THEN AND NOW - Pastoring and Church Planting During and After COVID-19: How the pandemic, lockdown, quarantine, and restrictions have and will continue to effect church and pastoral ministry.

The last several months have forced most churches to either close, or to make at least a decade’s worth of changes, or maybe both. Whether it was building an online ministry, cleaning the calendar of all but "essential" stuff, rethinking ministry priorities, or maybe even relearning everything that you thought you knew about "the work of the ministry." Now, seven-to-eight(ish) months in, we are at a point where it would serve us well to take a deep breath, look at what we've been through, and maybe even draw a little map to guide us on down the road ahead.While the Bible's truths and the Great Commission do not change, the methods we have used, many of them, may have to change. That makes this a good time to ask ourselves whether our current ministry structures are serving us well? Or do they need to be refocused? What are "ministry structures"? Great question. This book attempts to answer it. The author, a Bible College and Seminary President who had arrived in his new Pastorate in a University town in New England just one week before the Governor declared a state of emergency and shut everything down was simply overwhelmed that the culture of a church, and of “Christianity” as he had known it for decades of both life and ministry could change so dramatically – and so quickly.Immediately, he uploaded a YouTube video for the church's members. His message was simple. The culture, both of the world around us, and even of many churches had changed. But the Bible was still the Word of God! Jesus was still the way, the truth, and the life! The mission of the First Baptist Church, and also the mission of the church’s members, was to preach the Gospel and to make Disciples. These eternal truths were not changing!How they were going to be go about doing the work of the ministry, both collectively and individually, was going to change in ways they could not yet even begin to fathom. But ETERNAL truth and God’s expectations and commands had not changed. Interestingly, the author notes that "As Pastor, I never had to fight the civil authorities. I did have to fight my own Deacons, Church Council, and 'leadership' every step of the way."This book is a combination of what the author and the church he pastors did and how they did it. Both during the initial stages of the lockdowns, and then after things had opened back up. Included are creative ideas of how to reached those who would not or could not come. Discussions include streaming worship services, wearing masks, social distancing, online giving, creative forms of outreach, and even planting a church amidst a pandemic. Also discussed are the effects that masks, social distancing, and CDC protocols have had on the authors church as well as their effects upon numerous other churches. What happened in churches that implemented strict protocols? And what happened in churches that had little or no protocols?The author also shares what he believe our churches should look like right now, and what we should be doing in the near future (as we go through re-institutions of lockdowns and recoveries). Finally, he predicts, based on 32-years of full-time pastoral ministry experience, what the "ministry" will look like 2 to 10 years from now. The author's prayer, is that as you read this book, the Holy Spirit will show you a strategy that will help the church you lead to move forward in the challenging days that are ahead. Our Lord is preparing His churches. Remember what our Lord said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Every challenge and opposition that the Lord’s churches have faced over the past 2,000 years has been met with God’s power. The Lord’s churches will prevail!