Keep Taking Steps as You Reopen Despite Setbacks

The topic of reopening Churches and Ministries has been much debated. When do you do it? How do you do it? What should you do?

Those are all questions you’re going to have to answer as a team and as a ministry. The reality is that each ministry will answer them differently depending on their area and government restrictions. Regardless of when you can or choose to reopen, I want to encourage you today to just keep moving forward. Reopening will look different for everybody and I hope that when you do reopen your Church or ministry doesn’t look the same as it did before you entered Covid. But, the key is to just keep moving forward. You will encounter many setbacks in your plan to reopen but the key is to keep moving forward.

For instance, over the summer we were able to reopen to some degree our Church. So, our student ministry started meeting in person in homes. Things were going great until we had someone get coronavirus in the group and we had to self-quarantine and shut down in person gatherings and go back to Zoom meetings for a few weeks. However, we made some adjustments and after 3 weeks we decided to meet back in person again. We have been meeting in person ever since. You may have had similar experiences.

We have learned a lot over the past 6 months. One of the most important has been that online ministry is a huge component of ministry today and needs to continue to be nurtured and developed. As important as that is, another very important lesson learned is to keep taking steps forward as you reopen your Church or ministry.

Movie theaters are reopening now. Schools are reopening in some fashion. Restaurants are reopen to some degree. Even some sports stadiums are opening to fans now. We have learned to adapt and move forward despite the virus still at large. That is why, as a Church or ministry, we need to keep moving forward in reopening. Will you encounter setbacks? Yes. But for every setback, learn and adapt as you take another step forward.

The more you can keep moving forward in smart, responsible ways, the more you are going to have the opportunity to keep the people you are ministering to engaged and active. And that can lead to more conversations about Jesus that can lead to an eternal impact in the lives of so many. Don’t let the setbacks deter you. Keep moving forward and see what great stuff God does in your ministry.

What do you think? What has been been your experiences as you reopen? What have you learned? Share your experiences below or on social media using #ymsidekick as you share. 

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