There are many who complain that churches should be allowed to re-open at the same time as other comparable businesses, like schools, day cares, bowling alleys and bars, as long as they practice safe distancing. This sort of complaint is not unique to churches. A mom and pop furniture store has a legitimate gripe: why should Costco be allowed to sell furniture when we can’t, especially since a Costco is usually more crowded than a small furniture store. Health officers and government leaders have hastily thrown together orders and it is inevitable that some of these orders will be unfair. They’re making this up as they go.

But churches are unlike any other type of business or organization. Gathering for worship, study, fellowship and ministry is what we do best. Certainly, churches and other houses of worship have the first amendment right to worship. But government leaders have a responsibility to manage public health. Unfortunately, our worship gatherings are super spreaders of virus.

We do things that few other organizations do:

• We sing. Virus droplets spread much more through singing.
• We shake hands. We hug. We kiss. Church is not just an ordered service. Church is what happens in the lobby and parking lot before and after the service.
• We sit together in enclosed spaces, some for as long as three hours.
• We share communion together, passing plates from person to person. In some churches, attendees drink from the same cup.
• We move around. In some churches, worship is a very physical activity, involving dancing and moving around the room.
• Children share scissors, paste, crayons and snacks.
• We share meals together from unregulated kitchens.
• Most churches’ demographics skew towards older, more vulnerable members.

I don’t know of any other category of organization or business that is as vulnerable to the spreading of virus germs as churches.

Of course, churches never closed. We just changed the means of communication. Churches are making do with clunky online platforms and small groups for ministry, but it’s not the same. Churches must re-open for face-to-face gatherings. How we do it is the question.

Whatever the governors and health officers decide, each church will have to decide for themselves when and how they will re-open. This decision should be made with great care, in consultation with government authorities, health experts and their members. After all, every potential church attendee has the vote of their feet.

In the meantime, let’s take this opportunity to rediscover what it is to be and do church. Let’s seize by faith the sovereignty of God, and the unique opportunities that even this crisis presents.

“…On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”

Jesus in Matthew 16:18