Reopening the Churches

My prayers are with the pastors and church leaders as they reopen God's churches for worship, Sunday School, and other ministries. Really! I just prayed! Please pray, too!

I've read several pundits who have weighed in on how this will take place and what results to expect. The one that resonated with me most pointed out it would take good planning and realistic expectations. Likely, most churches will not immediately bounce back to the place they were when the sequestering started. One writer estimated around 25% would still stay at home over concern about catching the virus. He also said another third might never come back. Where would they go? He wasn't too clear, but he hinted they might either drop out or select another church.

We are about to discover what will actually happen. Surely, most churches will continue to do a live stream of the service that can be recorded and posted on the church website. In my opinion, that is an absolute necessity in our online world, especially for evangelism and reaching the younger generation. Does your church have a website? Does it have the equipment to do this? Do you have people who understand technology? If not, your formal life as a church that can afford a staff and a building is in jeopardy. You might have to become a house church or rent a hall at the local Holiday Inn.

Our lives have once again changed through a disruption no one, except a few in the disease fighting community, saw coming or thought was possible. This is what I ask at times like this: "Okay, God, what are you doing now? How does this fit into your master plan?" And you can count on the fact that God is at work in ways not fully understood at this time. Maranatha!