WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — COVID19 has been responsible for shutting down businesses from gyms to day cares. But as the nation begins opening up again, some churches in the Midlands have restarted in-person services.
“If you’re comfortable, or you think that you might be comfortable, just take that step, come out and give it a try," says Reverend Mark Payne at Brookland United Methodist Church in West Columbia.
Since March, the church -- like many others in the Midlands -- learned quickly how to live stream services online to reach their members at home. “It’s been kind of an interesting time," Rev. Payne says. "Almost a time of rebirth for us because we didn’t really have the means to live stream when all of this first started.”
The church went from having almost no social media presence to streaming two services a week. “Since then, we’ve seen a new ministry born here, as far as an audio visual ministry, and have really seen the importance of social media and being able to do ministry in a new way," says Rev. Payne.
Last Sunday, the church opened its doors again to members who wanted to come back to in-person service. Rev. Payne says church leadership has implemented contact tracing and encourages the wearing of masks and practicing social distancing.
Each person who comes to the in-person service is accounted for in case they need to be notified if anyone they came in contact with tests positive for COVID19. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure everybody is as safe as possible," says Rev. Payne. "Hand sanitizer is available, you pick up your own bulletin, there’s very little contact with people and it feels a little bit different."
Although the sanctuary isn’t as full as it used to be prior to the pandemic, according to Rev. Payne, more people than ever are tuning in online. “We’ve seen that we have an ability to reach more people through social media," he says. "Last week I think we had 28 in service, we still had 185 people view online, and over the week I think we had over 600 people watch the video so it's given us a greater impact than what we’d ever imagined possible prior to this.”
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