The government has now permitted churches to physically gather again as of July 4th but do you know what this means for your church?

If you want to know what considerations you need to have in place when reopening your church, watch this replay of a webinar we hosted in July to help you navigate the government guidelines.

Much of the government guidance was put together based on more conservative strands of Christianity, so in this webinar we discuss specific considerations that more charismatic strands of the church need to consider.

You’ll also hear in-depth insights from Bishop Mark Nicholson, a prominent church leader and GoodtoGive client, who shared what a socially distanced church looks like for his congregation and how him and his leadership team have been able to grow their church significantly during this pandemic.

In this webinar replay you’ll find out:

• What Government guidelines you need to be aware of
• How you can adapt to growing your church in an online space
• How to socially distance in a way that suits your organisation

Frequently asked questions about social distancing in churches

What should be included in the risk assessment?

In your risk assessment for Covid-19 you need to include:

• who might be harmed and how
• what you’re already doing to control the risks
• what further action you need to take to control the risks
• who needs to carry out the action
• when the action is needed by

Risk assessment templates and examples can be found here

2. How often should you do deep cleaning?

There are no hard and fast rules on how often you should deep clean but we highly recommend a deep cleaning before re-opening your building and government guidance is that a decision should be made locally on how frequently cleaning should take place based on an assessment of risk and use of the building. Here are some general guidelines from the government on cleaning and hygiene:

• All surfaces, especially those most frequently touched such as door handles and rails, should be regularly cleaned using standard cleaning products.
• On entering and leaving a place of worship, everyone, including staff, should be asked to wash their hands thoroughly.
• You should provide hand sanitiser in multiple locations in addition to toilet facilities.
• Set clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets, with increased frequency of cleaning in line with usage.

More details can be found in the government guidance information referenced at the end of this page  ‘COVID-19: guidance for the safe use of places of worship during the pandemic’

3. Can we get funds for Covid-19 compliance?

Possibly, please complete our Funding survey and our Head of Finance, Dominic Pinnock will be in touch to discuss the funding options available for Covid-19 related projects.

4. How best can the Children’s ministry be run?

• Consider hosting online Zoom sessions for children if they are old enough to watch and stay focused.
• During in-person gatherings, if children are too young to be expected to comply with social distancing rules they should remain under their parent’s supervision.
• To reduce the risk of transmission you should aim to minimise the number of different people each child comes into contact with.
• Do a risk assessment and make sure that you have an updated Health and Safety policy that children, parents and staff are fully aware of.
• Reduce the size of in-person children’s ministry classes to comply with social distancing rules?

5. What options are available for Water Baptism?

Where full immersion in water is necessary, this should be very carefully planned following the rules below.

• Those being immersed should be at least 2 metres away from the congregation and officiants at all times, except while they are being immersed.
• Only one person should be immersed at any time and they should only be attended by a single officiant/clergy member.
• During the immersion, clergy/the officiant can place their hands on the head of the person being immersed, but they should not ‘cradle’ the person or touch them in any other way.
• Clergy/the officiant should wash their hands after each person is immersed, or if this isn’t possible they should use hand sanitiser.

6. Can we sing in church yet?

What the leader(s) can do

• Small groups of professional or non-professional singers will be able to sing in front of worshippers both outdoors and indoors from 15 August.
• Singing in groups should be limited to a small, set group of people and should not include audience participation.
• Where music plays a big part in worship, and recordings are available, we suggest you consider using these as an alternative to live singing to mitigate risks.
• Any instrument played during worship should be cleaned thoroughly before and after use.
• Avoid playing music at a volume that makes normal conversation difficult or that may encourage shouting when people will be trying to converse before or after worship.

What the congregation can do

• People should avoid singing, shouting and raising voices. This is because of the potential for increased risk of transmission from aerosol and droplets.
• Activities such as singing, chanting, shouting and/or playing of instruments that are blown into should be specifically avoided by congregations/worshippers. This is because there is a possible additional risk of transmission in environments where individuals are singing or chanting as a group, and this applies even if social distancing is being observed or face coverings are used.
• Therefore, spoken responses during worship should also not be in a raised voice.

7. Is there a limit on attendees to services?

There is no official limit but a risk assessment should be carried out to determine how many people you can accommodate in your building while complying with social distancing guidelines.

8. What should you do if you reach maximum capacity?

Do need exceed capacity and consider splitting service times. For example instead of having just one service which is likely to exceed capacity, have two and limit numbers for each.

9. How can we improve income during this time?

Book a consultation with one of our Charity Advisers who can explain how you can maximise your income through Gift Aid and also accept online donations with ease.

10. Do you have an update serving refreshments?

Hospitality spaces within a place of worship, such as cafes, are permitted to open but should be limited to table-service, social distancing should be observed, and with minimal staff and customer/congregant contact when serving refreshments or food and beverage of any kind.

11. Is online church more about a show, a performance rather than preaching the Gospel and the harvesting of souls? How many souls have come to Faith through online services and how can we ensure follow-up?

Based on what we have seen from our clients and the wider church community, church leaders are equally as focused on the Word and good quality preaching as they were prior to the lockdown. The only thing that has changed is the format. Instead of preaching in front of pews, they are preaching in front of cameras and reaching many more people online than they ever could in a church building. We know of churches that have had people who would never otherwise visit a church, direct message them on social media to ask for prayer and support after watching an online service. Bishop Mark Nicholson testified on our recent webinar that the impact his church is having through online church is far-reaching. Follow-up is indeed needed and it’s important that churches merge online and offline methods for this. For example, if a person makes a commitment to Christ via an online service, they could be followed up in person. As we know there are some elements of building relationships that can not be replicated online and face-to-face human connection is vitally important.

Sign-up for our webinar discussion on 7th September where we will have a comprehensive panel discussion on this topic, register here.

If you are reading this after the 7th September the replay of this webinar will be on our YouTube channel, please subscribe here.

Additional Resources

• Church of England guidance
• COVID-19: guidance for the safe use of places of worship during the pandemic