Checklist: Essential Guide to Reopening Your Church Post-COVID-19
1. Prepare Your Church Building
- Deep clean your entire church.
- Remove any non-essential toys (surfaces) from your kids area.
- Set up worship areas with social distance seating – provide “overflow” rooms
- Post reminders about limiting contact and social distancing.
- Clean up front of church (pull weeds, clean parking lot)
- Buy face masks for those who want them.
- Set up sanitizing stations.
2. Plan Your Welcome Back Service or Event
- Figure out what type of event you want to host: regular Sunday Service, smaller mid-week gathering, special after-service BBQ, etc….
- Choose a location for the event (church building, parking lot, park, or rented space).
- Schedule a date for the event (multiple times of the same event might be needed to adhere to social distancing guidelines).
- Organize food and equipment as needed.
- Ask for volunteers to help set up chairs, tables and direct traffic.
- Set up your Watch Online option.
3. Promote Your Opening (depending on the seating capacity you can have)
- Set up outdoor banners with service information outside your church building.
- Run Facebook ads in your area to make people aware about your reopening date.
- Send out invite postcards to people’s homes inviting them to come in person or to watch online.
4. Be Ready to Welcome Members and Guests
- Gather and retrain your Greeting and Parking Teams.
- Set up a check-in system. Be prepared to offer masks to visitors.
- Equip Parking Team with appropriate directional signs .
- Provide Greeters with Welcome Back hand held signs.
- Buy floor stickers to help direct traffic and ensure that social distancing measures are being followed.
- Keep your Online service and be sure to welcome them during your services.
5. Follow Up
- Meet with ministry leaders to create a list of areas that can be improved.
- Send out a note to thank people for coming and invite them back.
- Make an email list and send out a follow up with a list of upcoming events.
- Ask Ministry leaders to check in with online members and stay engaged digitally.
