Church Planting During a Pandemic
We find ourselves at a unique time in history. Pandemics aren’t new, but they aren’t common. So many of us, especially church planters, are in uncharted territory.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and all the fear and chaos that comes with it, could very well throw our church planting efforts off course. Nearly all of us over the past few days have had our plans and relationships disrupted, our momentum stolen.
All of a sudden, it seems like we are planting seeds in less than optimal soil (or at least, what we understand as optimal). Some of us in the early stages of church planting barely have soil to throw seeds into, and the opportunities to find more soil in local parks, coffee shops and community events have faded away for the time being. Even inviting a family to your own dinner table is questionable.
GAINING, THEN LOSING, MOMENTUM
I’m a church planter, and I find myself discouraged. I have so many questions, and even a longing to be planting in a different time than this.
Right now, I’m two months into having my launch team meeting regularly. We started with twenty people who came to our first meeting and grew to seventy in the past eight weeks. Twelve were baptized last Sunday, and more people are hopping on board.
The main emphasis of our DNA has been hospitality—inviting others in as Christ has so graciously welcomed us. We don’t have the benefits of established larger churches, so the latest (very necessary) recommendations from the government and CDC have been disheartening.
Everything has come to a screeching halt.
THREE REMINDERS FOR CHURCH PLANTERS DURING THE PANDEMIC
As I met with a handful of my team last night, my perspective started to change. I was encouraged by Paul’s exhortation to the Romans: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12).
So short and simple, but so strong and profound. Paul was writing some practical outcomes of the systematic theology he laid out in the first part of his letter.
These short pithy phrases served as a reminder of the mission at hand and have become my criteria for success over the next weeks and months as we continue to participate in the building of God’s church. May they serve you and others as we keep plodding during this pandemic.
1. REJOICE IN HOPE
The COVID-19 outbreak is no shock to God. The Supreme One of the universe hasn’t been caught off guard, and the hope he offers us hasn’t been put on hold. The God who numbers every hair on our heads, knows every star by name, created the expanse of the heavens, and fashions our hearts together isn’t rendered powerless in the face of sickness and fear. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever! In times like this, those of us who believe have a hope in this unchanging God that tethers us to reality.
Chaotic times will come. For those of us who are planting, we may just wish it wasn’t right now. But we can rest in the fact that Jesus has overcome the brokenness of this world (Jn. 16:33). As church planters and believers, we must live as those who know where our hope comes from. We know what will ultimately happen after this pandemic, and the next, and the next, until Christ returns. In the meantime, Jesus is still seeking and saving the lost, and nothing will stop his church!
Church planter, God knew every church-planting roadblock we would face before we even bought the car, so to speak. He knew the coronavirus would be in our path. We have every reason not to despair, but to rejoice in the hope we have been given in Christ.
2. BE PATIENT IN TRIBULATION
Historically, we have seen people flock to churches in tumultuous times such as this. When uncertainty or tragedy strikes, we tend to realize how small we are, and we long for transcendence and clarity in our hearts and minds.
But many planters haven’t launched publicly yet or have had their rental spaces (schools, theatres, etc.) evaporate. We have no space for people to run to. Patience in a time like this, when relational connection seems to be on hold, will certainly be tough, but ministry can continue.
In the very last verses of Acts, we find Paul under house arrest. He’s caged in, seemingly useless. But the last verse says otherwise, explaining that Paul was “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31).
Without hindrance? Paul, despite his difficult circumstances, became creative, inviting people to come to him so that his gospel ministry could continue.
God has given us ingenuity coupled with common graces such as iPhones, social media, and other technology for such a time as this! In God’s sovereignty, Paul’s time of confinement wasn’t wasted, and ours shouldn’t be either. Our creativity and intentionality during this time will speak volumes of the urgency of the message we bear.
Even in the worst of times, God doesn’t waste moments or seasons. In fact, God allows for disruptions to become invitations to those far from God. The church, no matter how young, doesn’t run from moments like these.
3. BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER
Daunting times push us to pray more. This is a good thing. It’s important to realize that when we pray, our God is hearing in real time. It seems elementary to say that, but how marvelous a reality! Our gentlest, quietest, most anxious whisper to God from the depths of our soul, summons the attention of the commander of the cosmos.
Like every other day, now is not a time to live as a functional atheist, thinking we have control and have no need to call on God to move. God meets us when we call on him, personally and corporately. An old hymn serves as a great reminder:
Oh, what peace we often forfeit.
Oh, what needless pain we bear.
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
So, as planters in a time such as now, we must cultivate our prayer lives in ways that will live beyond this crisis. We press in and ask God to do what only he can do. We bring our new friendships, or lack thereof, to him, asking Him to stir up what only he can.
THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND EVERYTHING IN IT
Let’s be reminded that he is the only one that can change situations and people—both during and after a public health crisis. It is on him we depend in times of hardship and times of abundance.
So let’s adopt this mindset during these trying days and weeks: rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer. May God heal our world—physical and spiritually—and may his kingdom come and will be done, during the coronavirus pandemic, and forevermore.
Rich Dugan is the lead pastor and planter of Radiant Hill Church in the North Denver Metro area. He is married to his wife Kaitlyn, and they have two daughters, Kyah and Eden. Follow Rich on Twitter (@rjdugan).