not considered a date for providing childcare during morning worship; for now, services will be family friendly.
“We plan to explain the measures we’re taking to help everyone follow the guidelines and welcome people to return when they’re comfortable. Those who don’t feel comfortable will be able to continue to worship online,” Short said.
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper
Despite their differences in size and situation, all three churches plan to celebrate the Lord’s Supper early in their return. Neither New City nor Christ Church have decided the method they will use to ensure proper hygiene, but both plan to hold communion their first Sunday back. Perimeter plans to wait until their second or third Sunday on campus, but they have already secured 2,500 pre-filled communion cup and wafer sets and have 2,500 more on back order.
When the coronavirus is finally in our rearview mirror, how will it have affected the church? Fred Greco hopes one result will be a deepened appreciation for corporate worship, the sacraments, and community. “When we are denied something by God in His Providence,” he says, “we can come to see how important it is.”