{"id":572,"date":"2020-06-01T13:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/thoughts\/?p=572"},"modified":"2020-06-01T17:16:38","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T17:16:38","slug":"the-church-and-christian-ministry-after-covid19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/thoughts\/?p=572","title":{"rendered":"The Church and Christian Ministry after Covid19"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

After 34\nyears in Baptist ministry I finally felt I was getting a handle on what being a\nminister was all about. Then Covid19 came along and in just ten weeks so much\nhas changed. First, ministers had to support our congregations through a form\nof grief as most of our everyday lives of working and shopping and leisure and\neven ordinary face-to-face relationships, as well  the usual activities and events of church life,\nwere taken away from us. Then we had to invent new ways of being the church,\nworshipping and praying and learning together, which for many has meant wrestling\nwith new and unfamiliar aspects of technology. Now we are at the stage of helping\nall of our folk with all their various kinds of needs in this strange new world.\nWe are supporting some people through unemployment and family crises and\nanxiety and depression and fears and loneliness, as well as through illness and\nhospital and even bereavement, but still under great restrictions on actually\nmeeting together. Our immediate next task will be to steer our churches through\nsafely resuming some of our activities again, holding back those who would rush\ntoo quickly and gently encouraging those who will be fearful, while making sure\nthat those who continue to be vulnerable or shielding are not left behind. And\nnow is also the time where our churches must begin to prayerfully consider the\nfuture of the church once lockdown is lifted. The reality is that until a\nvaccine or an effective cure is found, just as in offices and factories and\nshops and public transport and the hospitality industries, church life will\nnever be the same as it was before. What will worship and teaching and mission\nand outreach and evangelism and pastoral care look like in \u201cthe new normal\u201d?\nAnd what will ministry look like? Recognising the dangers inherent in\ngeneralising, here are my best guesses on the some important impacts of Covid19\non churches and ministers in the years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The worship and mission of the church<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the\nlockdown most churches have used platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Zoom\nto adapt their main worship, teaching and prayer occasions to be accessible to\ntheir members in their own homes. This has accelerated a process which was\nalready happening anyway for some. Just as \u201chome working\u201d is likely to become\npart of \u201cthe new normal\u201d for possibly millions of people, so enabling more\nmeaningful engagement with church life from home should rightly be embraced by\nchurches. Livestreaming of services will surely be the way forward expected in\nmost churches to help meet the needs of the housebound and elderly and\nvulnerable people, with recordings for those who are at work at service times.\nZoom video-conferencing prayer meetings and Bible Studies will similarly make\nattendance possible for those who are unable, or prefer not, to venture out of\ntheir homes especially in the evenings. These developments of \u201cvirtual church\u201d\nwill a good by-product of the Covid19 lockdown in themselves, but also a\nnecessary preparation for possible future lockdowns due to a \u201csecond spike\u201d of\nCovid19 or other future events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However the\nsad reality is that some common elements of the way church used to be may not\nreturn for years, if ever. Until a vaccine is developed or a cure is found,\nCoronavirus is going to be with us for years and years. Some measure of social\ndistancing is going to be in place and there are some things we aren\u2019t going to\nbe able to do any more. Constraints in the size of buildings and rooms will\nmean that fewer people will be able to gather for services and other events.\nSome churches may need more than one service if they want to accommodate the\nnumbers that used to attend. Most activities involving food and drink will be\nmuch more difficult to keep safe \u2013 no more packed Anniversary Suppers or\nInternational Evenings. Many activities with young people, children and\ntoddlers will have to look very different in order to remain safe. Activities\nwith people heaped on top of each other won\u2019t be happening any time soon.\nPeople aren\u2019t going to be going in and out of each other\u2019s houses so much and\nnobody is going to be going round to each other\u2019s gardens when it is raining or\nsnowing or dark. So many of the activities and events which have made up the\nlife of most churches aren\u2019t going to be practical and may not even be permitted.\nMost churches run \u201ccrossing places\u201d, from Toddler Groups and Drop-Ins to Caf\u00e9s\nand Lunch Clubs and specific gatherings for particular groups of people. These\nactivities meet all kinds of needs and build relationships between Christians and\nnot-yet Christians. But many of the usual crossing places which have been part\nof the mission of churches for decades just won\u2019t be happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will\npresent a significant challenge to Christian mission. Historically churches\nhave undertaken all kinds of compassionate service, from providing food for the\npoor to caring for the sick to bringing up orphans. Supporting those struggling\nwith all kinds of problems, from alcohol and gambling and drug problems, to\ndebts and relationship counselling, to helping with mental health. But over the\nyears, charities have taken over more and more responsibility for helping the\npoor and the weak and the disadvantaged. Many charities which were started by\nChristians have now lost their Christian ethos. And\nin this Covid19 crisis, we are of course very grateful that the State has\nstepped in to offer financial and practical support to very many people. Even\nmore people have got accustomed to