You can’t go home again. Or as I heard one student put it in speech class, “You can’t go home again. Well, you can, but it’s not the same.”
The old normal isn’t coming back, not the way it was, at least not for churches. I’m not saying we’re going to be on lockdown forever. I am saying that things will be different, both for good and for bad.
Now is the time to start thinking about the way forward. How will your church take advantage of new opportunities? How will you rise to face new challenges?
The old saying fits here: “Failing to plan means planning to fail.”
A couple of resources:
- Ken Braddy’s questions for churches have been circulating widely. This is a must read! https://kenbraddy.com/2020/04/18/20-questions-your-church-should-answer-before-people-return/
- This video about VUCA times is short, but helpful: https://youtu.be/0uAKQXagwms
EDIT: Interim Ministry Resources has a whole section of articles on COVID-19 and the church. Looks helpful: https://interimministrypartners.com/covid-19-resources/
The most important thing is that we prepare ahead of time. Don’t wait until someone says, “You can all go back to the building!” to start thinking about what might have changed.