Starting a New Church During a Pandemic
What ultimately kept us from canceling was recognizing the need that people have for human interaction — even if virtual is the best we can do.
The Welcome Brunch was our very first meeting together as The Franconia-Springfield Mission, so when the pandemic became bad enough that all public gatherings were required to have less than ten people at 6 feet apart, we were not thrilled with the prospect of canceling it. What ultimately kept us from canceling was recognizing the need that people have for human interaction — even if virtual is the best we can do. One of our core values at TFS Mission is hospitality and in this world of virtual conversation we wanted to create a virtual table for everyone to gather around. One difficulty with Zoom is that it does not facilitate good large group communication patterns. What started as a 'get-to-know-one-another' event became a 'get-to-know-the-plan-for-this-new-church' event, which changed a gathering that would have been primarily a conversation into primarily a presentation. Going through a presentation about this new church was a helpful start, but using Zoom that morning forced me to think about how to virtually facilitate the kinds of conversation we want to have in larger groups.
Different types of services need different types of virtual media, or at least different settings within one medium (i.e., livestream, conference call, etc). If I want to turn a presentation back into conversation then I need to think about how to manufacture it. We are going to have a Bible Study together once per month where we discuss the occasions where Jesus describes what it means to be his disciples. There will be food, discussion, and prayer; and yet, it will all be virtual. We will take this larger group and break it down into small discussion groups by using Zoom breakout rooms and see how that works.
We have begun doing Compline together on Wednesday nights through Zoom and the presentation format works well in this instance (I also pray the responses, but invite others to join me). This need arose from conversations about how unstructured a day feels for people. The service is simple, quiet, contemplative, and where there would normally be a reflection I lead us through an examen. Several have told me they appreciate the discipline of building in silence and reflection into their day. (See all events on the Facebook page or website.)
The database we use is Planning Center Online and one of the many reasons I have appreciated this database is its ability to create forms. Security is a concern when we do things virtually, but one solution I am trying is asking people to RSVP for a virtual event. The Database form will filter out any bots and if I see a name I do not recognize, this provides me an opportunity to follow up with that person. The automatic response to someone's RSVP has the Zoom information.
The Rev. Morgan Reed has been called to plant a church that will have real gospel impact in Franconia, Springfield, and Kingstowne, Virginia.