Think Outside the Box!

Sometimes you just have think outside of the box!  I had to do this with my last motorcycle rebuild.   I had taken this Kawasaki W650, and with some cosmetic fixes, this motorcycle took on the persona of a cafe racer.   But after my son had a serious run-in with a car which hit it head-on, I had to think outside the box.  My son was thankfully spared any serious injury, but the motorcycle was a disaster.  It had to be completely rebuilt from the frame up.   About eight months later this motorcycle looked very different from the original, even the first rebuild.

Our churches, like all organisations, have been hit head-on by a disaster of kinds.   We are in the midst of a serious run-in with a virus.  And as we perhaps are moving into the rebuilding phase of our society, economy, every business and organisation, as church leaders we will need to think outside the box when it comes to our churches.  Our church and ministries will not need to be rebuilt from the ground up.   But what will result after eight months or so will most likely look very different from the original.  Here are four things as church leaders we need to be thinking about.

1.  Innovation and Change

Everyone of our churches have had to innovate and change because of the COVID-19 virus.  There are some things we used to do before the pandemic that we are not doing anymore.   And we are doing a lot of new things that we've never done before.  Many pastors and elders have picked up the phone and regularly contact their members rather than simply see them at a weekend worship service.   In the 12 years we have been part of our local church, not once did an elder randomly call us up or visit us to see how we were doing and how engaged we were at the church.  But just last week I was contacted.  We worship God, celebrate the Lord's Supper, and give our tithes and offerings all from the comfort of our living rooms!  Preachers open God's Word in front of a camera.  Discipleship, men's and women's ministries, and youth groups now happen on ZOOM.  And everybody seems to have adjusted easily to these changes.   Instead of hearing church members tell us "We've never done it that way before," they now tell us:  "We must do things like never before."   Post COVID-19 we will find more of our people looking for innovation and change.  

2.  Online Presence

Prior to COVID-19 very few of our churches had an online presence;  today they all do!   Virtually overnight everything changed when the government told us that congregating in groups were no longer allowed.   As I speak with CRCA pastors and church leaders I am hearing how almost every church is engaging more people outside of their church than ever before.   The unchurched who are reticent to attend public worship are now watching weekly services online.  One pastor shared with me of a conversion which happened to someone who tuned in online from Cairns QLD.   I read of one church which pre-pandemic had only 100 members; today over 3000 people are part of their on-line presence.   Our churches are now meeting people where most of them 'live': on-line!  Post COVID-19 it would be a real step backward if our churches quit church on-line.   We will have to think outside of the box.  Consider investing in cameras and other equipment that will help the church be more professional in the new online world of worship.  And how will we staff this ministry?  What training will be required?

3.  Social Networking

Most of our churches have websites but before the pandemic, most CRCA churches were not embracing or using social media.   Because of COVID-19 our churches have had to learn that social media is the communication network of our day.   It is how people connect and communicate with each other.  Today, due to social distancing, many of our pastors and church leaders are using social media to reach out and "touch" their members and others.  They are catching in with people using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, What'sApp, and/or other platforms.   They are sharing devotions, giving words of encouragement, praying with people, and sharing news items.  Church is no longer just a Sunday-morning-only experience.   Connection with the church has shifted to what happens seven days a week.  Engagement with the church has never been so high.  This is a very positive step forward.  Post COVID-19 forward thinking churches will not just embrace and use social media, but will see this as a key ministry to connect and communicate with their members and the unchurched.

4.  Godliness and Cleanliness

I grew up in a culture where we lived by the maxim:  "Cleanliness is next to godliness."  From a very young age we were taught about keeping our rooms clean and personal hygiene.   We were always told to wash our hands when we came in from outside and before meals.   Post COVID-19 how would you feel if you were the 100th person in a worship service to touch the offering plate that 99 other people just touched?   Would you be worried about catching a virus?   Sure you would.  And so would guests to your worship services.   Passing the plate or offering bag might become a thing of the past as churches move fully to online giving.  What about the greeters at the door who shake everybody's hands?   Or the "turn around and greet someone" practice in so many of our Sunday gatherings?   Today, as you go to the local shops you are greeted by people giving you hand sanitzer.   What are you doing to sanitize and sterilize your church?  Including the nursery and the places where children gather for Sunday School?   Perhaps our grandparents were not that wrong when they reminded us that "cleanliness is next to godliness."

The Bible reminds us that "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28)   Here the apostle Paul is not telling us that all things are good.   Rather, God can work some good through all things.   And post COVID-19 we will discover this to be really true.   God will work some good out of this pandemic.   We will be more innovative and willing to change.   We will engage more people for Christ through on-line ministries.   We will connect with one another more effectively through social networking.   And our churches will live the reality that cleanliness is next to godliness.    We just have to be willing to think outside of the box.

If you want to do more thinking outside of the box, here are some questions/thoughts you might consider:   Rethinking How to do Church Post COVID-19