5 Ways Your Church Can THRIVE During Coronavirus

Obviously, the situation we’re in right now isn’t ideal. The economy is slowing down massively, public life has essentially been paused, and churches everywhere are essentially being forced to operate without Sunday gatherings, or even small groups. 

Can we change the situation right now? Not really. But can we change our response to it? The answer there is yes, we can. What hidden opportunities exist in this crisis that we can start looking for? Craig Groeschel is fond of saying that we should ask ourselves “What can we do because of our limitations, instead of what can’t we do?” 

That’s not just word-speak - it’s a paradigm-shift to see unique opportunities and solutions instead of just obstacles. And coronavirus is one giant obstacle right now, but let’s take a look at some possible ways it can be an opportunity for us.

Number 1 - We can start to think more creatively about what ministry means. 

In the western world, large Sunday gatherings and experiential ministry have become the norm. And don’t just think of modern churches - this has been the case since even before World War II. Church has largely been focused on the experience - the room, the music, the teaching, the coffee, all of that. And those things aren’t wrong. 

However, those things can’t happen like that for a while. So what does “church” mean when you can’t gather together in a service? When you can’t all sing together or receive Communion? This situation should cause us to ask the question, “What are our goals as church leadership? What are our metrics of success or impact going to look like in the coming weeks?” And “how can we minister to our people in the most meaningful way possible?” This virus outbreak is an unprecedented opportunity to start re-thinking what ministry means to your people and your church.

Number 2 - I think a major shift that can and should happen during this time is an increased emphasis on shepherding and pastoral care. Different churches already place different emphasis on pastoral care based on size and philosophy of ministry, so if you’re a smaller church this may not be totally different for you. But for churches of 400 or more, it may be time for everyone on staff to become an honorary “community pastor” for a while. 

It’s a natural consequence of not having large in-person gatherings that you just can’t connect with people the same way. You can, and should, definitely be connecting with your congregation as a whole during this time, as we’ll talk about in a minute. But those moments on Sunday where you can look someone in the eye and check in on them, ask how they’re doing, how they’re mom is doing, all of that - those aren’t going to happen organically anymore.

It’s time to make a chart of every person in your church or youth ministry or kids ministry, and start directly reaching out to every single on of them. Maybe not all in one week, but maybe twice a month you can send a text or give a call to check in and see how they’re doing and how you can pray for them. See if there are parents who could use encouragement, or seniors who would like some help going to the store.

Direct connections like this always make a huge difference - even my bank called me today to see how things are going, and it felt kinda nice! So if you haven’t already, consider this period of time a no-excuses opportunity to dive in and focus on one-to-one ministry. I promise it won’t hurt, and I promise it will make a world of difference.

Number 3 - It’s time to focus on spiritual formation. Again, this may be in your church’s wheelhouse, or it may be a foreign term to you, but this is a ready-made opportunity to shepherd your church in their personal spiritual growth and habits.

Right now, people are either working from home or out of work. They’re surrounded by distractions and likely spending all day staring at screens and indulging their greatest fears about the future. They are probably not taking great care of themselves, and if they have kids, they probably haven’t had to parent this many hours in a day for this many days in a row for quite some time. It’s a time that’s tailor-made for people to become emotionally, spiritually, and physically unhealthy.

As a church, this period of time is a perfect opportunity to focus in on leading your people through some spiritual practices. Whether it’s sending out a post on how to survive this crisis by doing things like keeping a regular sleep schedule, limiting news intake, working out at least once a day, etc., or doing times of daily prayer together, the possibilities here are endless. 

Bridgetown Church in Portland, which my wife and I attended years ago before we moved to Denver, is doing a daily podcast focused on centering, Scripture, prayer, and meditation to specifically address walking through this issue well. Other churches I’ve seen online are trying to do 24-hours of prayer, with people signing up at different times. Whatever it is, try to be in your church’s lives on a daily basis if you can, because right now you just can’t lean on Sunday services like you used to.

Number 4 - It’s time to change the context of your teaching. I made another video about this recently that you can check out about whether it’s best to live-stream or pre-record services while we’re shut down from the virus, but either way, you should absolutely be teaching your congregation differently than you used to. 

If you’re going to still do a long-form sermon like you’ve done for maybe decades, that’s totally fine. But maybe you can deliver it in a fresh way. Film it in your office, or even in your home where your congregation is likely going to be watching it. Maybe sit down and lead the sermon like you would if it were a bible study or class meeting in your home. Make it more personal, and less public, so to speak. Use this time to teach or preach in a way that you simply couldn’t before. Again, don’t think about what you can’t do, but think about what you CAN do.

Finally, number 5 - it’s time to be friends with technology. I’m certainly not the first person to say this, but you just can’t avoid it during this crisis: church and internet and video are 3 terms that simply can’t be avoided right now. Maybe your church has been using video and live-streaming for a long time now, or maybe you’re completely overwhelmed with learning how to transition to digital services. Either way, this outbreak is providing you an OPPORTUNITY to see how technology can be a friend to ministry.

I still think it’s worth doing some kind of Sunday church service for your people during this time, just for the sake of normalcy, but I definitely wouldn’t stage a regular Sunday service and just film it from the back of the room. Do something during the week, edit it together, and set it to “premiere” on YouTube this Sunday at whatever time makes sense for you.

I have believed for a long time, and not without critics, that screens are the native language of our people today. Church via video or online has been ragged as “inauthentic” and other similar terms, but I’ve seen it firsthand - people pay attention to what’s on a screen. Even when I was a youth pastor, I had way fewer interruptions when I would pre-record a message while I was out of town than I did preaching in-person.

People are used to listening, learning, and interacting via screens, and right now, you kind of don’t have a choice. If you take this time to put your feet in the ground and refuse to use video to connect with your church, your people are going to suffer for it. They need you, and using video, using Zoom, even using Marco Polo and Instagram are more important than ever. 

We can debate after this crisis is over whether or not video teaching is effective, but right now, it’s your best friend. So be nice to it. Make the most of it. Do stuff you simply couldn’t do if things were normal and you were preaching live in-person on a Sunday. Seize the opportunity that this situation presents.