Clovis churches are finding creative ways to continue their services through the COVID-19 crisis.
Most churches were forced to close their physical doors after the governor issued the shelter-in-place order March 13, which essentially banned large gatherings.
Now, faith-based organizations around Clovis are taking to the internet to continue to deliver services to their congregations.
Micah Foster, a lead pastor at Two Cities Church, which held its Sunday services at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District before the crisis began, said his church moved its services online via apps like Facebook Live, Youtube, Periscope and Zoom.
“We had to pivot, like every church in America, to being an online presence,” Foster said. “We broadcast to all of those mediums at 10:30 a.m. on Sundays.”
The church transitioned all of its activities to the virtual realm. Even weekly bible studies are now held in online video conference rooms.
Foster said the new approach is working, as he is beginning to see people from across the country attend his online services.
But church duties include a lot more than recording sermons and posting them online, Foster said. As a lead pastor, Foster must also provide faith-based guidance and community outreach.
That means figuring out ways to support those who are the most vulnerable to the contagious COVID-19.
“We have requests from people that are older or they have compromised immune systems and they are asking for us to drop off groceries or something else,” Foster said. “We are doing our best to fulfill those needs and we are also pointing them to services that are already in place. If they need it multiple times, we teach them how to use Instacart and other online grocery shopping services that they would not normally use.”
The crisis also forced Foster to rethink his church’s Easter services. Two Cities canceled its annual Easter Extravaganza, which it traditionally organizes with the City of Clovis, because of the crisis.
“It’s hard for us to really serve the city in a unique way when those opportunities are taken away,” Foster said.
To make up for it, Foster created a series of videos to act as Easter “experiences.” One video features Foster teaching viewers how to have communion in their own home. Another shows a video of church members playing separate instruments in their own homes, edited together to make it look as if they were playing together.
Cross City, one of the largest churches in the Clovis area, also converted its services to an online format.
Brent Deffenbacher, director of disciple and teaching at Cross City church, said his church already had a strong online presence before the crisis began. But now that Cross City has moved all of its services online, the church is seeing an explosion in online traffic.
“Cross City has had a pretty vibrant online platform for the last five years,” Deffenbacher said. “The number has over quadrupled since we have moved solely online. Before we were averaging close to 2,000 views a weekend, and now we have more than 7,000 unique IP addresses that are logging in every weekend for our adult services.”
Several of the church’s members still struggle with isolation, however, Deffenbacher said.
“There is definitely a sense of isolation and there is a longing for physical interaction. We appreciate the medium that tech has created, but still,” Deffenbacher said.
Many of Cross City’s members have sought to keep the loneliness at bay by finding ways to give back to the community. This includes activities such as preparing meals and sewing masks for hospitals.
“We have several ministries within our church that have been retooled,” Deffenbacher said. “One of the groups just this last week had meals packaged from Deli Delicious and they took them to Terry’s House downtown and they provided free meals to families who had a loved one at community hospital.”
Cross City is also providing thousands of free meals to first responders, including the Clovis Police Department, local E.M.T.s and the California Highway Patrol.
“Through our outreach, we have been able to provide thousands of free meals for first responders,” he said. “That is a very tangible way for us to care for, physically, the needs of the people who are on the front lines.”
Mountain View Church is also responding to the crisis by preparing meals. The church partnered with the Peoples Church in Fresno to serve 6,877 meals to Clovis neighborhoods, according to its Facebook page.
As the crisis draws on, church leaders are considering how their congregations, and the world at large, will emerge once it is all over.
Foster said he hopes religious organizations learn what they can from the crisis, such as how the church can meet the needs of those who may be unable to physically attend.
“What we are wrestling with right now is, when this is all over, is how will this change us. We are figuring out what this has caused us to eliminate which is not necessary, and what this has allowed us to focus on that is necessary,” Foster said. “How can we slightly pivot to help people who can’t physically make it to a service?”
Deffenbacher believes the crisis will make people appreciate what they previously took for granted.
“We will get through this, and we will be changed, but I think we will be changed for the better,” Deffenbacher said. “I believe that when we do return there will be a reawakening for people, and somethings they had taken for granted before, they will have a whole new appreciation for.”