GREENBRIER, Ark. – Pastors across the country are having to come up with creative and unique ways to continue to minister to their congregations during COVID-19. So how do you do that while still meeting the CDC guidelines of social distancing?
Matt Bagby, Pastor of Crosspoint Baptist Church in Greenbrier, Arkansas has found a way to maintain being 6-feet apart and still see members of his church on Sundays.
Following the service, which is posted online, Matt piles his wife and kids into their car with signs that read ‘Happy Sunday! We miss you!’ They text or call members of their church and tell them to be prepared for a surprise visit. The Bagby family then pulls up outside the member’s house with signs raised and wave to the family inside the house.
The inspiration came as Matt and his wife were talking about how they could still connect with their members despite church services moving online. With a congregation totaling 200 or so, they needed an easy but efficient way to be able to minister. “They love it,” Matt said. “It’s been really good getting a personal touch in that way.”
On the first Sunday they decided to drive around to see their members, they went to 13 houses. Matt said they plan on hitting as many members as possible, hopefully driving to wave at all of them over the coming weeks. Despite the fact Greenbrier is spread out with many people living outside of town, Matt plans on seeing everyone.
He says getting text messages from families they visit shows how much the visit means to them, even when they “attended church” on-line still in their PJs. “They say, ‘we miss you guys’ and ‘we miss going to church’,” Matt said.
Social distancing is hard but seeing people face-to-face, even from 6-feet away, impacts people in a heartfelt way. In a time of uncertainty, Arkansas Baptists are still finding ways to connect and minister to one another.