Navigate your way through the Coronavirus with the best resources the Church has to offer.
Everything in our world is changing. While the world around us struggles with new realities, sacrifices, and priorities, we are reinventing church.
We know it’s time-consuming to filter through all the information coming online to find what is helpful for you and your church. How do you know what’s true? How do you know you aren’t missing something?
At PastorMentor, we’re here to help you find the best coronavirus resources for the Church. We’ll update frequently as new information becomes available.
Church Marketing University’s Relaunch Playbook
They’ve done the research and pulled together well-known voices with wisdom about how to proceed with reopening your church. I’m treating it like a new church plant, so I like their choice to call it a relaunch.
See the resources curated in the Relaunch Playbook here.
Guidelines for Reopening your Church Buildings from the Georgia South Baptists
The George Southern Baptists have put together a great outline of what we need to consider and how we might want to proceed when the time comes to reopen our church buildings and restart in-person church. Adjust it to your location and church, and get started planning now.
See their Basic Guide for Returning to Your Church Building after COVID-19
Thank you for your work on this, my Georgia friends!
Faith Formation at Home: Free Resource from Barna Group
Barna does the research to help us understand what the people in our communities think, do, and believe.
Their Households of Faith study shines a light on how faith is passed from generation to generation.
It will show you what the parents in your church can do now to lead their kids toward a vibrant faith in Jesus. And it will help you when your church building opens again to be strategic about equipping older generations to build faith in younger generations.
Learn how to get a free digital download of their Households of Faith report here.
Coronavirus and the Church
Here’s a massive resource that comes from a highly credible partnership between Rick Warren’s Peace Plan, the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College, and the Humanitarian Disaster Institute.
You’ll find messages from Rick Warren and Ed Stetzer, sermons they’ve preached that you can use, podcasts, and a ton of articles covering every aspect of navigating your church’s way through the coronavirus.
A Peace Plan Approach to Coronavirus
A Peace Plan Approach to Coronavirus
Learn what your church can do during Coronavirus from Rick Warren’s Peace Plan website. You’ll find information and resources to help you pivot to doing ministry without gathering, and to face the mental health needs of your congregation and community.
There are two recorded webinars:
- Simple steps to Providing an Engaging Online Church Service
- Mental Health Webinar: Overcoming Anxiety in Stressful Times
Scan articles about:
- Transitioning to Online Church
- Caring for your Congregation
- Helpful Sermon Kits to Download
- Links to Additional Resources
Christianity Today
Coronavirus and the Church: CT’s Latest News and Advice
See Christianity Today’s latest articles on how churches around the world are responding to the COVID-19 outbreak and how Christians can best be faithful in this season of coronavirus.
Their best tool is a free download that delivers a concise overview of our new priorities. You’ll get how to develop a response plan, links to key government information sites, guidelines for workplace practices, and how to reflect Christ in the crisis.
[Free Download] A Concise Coronavirus Guide for Churches
Articles we particularly recommend from CT are:
- 20 Prayers to Pray During this Pandemic
- 7 Lessons from Singapore’s Churches for When the Coronavirus Reaches Yours
Lifeway
Coronavirus Resources for You and Your Church
At the top of this webpage, you’ll find Lifeway products relevant right now for kids, women, small groups, worship, giving, and leading your church.
Scroll down the page to get to their free resources.
Lifeway has made a 7 Day Coronavirus Prayer Guide. It’s seven key things to pray over during these days and is available as a free download.
Download the Prayer Guide as a PDF.
Then they’ve put together a directory of nearly thirty articles from their blogs covering coronavirus and the church from all the angles: leadership, technology, kids and students, distance working, fear and anxiety.
If you are concerned about the church budget like most of us are, you might find this article helpful:
3 Types of Online Givers to Reach during the COVID-19 Outbreak
The Gospel Coalition
The Gospel Coalition on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
As A. W. Tozer put it, “A frightened world needs a fearless church.”