turning to the Government, or to charities\nlike Food banks. So what is there left for the churches to do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In theology\nthere is a phrase, \u201cGod of the gaps\u201d. The idea goes back to Henry Drummond\nin the 19th-century, who criticised Christians who point to the things\nthat science cannot yet explain as “gaps which they will fill up with\nGod”. In the 1880s, Friedrich Nietzsche in Thus Spoke\nZarathustra<\/em>, said “… into every gap they put their delusion, their\nstopgap, which they called God.” Of course we\nreject the idea that Christians only resort to God as the explanation when we\ncannot explain what we see of the universe. But I suggest that for decades at\nleast, the church has been becoming \u201cthe church of the gaps\u201d. The church does\nstill care for the poor and the weak, but at least in the prosperous West the\nchurch has just been filling the gaps which the State and secular charities\nhave overlooked. We have hospitals and the welfare state and food banks. We\nhave charities addressing all kinds of physical and mental and spiritual needs.\nAnd churches have been struggling to find people to help who are not already\nbeing helped by other agencies. We have become \u201cthe church of the gaps\u201d and the\nCovid19 lockdown has cemented that position. Who is there left for the church\nto show God\u2019s love to? And in what ways will we be able to do that when the\nlockdown is lifted as long as social distancing is in place. Especially\nin the reality that when churches do try to help people, political correctness\nand safeguarding tell us that it is inappropriate and even immoral to talk to\nthose people about Jesus when we are helping them. So what is mission going to look like in \u201cthe new normal?\u201d I have two thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly,\nin the past many churches have tended to care for the poor by organised\nactivities and events and projects. Christians have given generously for worthy\ncauses so that particularly needs can be met in one sense anonymously by a few\nindividual church members, or by church workers, or by external agencies. Food\nbanks and homeless shelters would be obvious examples. The \u201cchurch of the gaps\u201d\nhas made an enormous difference to countless lives, but those gaps are closing\nas secular charities and the State are meeting very many kinds of needs.\nPost-Covid19 there will be even fewer opportunities for such Christian\nprojects. Many of the kinds of activities mentioned above which the church have\nspearheaded may not be able to happen. The days of church projects may be\npassing. In the future the mission of the church may fall back much more on to\nthe shoulders of individual Christians loving their own neighbours. More than\never evangelism will be about ordinary Christians \u201cgossiping the gospel\u201d and simply\ntalking about Jesus. These changes will not by any means all be bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly,\nI think the church will need to focus more on its core mission, which surely\nincludes worshipping God and praying for people in and outside the church\ncommunity. The church (and perhaps particularly ministers and church leaders)\nwill devote less time and resources on running events and projects and more on\nmaking disciples and on equipping Christians to be salt and light by loving\ntheir neighbours and talking about Jesus. There may be important lessons we can\nlearn from the persecuted churches and even the underground churches for\nChristian mission in Post-Covid19 Britain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Impact of Covid19 on Church Finances<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most churches will have experienced a drop in income during the lockdown. Some members may be giving less because they have been furloughed, or lost their jobs, and a few may sadly have died. There may be a loss of rental income, or of trading income from running a Caf\u00e9 or operating a Pre-School or holding Table-Top Sales. Fund raising events may have been cancelled. Some churches draw significant income from non-church weddings or funerals. It is possible that some churches might lose fringe folk and even some members to other churches which are delivering a better “virtual church” experience. On the other hand, some Christians may find deeper community in some smaller churches. Although expenses may have reduced a little for some churches, this will not usually offset the drop in income, especially if the church has been meeting needs out of their Fellowship Fund or Communion Fund, or has had to spend much on technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nlockdown will have reduced the reserves of very many churches significantly.\nCharity law requires a church to consider cutting its costs when its reserves\ndrop below the level of their charity Reserves Policy. Some churches will now\nhave hit their Reserves Policy buffers, and they will inevitably end up in\ndifficult discussions about the possibility of declaring their minister\nunaffordable. Some ministers might feel able to accept a lower stipend, but\nnone should ever be pushed into the position of doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In ordinary\ntimes many churches are only just balancing their books or operating on a\ndeficit budget and surviving off reserves anyway. It could be Christmas before\nthe income of many churches returns to the level it was before lockdown. Even\nif churches can resume most of their usual activities at some point, there is\nno certainty that all of their non-giving income will return. Consequently, many\nwill not return to pre-Covid levels of income in the medium term, and\ninevitably more churches will be operating on deficit budgets going into\n2021 and beyond. Even if some churches do not hit their Reserves Policy limit\nthis year, they may forecast doing so next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nposition of any church which is already receiving or applying for Grant to\nsupport their ministry from Baptist Home Mission is particularly precarious. To\nsatisfy the rules for grants, churches on HM Grants are already only balancing\ntheir books. They are also living on the bare minimum of Reserves