covid-19

Once we are confident that we have satisfied all of our established external and internal criteria, our leadership team has developed a three-phase plan to resume in-person worship services and other activities at the church. Once again, we have not yet set a date for when we will begin to implement this plan, but in this post, I want to share some of the details of the strategy’s first phase.

As we have discussed our strategy for re-opening, we have sought to incorporate the best of others’ thinking. In doing so, three things have become apparent.

Today, I would humbly offer a list of some of the internal things that must be in place before we can resume in-person worship services. To be clear, these are things that we can control. Some of them are questions that need to be answered. Some of them are plans, procedures, and policies that need to be formulated. Some of them are things that just need to be done. That, though, is the point: these things are not would-be-nice things. They are needs that absolutely must be in place before in-person services can resume at our church.

I have been wondering what external factors – that is, things which the church cannot directly control – must be present before we resume in-person gatherings. As of this morning, our congregation’s leadership team has wisely identified at least three such factors.

Truly, recognizing and addressing the operational challenges presented by COVID-19 is a daunting proposition. In the midst of all the other stuff that we have to juggle, though, we must not forget to adjust our expectations for seating capacities.