Essential Guide to Reopening Your Church Post-COVID-19

In many ways, the Church will never be the same post-COVID-19. Throughout her history, the Church has developed in response to major global events, and today is no different. Churches have experienced so many adjustments in such a short period of time. Individuals, families, communities, even entire nations, have all been impacted in real and lasting ways. Although we do not know exactly what life will be like after the dust settles from this pandemic, we do recognize that we will be living in a new state of normalcy. As you pursue reopening your church, we desire to help your church navigate into this “new normal” in a manner that will strengthen your ministry impact.

This Essential Guide to Reopening Your Church Post-COVID-19 provides resources to help you prayerfully reflect on where your church is today, assess the possibilities of what tomorrow may look like, and develop thoughtful plans for living on mission while reopening your church doors to your community. Read More

I am posting a link to this article because it does contain a lot of helpful advice. I do find Jason to be overly-optimistic. As I have noted elsewhere, I am disinclined to use the phrase "Post COVID-19."

The recurrence of COVID-19 outbreaks in all likelihood will become an unpleasant reality of the twenty-first century. Infectious diseases, once they make an appearance, tend not to go away. Considering how people are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, I believe that the virus will be with us for a long while.

Large gatherings may take a much longer period to implement than Jason suggests in his article. Grand reopenings may be much further away than Back to Church Sunday in September which may mark the beginning of the COVID-19 season if the virus becomes endemic.

While Jason offers much helpful advice, his article does not reflect many of the recommendations of the Centers on Disease Control for churches which the White House removed from the latest CDC guidelines. See a summary of these recommendations at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/.../cdc-document.../. They include using a large, open space with doors and windows open and ventilated by fans or the outdoors for services and gatherings and limiting the number of people in restrooms.

Research into how COVID-19 spreads, specifically in hospital settings, found high concentrations of COVID-19 particles in rooms that were mechanically ventilated as opposed to naturally ventilated. Mechanical ventilation is common in most buildings that are used for church services and gatherings. Few use natural ventilation. This research found that COVID-19 particle concentrations were the highest in poorly ventilated, enclosed spaces such as bathrooms.

Research into singing and speaking loudly indicates that these activities are "super-emitters" of droplets and may account for the rapid spread of the virus in a number of clusters of COVID-19 cases. CDC developed its recommendations for churches before the findings of this research were released and recommended the limiting of the size of choirs and music ensembles. The research points to the need for a moratorium upon any form of singing in churches. The German federal government has banned congregational singing in churches in Germany. The research also points to the need for protective screens between the people on the platform and the congregation as an additional precaution and the decontamination of these screens before, between, and after services and gatherings.