COVID-19 is forcing us to rethink how we do church.
When the lock down began, churches scrambled to get their worship services online. In a remarkably short period of time, the vast majority of churches figured out how to offer some kind of online presence. Sunday services now range from sophisticated to simple.
Regardless of the service being offered, almost every pastor I have talked to is excited about the number of views. Many pastors have told me something like, “When COVID-19 is over, we are going to continue to stream our services, and work to make them better. This is opening our eyes to a whole new dimension of ministry.”
While both impressive and heartwarming to see churches stepping up and going online in creative formats, I personally see this pandemic impacting churches in a deeper, more significant way.
Here are four things I have observed.
DEPENDENT PRAYER
Crisis inevitably turns us to God. I believe this is one of the reasons God allows times of suffering. As my wife, Pat, recently prayed on one of our morning walks: “God it’s good for our souls when we are small and you are big.” In the face of COVID-19 we all feel small. As a result, we are turning to God, who alone is truly BIG.
Churches are praying in a whole new way. Individuals are rising earlier and praying longer. Churches are organizing Zoom Prayer Meetings. Transformation Ministries pastors and churches are fasting and praying every Friday. There is a new level of dependent prayer happening in our churches--prayer that grows out of desperation, and the recognition of our great need of God. We can be certain that God is taking notice!
INTENTIONAL CARE
When the lock down came, churches immediately began to wrestle with the question: How are we going to care well for our people? One of the first responses was to take physical gatherings online. So small groups were encouraged to now us Zoom. Wherever possible, churches engaged in “digital duplication” (doing online what we previously did through physical gatherings).
But, very quickly, churches moved beyond “digital duplication” to intentional systems of care. They chose to pursue every person in their greater church community with the shepherding love of Jesus. As a result, teams of people have been recruited insuring that every person in the church gets a weekly phone call. Healthy volunteers are shopping for those who are most vulnerable. Pastoral and congregational care are happening with great intentionality.
As one pastor put it, “The focus has shifted from managing our systems, to authentically pastoring people.” While social distancing is the norm, relationships are deepening.
KINGDOM COLLABORATION
Pastors are working together more than ever before. Almost every pastor feels overwhelmed and inadequate. Nothing in seminary, or previous ministry experience, prepared us for this. We are in a place we have never been before. It’s all new! As a result, we are leaning into each other with a new humility.
I recently called a pastor, who told me that that he had just come from a time of prayer and planning for the Community Easter Sunrise Service. Eight pastors in the community of Blythe will be collaborating in an online Sunrise Service. Another pastor shared with me that the church he pastored, would be joining other churches in the greater Ventura area in the use a common hashtag--#JesusChangedMyLife--for all of their Easter Services.
When we work together, God raises the tide. And a rising tide, lifts every church.
GOSPEL URGENCY
When the lock down hit, an urgency came over the church. Churches did what they needed to do to get online! In almost 40 years of pastoral experience I’ve never seen so many churches mobilize so quickly. Tradition became secondary. Church boards didn’t block progress. Congregations didn’t moan about changes. Churches worked together to do what needed to get done.
Praise God for the great work that has taken place.
But the greatest work of the church is not yet finished. There is a disease that is more pervasive and deadly than the Corona Virus. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ is strong enough to overcome this disease. As churches mobilize to proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus this Easter, and then continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead, we need to make sure that traditions remain secondary, church boards become our greatest gospel advocates, and our congregations are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.
What would happen if gospel urgency became our everyday passion?
FINAL THOUGHT
To borrow the words of my new favorite song: “God is moving in this place….waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in this darkness. That is who You are!” The most recent Presidential briefing warned us to expect a very hard next two weeks. The dark is only going to get darker! But God’s light is shining in this darkness. God is moving in His church. I see new evidence of dependent prayer, intentional care, Kingdom collaboration and gospel urgency.
May this deeper work of God remain with us long after the virus is gone. If so, God’s church will be a powerful church, whether it gathers physically in a sanctuary or online in a living room.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21
Three years ago, the Easter Celebration at our church was one of the most powerful worship services I’ve attended in recent years. Soul-stirring songs, well planned creative elements, a moving testimony and a timely message were infused with the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit. God showed up! Add lots of people into the mix, and you have the kind of service that fuels a pastor’s ministry for the next six months.
