Resuming Resources
CBF has formed a work group composed of pastors, CBF state and regional leaders and CBF communications staff to develop and curate resources to assist churches as they prepare for an eventual return to in-person church services and activities. As it does its work, the group will consult with public health and medical professionals across the United States.
Reopening? The Church was never closed
CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley reflects on the critical ministry of CBF congregations, field personnel, chaplains, church starters and partners throughout the COVID-19 crisis. As governments look toward phases of reopening, Baxley writes about approaching the challenge of reopening our congregations.
“We must absolutely affirm that the Church of Jesus Christ does not need to participate in a reopening strategy because we have never been closed,” Baxley writes. “If the Easter miracle doesn’t teach us anything else, it tells us that we cannot be shut down.”
Recommendations for Resuming Church Activities
Published April 28, 2020
The United States Federal Government has recommended a 3-phase approach to reopening facilities and resuming activities. These phases are based on 14-day benchmarks for COVID-19 symptoms and cases. (Visit www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica for more information.)
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship offers recommendations and considerations in the download below for churches and ministries in each phase, based on guidance, insight and consultation from public health organizations and medical experts. Schedules and plans for moving from one phase to the next should be made in consultation with local and regional public health officials.
Includes recommendations from CBF for worship, meetings and gatherings, hospitality, pastoral care, volunteers and staffing, and children in each phase of resuming church activities.
Links
Six Practices for Re-Shaping Church – A Zoom Conversation with Mark Tidsworth, hosted by CBF Florida
Password: 7k=.$+CJ
Opening Up America Again (White House, CDC)
“Going Back to Church” – A Zoom Conversation Hosted By Alabama CBF
(w/ guest Dr. Sonya Heath, MD, an infectious diseases expert and professor at University of Alabama at Birmingham)
“Re-Open Church?” – A Zoom Conversation Hosted by CBF South Carolina
(w/ Tanya Staton, MPH, an infection control expert from Clemson University’s School of Public Health Sciences)
Downloads
Information
CDC Guidance for Reopening Churches
Church Signs