Policy\nreserves. Any church receiving a HM Grant which also previously relied on\nrental income, or relied on trading income, or relied on substantial donations\nfrom individuals who can no longer give as generously, will definitely have hit\ntheir Reserves Policy limit as a result of this lockdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments\nabove make two assumptions (1) that the current Covid lockdown continues to be\neased as the Government has indicated on the expected timescale and (2) there\nis no \u201csecond spike\u201d of Covid19 and a subsequent second lockdown. My guess is\nthat by this year end across the country the current lockdown could tip a dozen\nBaptist churches over the point where they can no longer afford a minister even\nwith Home Mission support. However I also consider a \u201csecond spike\u201d second\nlockdown sometime in the next 12 months to be quite likely. If that transpires\nthen I think we will be facing rather more churches no longer able to afford\nministers by this time next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My guess is\nthat as every church revises its own budget and their projections for 2021 many\nof the churches who have already applied for Home Mission Grants for next year will\nsay that they need grants considerably higher than they have requested so far.\nI also guess that a number of other churches might think they will need Home\nMission Grants for 2021 who have not applied so far. However, every indication\nis that there will be significantly less money available for Grants from the\nnational Home Mission Appeal in 2021 than there was this year. Many churches\nwill be facing financial crises in the next year, and that number will be\nmultiplied if there is a \u201csecond spike\u201d of Covid19 with a resulting second\nlockdown. It is regrettable but inevitable that the resources of Home Mission\nwill not be sufficient to rescue every church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pioneering\nventures may be particularly vulnerable in the coming years, not least when the\nPioneers are bivocational and their non-church income streams are impacted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the\nlocal church, the financial impact of Covid19 will of course also be felt by\ndenominational structures such as the Baptist Union and the Associations.\nMissionary organisations such as Baptist World Mission and local para-church\norganisations will probably face a reduction in giving, as well as missionaries\nand mission organisations supported by individual churches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of the minister Post-Covid19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the expectations I have outlined above turn out to be even partially fulfilled, then Christian ministry is going to change significantly in a number of ways. Ministers will need to spend less time and energy creating and delivering events and activities and projects. And there will be fewer “meetings” (do I hear a Yippee!) More time will be spent on the phone and video chats. Pastoral care will certainly be more challenging, since home visits may be constrained by social distancing, hospital visiting limited to video chats and virtual funerals may become commonplace. Fluency with communication technology will become even more a core competence for ministers. But ministers will spend less time presenting to large groups of people and more time working with individuals and small groups. We will focus on prayer and pastoral care and making disciples who make disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably\ndepending on personality type but also on age, some ministers will relish\ninventing new expressions of church and new ways of ministry. Others are no\ndoubt already grieving the loss of patterns of ministry which they have lived\nfor years or decades. Some ministers may find that the support and mutual\nencouragement they have enjoyed through social media and video chatting during\nthis lockdown period will continue as part of \u201cthe new normal\u201d of ministry.\nOthers could well already be feeling completely exhausted by all the new things\nthey have had to do in the last few months and dreading the prospect of all the\nchallenging and draining work it will take to lead our churches into the\nPost-Covid19 era. We also recognise that there will be some ministers who will\nbe struggling to find ways for it even to be possible to guard their own health\nin the usual activities of ministry because of  factors such as underlying health conditions\nor age or disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For all\nministers (not least myself) I offer a few closing suggestions. We should draw\non the support and encouragement of other ministers in these challenging times.\nFind a network of ministry friends to sustain you. Although our church\ncircumstances are all different, none of us is alone in this work of ministry. We\ndon\u2019t have to come up with all the answers by ourselves. Whatever the issues, don\u2019t\nbe afraid of talking to your friends. Then we are all human. We need rest and\nrefreshment. If, like me, you have not missed a Sunday since Christmas because\nyour church have needed you, make plans to take some holiday before too long.\nHelp your church to be able to get along without you for at least a couple of\nSundays. Take a break. Finally, of course, we must put our trust in God. Our\nhuman ideas will not sustain the church now. Nor will they be able to lead the\nchurch forward into the future. We can rely on God to help us to cope and to\nhelp us to help others. We have the Holy Spirit, the power of God which raised\nour Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, at work in our lives. Thanks be to God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now to him who is\nable to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power\nthat is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus\nthroughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. <\/em> (Ephesians 3:20-21)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After 34 years in Baptist ministry I finally felt I was getting a handle on what being a minister was all about. Then Covid19 came…<\/span><\/p>\n

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