In church revitalization we’re told that keeping all the old things is not in the best interest of the church. This is true if your facility looks like it got stuck in a time warp and into 1970. Statistics show that people have an innate sense of new and old and stay away from what the perceive as old. This is why many churches should regularly look around and see if updating their facility is in order. A fresh coat of paint can change things, it transforms areas with out expensive remodels and other costly expenses. However, that is not the point of this article. Let us discuss dusting off a time worn tradition as we begin to come out of our COVID comas, let’s discuss homecoming. Now we do have Back to Church Sunday in September, but as many of our states are opening things wide open again and churches are now looking at having in person services, many for the first time in a year, let us discuss why a homecoming is a good idea.

First, it is a time to welcome back the church family. In many of the old-time homecomings, it was a time for members to reacquaint themselves with people that life’s journey had just taken them away from their church. They haven’t seen one another since perhaps a church potluck, men’s dinner, or that Bible study group from the summer. In our situation today, they may not have seen each other in over a year, and so this will be a valuable time for the church family to get back in synch with family members they haven’t seen in that time. Reacquaint themselves, get their barring, and begin to find their place again.

Second, it is a good time to reach out to people who have dropped out. Homecomings were a way to get back in touch with the people who left the church, and if we are honest, we have seen that too in the current global crisis. Maybe it speaks to us that there’s a deeper need for discipleship in our churches, but it also means reconnecting with those who have dropped out. I believe we will be surprised by those who would return for a homecoming and we would be wrong to not want to use such an opportunity. For some in the original sense, they wanted to know how things were coming along since they had been there, and for many today, they’re either disconnected from social distancing and not sure how to reconnect again.

Third, it will help us gauge the recovery period. This one doesn’t have a tie in to the past, but it can help us for the future. We know that not everyone is going to return right away, there’s a lot of talk of people having PTSD in coming back to church, so this will be a good way to see who will return right away and who may still hold back, even after they get the vaccine. Communication is the key here, we have to remember to use the shepherd’s heart and care for our flocks. It will be aggravating to some who just want to get back to things right away, but it will take time. Churches after the 1918 Spanish flu (A period that lasted from 1914-1921) took about 4-6 years after to fully recover with smaller churches doing the best because they could keep track of their people and know if things were going in the wrong direction.

Fourth, celebrate the victories of the last year. You’ve made it this far by the grace of God, so why not celebrate it? In the old homecomings, churches would celebrate the service of one of its members to the church and community. They would give out an award for their faithfulness and the church as one would celebrate something they knew to be true. For many of us who have been doing church either in person with restrictions or online, there are people we can celebrate who have worked tirelessly to keep the flow going. Be it the worship team, AV crew, or someone else, they have come out and they need to be celebrated. Doing this in a gathering is going to show the church who had cared enough for them to still be fed by helping you pastor livestream, call, set up food drops, and other things that kept momentum during the pandemic.

Finally, let us take time to remember those we have lost, rejoice in being back together, and pray for the Lord to pour out his Spirit to revive our churches again. Paul tells us in Romans 12:15 to “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” My church is not coming out of this time away unscathed, we have had people get and survive COVID, and we have had some not survive it within families, so we must remember them. Also, there are those who were not allowed to mourn the loss of family to non-COVID related illness, and we need to give them their due too. Take a time to perhaps put together a video like those memorandums at the awards shows to remember who you as a church lost, but who your flock also lost during this pandemic themselves. Its touches like that which can bring things home.

Overall, this can be one of the biggest moments for our churches and treating the opportunity that is without preparation would be a bad move. Even if your church is not moving to in service yet, this is a time to be preparing, a farmer prepares for a harvest, and between planting and harvest is a lot of preparation, be in that moment, trust God and lean on him in the moments you struggle as you get back into the groove of meeting again.

Ver todos los episodios