25 Creative Church Ministry Ideas during COVID-19 (Part 2)

25 Creative Church Ministry Ideas during COVID-19 (Part 2) 

Online Services

1. Tap digitally-experienced youth. Consider inviting younger people in your congregation who are savvy and experienced with online recording and social media to make your announcements from their phones or computers. Tap into their digital creativity. Let them have fun with it. This gives them a way to contribute and freshens your presentation.

2. Give servers new jobs. Have those who normally serve on a Sunday interact with viewers online in the chat and comments sections of your live stream, greeting them and even offering prayer or connection after the service through video chats on Facebook Messenger or similar platforms.

3. Pass the peace by text. Ask your viewing congregation to text someone—even if that person isn’t watching—as their greeting when it’s time to pass the peace.

4. Online visual prayer. Digital can offer new ways to involve the congregation and allow them to contribute or create together. Look for opportunities to build on interactive possibilities in your ministries.

One example would be in the community prayer section of your service, if you have one, with online visual prayer.

The week before the service invite people to contribute a visual (a picture from their phone or the internet) with their prayer request.  You might put the requests and images in slides (see the tips above to use PowerPoint and a TV if you don’t have graphic capability) and show it while you are praying for that request.

Have someone make a simple collage of the images and show that at the end of the prayer, then transfer the collage into a printable card and send it out via email to visually remind people to pray during the week.

5. Do online Q and A with the pastors. At the end of the online service you might do an informal Q and A with the pastors (practicing social distancing, of course). Take questions from the livestream comments or by text. Make sure you have prepared questions, too, to reduce awkward pauses, and have a person dedicated to relaying the questions.

Beyond making the Sunday or midweek services available to the congregation online, we should be looking for new ways to minister to and connect with our people.

Connecting with People

6. Offer a variety of digital connection points. People have different preferred platforms they use. In addition to Sunday services, KICC in London, U.K hosts a daily morning prayer time on Zoom, and provides a blog that members can contribute to and share their thoughts and prayers. They host midweek bible studies on Zoom and encourage people to send videos of themselves talking about how they are encountering God during the pandemic, which the church will post on social media.

7. Get bodies involved. As we face not only physical separation but possible physical dormancy because of quarantine, look for ways to invite people to connect with God and worship with their bodies. One powerful way to do this is thorough Intercession with Movement, praying and interceding using the body. See the complete details of an Intercession with Movement practice here.

8. Host online dinner parties. Elevate Church in Liberty Co., OH hosts online dinner parties twice a week on Zoom. They designate a “host” and people rsvp to the event. Fellowshipping in this way can be surprisingly enjoyable. You might email a recipe and have everyone make the same dish, or freeform it.

9. Post-church fellowship. Church worship consultant Jason Moore suggests inviting people to gather on Zoom or Google hangouts after the online service to fellowship and catch up like they normally would after a live church gathering.

10. Online prayer ministry. Prayer ministry can work surprisingly well over digital means and it is exciting to sense God’s presence between people many miles away. If your church normally offers prayer ministry after the service, you might do this digitally at the same time you normally would but ask people to sign up via email or an app like SignUp Genius (depending on your congregations tech comfort level).

They might choose a time slot and list their preferred means of connection such as Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Facetime, etc. Or just on the phone. Then have your ministry people connect with them. One unique form of prayer ministry, Personal Prayer Art, can be very effective online. Learn more about online personal prayer art ministry here.

11. Drive-in church. If you are in a state that doesn’t have a standing “stay at home” order, or one that makes an exception for churches, this is a fun (though labor intensive) idea. Many churches are considering it as a solution for making Easter Sunday more connected. Some of the things you’ll need are an inexpensive FM Transmitter, clear rules for attendees, and an elevated stage.  See a detailed explanation of how to do Drive-In church here.

12. Personalized art cards. The arts are wonderful at ministering encouragement in anxious times.   Invite artists and crafters to create simple personalized art cards for the sick, front line health workers, or anyone in need of encouragement. Even people without artistic ability can create something beautiful by following the steps provided by Saddleback Visual Arts. Or you can send a variety of Crosscards digitally.

13. Live art studio. Search “Bob” on YouTube and you’ll see amiable painter Bob Ross at the top of the list. Many people in your congregation will respond to the chance to connect and create together. Invite an artist in your congregation to host an open time of creating on Zoom or Facebook live. You could experiment with more structure by having the artist come up with a specific art project that people can make at home, then lead them in making it together. The artist might include some soft music to create atmosphere. See how VineArts Studio in Boise recently did this.