Following the 19th July most churches are now working out either how they get back to meeting together or how they expand what they are doing at the moment. Church Growth Trust is keen to support churches as they navigate their way through uncharted waters. The following five things we believe are worth thinking through as part of a wider approach we all come back to full meetings together:
- Having decided how our meetings will operate, we then need to work out how this will be communicated to a new comer to the building at every service as soon as they arrive. The message needs to be simple and memorable. The message will also need to be accessible, for example for those who are visually impaired.
- Many people are still keen to be able to use liquid disinfectant and have soap for handwashing. If you are providing this, are the bottles / dispensers clean and full? Very often this is an area that is overlooked and it can be frustrating and worrying to users.
- As we come back to a building, are all the Statutory permissions in place and up to date? This includes the gas boiler safety certificate, electrical installation condition report (EICR) and the church’s Safeguarding evidence and policies.
- There are some other matters that need to be checked to make sure they are up to date too when the building is being used. For example, the Fire Risk Assessment will need updating and communicating to those attending and it would be a good idea to make sure that electrical equipment has recently been PAT tested, especially if it has been sitting around unused for some time.
- Finally, one result of Covid has been that many churches have “picked up” new members. There is a need to think and pray about how we might keep in touch with these people going forward. How will we tell them about events and meetings? How can we show them practical love and care in the days, weeks and months ahead?
We hope that the above touchpoints are helpful and that God will bless you as you prepare to come back to meeting together without restrictions.
