Ban Of Church Services: How We Worship

The world all over is dealing with a pandemic; Covid-19 which is killing thousands across the globe. No cure has been found yet. In a bid to contain the disease, some measures have been adopted across the world; handwashing, use of hand sanitisers, no face touching, social distancing, quarantine of particular persons and avoiding crowded places among many others. Watch the WHO Coronavirus-seven steps to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Apart from the death tolls, one of the consequences of this pandemic is that in many countries, religious gatherings have been banned. Ghana my homeland has also implemented this measure.

 All public gatherings, including conferences, workshops, funerals, festivals, political rallies, sporting events and religious activities, such as services in churches and mosques, have been suspended for the next four (4) weeks. Private burials are permitted, but with limited numbers, not exceeding twenty-five (25) in attendance; ¹Emphasis is mine

The directive above was announced to the nation on 15th March 2020 hence all church services were suspended immediately. So from the 22nd of March up till date, churches have devised various ways by which the message of the gospel is still preached despite the ban. And this has mainly been through social media via live video recordings on Facebook. To this we are grateful. In an online article, Nathan W. Bingham noted that

The current crisis is highlighting even more clearly to more people in the body of Christ why we can give thanks to God for the technological advances of recent decades. By God’s grace, the lights haven’t been turned off. The Light of the World is still shining in the darkness as His gospel is preached and the sermons of faithful pastors are broadcasted on television, computer, and smartphone screens.²

I worship with Truth Missionary Baptist Church, Accra-Dansoman, a small Reformed congregation of about 200 active members. We have benefited from the blessings of social media to hold our services.

The model we have adopted is small family gatherings for worship every Sunday. Before Sunday, our Pastor prepares his sermon outline and sends it to the various families in the church through WhatsApp. On Sunday, every family meets and conducts a family worship service. This meeting takes place at the same time 09:00am-11:00am across all families of the church. Families in various homes of the church therefore meet, sing, read Scriptures and hear the Word preached in their home. For those living alone, they are advised to adopt the outline to suit their situation, i.e. use the outline in a personal devotional format.

We have received encouraging reports from families of how these home worship services have been going well. Families hear the gospel preached in their own homes, with worship led by themselves. In my home, I lead the worship, my wife and children read the Bible readings for the day and I preach from the outline sent by the Pastor. Until the situation changes, this is going to be our mode of worship. We miss meeting together as a church family however we have been presented with a great opportunity to grow in our family devotions, reflections and most importantly in our walk with the Lord.

I share with you the outline for our worship today: TMBC 29_3_2020 Sermon Outline

Notes

1. The Presidency, “President Akufo-Addo Addresses Nation On Measures Taken By Gov’t To Combat The Coronavirus Pandemic” http://www.presidency.gov.gh/index.php/briefing-room/speeches/1535-president-akufo-addo-addresses-nation-on-measures-taken-by-gov-t-to-combat-the-coronavirus-pandemic, accessed 29th March 2020
2. Nathan W. Bingham, “COVID-19 and Longing for a Joy That Is Complete”
   https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/covid-19-and-longing-for-a-joy-that-is-complete-2020-03/, accessed 29th March 2020