Churches have to make a decision about their reopening strategy and communicate it clearly to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
How are you communicating your reopening strategy?
Last week the state of Georgia relaxed pandemic related restrictions imposed on residents of the state. This put church leaders in the unenviable position of having to make some tough decisions about what they were going to do. Should they open the doors and let people back in, while sitting six feet apart or continue to meet the old fashioned way (online)?
Regardless of the decision being made, churches had to make a decision and communicate it clearly to their congregations to ensure that everyone was on the same page. I appreciated the video created by North Point to communicate their decision:
In the span of 47 seconds, they communicated that they were sticking to online church, shared why, and let people know when to expect to get back to meeting in the building. It was clear, concise, and made me laugh. Here's what I found was most helpful:
They were clear that even though tattoo parlors, churches, and barbershops were allowed to open, that they would not be opening on Sunday.
They helped people understand what their criteria would be for reopening their buildings: child safety and the ability to do ministry programming the way that people expected them to.
They did this in a way that was winsome, direct, and concise.
It isn't too early to begin thinking about when you will be reopening your building. Maybe you don't yet have a date, but you can have a set of guiding principles that will determine when it will be. Now is a good time to begin communicating them to your congregation.
To help with this, tomorrow we will be continuing theNow What? webinar series. Tomorrow we'll be joined by Brady Shearer, from Pro Church Tools and Katie Allred, Co-founder of Church Communications. It is going to be an incredible conversation designed to help you cut through the clutter of this time and communicate clearly with your congregation. It isn't too late to register...click here to sign up.
If you and your team are still wrestling through how to approach reopening your building, We'd love to help. Click here to find a good time for us to have a conversation. No pressure, no expectations, just the opportunity to wrestle through your decision with an outside set of eyes.
Matt has served the local church for over two decades as a youth pastor, church planter, and executive pastor. Originally from Baltimore, Matt currently lives in Orlando, with his wife Theresa, and has a B.S. in Youth Ministry from Nyack College and an M.Div. and MBA from Baylor University. Certified as an Urban Church Planter Coach by Redeemer City to City and as a StratOp facilitator by the Paterson Center, Matt has made a career of helping churches thrive through intentionality, clarity, and creating healthy cultures. He is convinced that a healthy church is led by a healthy team with great chemistry, and loves partnering with Chemistry’s churches to do great things for the Kingdom.
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