Everything came to an abrupt end.
Twenty four weeks into our new church plant, we received a message from the school where we hosted our Sunday morning services, “We’re sorry but you can’t use the facility for two weeks due to needing to clean for COVID-19.” Two weeks turned to three weeks. Three weeks turned into a Stay At Home Order from our Governor. Not only couldn’t local churches meet, even going out for unnecessary things or visiting others would be prohibited. With no other plan in place, we started to stream our messages online, but wondered how we would go forth with the mission God laid on our heart, to help those in our county experience the love of God and develop their purpose.
In early June, our Governor started to release some of the restrictions that stopped churches from meeting. We slowly started to see churches reopening, some with heavy restrictions and others with none. Simultaneously, we were watching as Christians worldwide would speak over social media about what they feel churches should be doing. Some would proclaim that churches who reopen “don’t care about the people.” Others would applaud pastors who defied the government and stood up for their rights to worship. Even within our own church, the opinions of the members were wide-stretched, condemning, and caused great division. Yet, with much prayer after being closed for four months, we reopened our church.
As pastors, we were able to see this entire situation from a different perspective than most churchgoers. Not only do we have the responsibility to share the gospel, we are also called to care for those who are under our guidance.
With this being said, we would like to share 7 things that we believe your pastor wished you knew about the church’s response to COVID-19.
Photo Credit: © Jack Sharp/Unsplash