Elijah Elkins encourages us to move toward others in faith when everyone else is pulling away in fear. Learn how your church can love their neighbors, plus get a free download of a tool they can use. A Practical Way to Love your (Self-Isolated) Neighbor
This isn’t the first time the Church has been called to respond in faith and mercy during a pandemic. Learn about four other times pandemic has brought out the best in God’s people. Responding to Pandemics: 4 Lessons from Church History
FreeOnlineChurch
Leave it to Outreach to provide a tool to make it easy to begin an online service for your church.
Better than using YouTube or Facebook, this free tool gives you a webpage to hold all your digital services. It’s easy for you to send your congregation there; it’s easy for them to find; and it’s easy to share with your community.
My friends at Outreach used me as the demo. You’re not imagining it.
Barna State of the Church
Barna has launched a new partnership with David Kinnaman and Carey Nieuwhof called ChurchPulse Weekly. They want to see leaders flourish and churches thrive.
It’s a webinar and podcast that puts together data and story every week to give you the information you need to lead confidently.
You can get a COVID-19 Crisis Toolkit for Churches. Get facts, analysis, see how others are responding to the crisis, and know you’re not alone as you lead your church through the Coronavirus crisis.
Barna’s superpower is data. They collect it, analyze it, and interpret it for church leaders.
Their focus at the moment is giving us the tools we need to see the landscape before us, and make wise decisions doubt how to lead our churches through COVIS-19.
Here are recent articles:
- Current Trends in Virtual Attendance & Weekly Giving Amid COVID-19
- How Young Adults in Digital Babylon View the Gospel
- 29% of Churches Have Stopped Offering Communion During the Crisis
- Weekly Services Are Now Largely Online for Adults—But What About Kids?
Carey Nieuwhof
As always, Carey helps us think about broader issues that will shape how we do church going forward. He talks about leadership, change, and our new digital reality.
Read more to see the church through the new lens:
- Crisis Leadership, Christian Leadership and the Coronavirus Epidemic
- How to Lead through Rapid, Unexpected Change (Responding to COVID-19)
- 8 Ways to Lead in the New Digital, Default Church
Orange Kids and Students
Our friends at Orange have resources to help you do children’s and youth ministry in times when you can’t bring kids together in a big meaningful learning experience.
How do you minister to kids remotely? Here are resources to help you figure it out.
American Bible Society
The American Bible Society has developed a booklet called Beyond Disaster.
“In a time when people are tempted to anxiety and fear, this resource reminds us to remain anchored in God’s wisdom and peace as we navigate what may feel like chaos around us.
This Bible resource can be downloaded in English HERE and in Spanish HERE, free of charge. I pray that it serves you well.”
Disaster Ministry Handbook
$12.75
by Jamie D. Aten, David M. Boan
IVP Books
This handbook by the coordinators of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute received the FEMA Community Preparedness Award.
It’s a little too late for us to jump on the preparation train they advocate, but using their best practices, you can manage the crisis the coronavirus is causing in your church and community.
There are only a few books in stock at Amazon, so don’t delay, or get the kindle version (This is an Affiliate link).
Easter Pastor Prayer Gathering led by Rick Warren
Just three words: Don’t Miss This. Even if it’s after Easter. You’ll pray with Christian leaders around the world for God’s protection, work, and victory during the Coronavirus pandemic.
This link takes you to the page, scroll down the find the video.
What’s Next?
There’s too much here for you to skim through right now, so you may want to save it and share it.
- Bookmark this page so you can find these sites again. You’ll see new resources as they’re added, too.
- Forward this link to your key leaders so you know they know about these important resources for the Church.
- Be intentional to learn from credible sources about how to lead your church through the coronavirus pandemic.
Further Reading
- 5 Easy Ways to Improve your Preaching in a Pandemic [Free Sermon]
- How to Hold an Outdoor Church Service that People Love
- How to Keep your Church Healthy During COVID-19
- I Need Help to Improve my Mental Health in Ministry
- 62 Powerful Coronavirus Devotions to Strengthen your Church
- How to Talk with your Church About the Coronavirus
Hal Seed is the founding and Lead Pastor of New Song Community Church in Oceanside, CA. He mentors pastors who want to lead healthy, growing churches with resources at www.pastormentor.com.
Start Here to learn more about the resources available for you at PastorMentor.
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