For local pastors, pandemic has prompted creative ways to stay in touch – and expand their missions

(Sponsored content) – A group of local pastors recently explored the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic while discussing some creative and unique ways they’re using to keep worshippers engaged and connected.

The conversation, "Real Issues, Right Now Strategies" was hosted by the Henrico Ministers Conference Sept. 21 in a virtual format and included Dr. Kevin L. Sykes of St. James Baptist Church in Varina; Rev. Dr. James L. Sailes of Antioch Baptist Church in Varina; Pastor Samuel Massenburg of Broken Bread Ministries in Highland Springs; and Rev. Rudolph Sykes of Rising Mt. Zion Baptist Church in New Kent. It was moderated by Rev. Dr. Kimberly Ridley, pastor of The Light Community Church in northern Henrico.

Rev. Zynora D. Manson is president of the Henrico Ministers Conference.

The pastors described how the pandemic has forced them to change the way they interact and connect with their church families – in many cases allowing them to find new ways to reach even more people than before.

At St. James Baptist, for example, Sykes and his staff purchased tablets and distributed them to the senior citizens in their congregation, so that they could tune into virtual church services, Bible Study classes and other church events virtually. Staff members visited each senior personally, ensured that that tablets could connect to the internet and left detailed instructions so that each person could log in and view the events.

“It’s been great, just using those types of things, and our seniors are loving it because they stay in touch and they’re in contact with what’s going on with the church,” Sykes said.

At Broken Bread Ministries, Massenburg has used virtual Bible study classes on Wednesdays – and in particular, a 10-minute Bible trivia game just prior to each class – to help engage more people.

“It has been a tremendous benefit to the ministry,” he said. “The ministry is actually starting to grow exponentially. We have fun, we laugh, we joke and [the trivia session] kind of sets the tone for us to move into our Bible study lesson.”

At Rising Mt. Zion Baptist in New Kent, Pastor Sykes said the pandemic forced him to begin streaming services and Bible studies on Facebook – something he had considered several years ago but said he was too “stubborn” to do at the time.

“But that is such a blessing – we are reaching more people by using Facebook,” he said.

St. James offers “e-memberships” to people anywhere in the world, and Sykes said that the church counts members from Alabama, Texas, New York and New Jersey among them. He and Sailes also have relied upon a more traditional form of communication – the telephone – as a way to engage with members who they haven’t seen in person for awhile.

It’s important, Sailes said, “to let them know that even though we don’t see them. . . they are still not yet forgotten.”

For Sykes, it’s important that those conversations are about more than just superficial topics.

“I not only just call to say hello but also to try to spend some quality time with them,” he said. “I want to hear where they are, what’s going on. That’s what I try to do with my seniors, just let them talk it all out.”

Massenburg’s church sends outs texts to seniors with prayer requests and emails virtual slideshows to members who weren’t able to view them online. It also prints copies for those who don’t use email or who would simply prefer the printed versions, he said.

“I think what it speaks to is that the shepherd knows the flock,” Ridley said of the various methods of outreach used by the pastors. “When you know who you have in your congregation, you know what they need in order to feel connected.”

The pastors agreed that financial giving has remained solid throughout the pandemic, perhaps in part because of the variety of online giving opportunities. In the case of Broken Bread, giving has picked up to the point at which the church has been able to undertake several new endeavors, Massenburg said.

Sykes of St. James Baptist Church said that the pandemic has pushed him to make some moves that he might otherwise have dragged his feet on.

“I’m loving it, because it’s helping the church to grow,” he said.

A key takeaway for Sailes is that as he’s had to find new ways to connect, he’s realized that some of what he did in the past was extraneous.

Many of the components of a two-hour service, he said, “I’ve learned over the time we have been in that pandemic that a bunch of that stuff was just stuff that didn’t really need to be done. The focus [now[ is worship – all the other stuff that has nothing to do with us meeting God in the place, I don’t need to be part of it.”

Discussing the importance of vaccination

The pastors agreed that it can be challenging to reach church members who may be hesitant or averse to being vaccinated against COVID-19, but Sykes of Rising Mt. Zion Baptist had a simple message for those people.

“A lot of times we read a whole lot of stuff on the internet . . . a bunch of nonsense,” he said. “What we need to do is look at science and go along with what science is saying.
“The main thing that you have to tell people is that people are dying, and if you don’t get vaccinated, there’s a strong possibility that you might die. If you get vaccinated, you might get sick, but the possibility of dying is very low.”

Massenburg used himself and his family as a case study for his church members, he said. He got vaccinated, his wife got vaccinated, and their daughter got vaccinated so that she could play AAU basketball. That in turn caused many of the members to get vaccinated, too, “and now it has been kind of a domino effect,” he said. “It has been a great testimony.”

Sailes tried to put the pandemic into a more religious context.

“I don’t think that God has allowed these kind of protections to come into place just for us to play with them,” he said. “Get the vaccine, practice safe measures.”

Sykes of St. James cited the loss of his aunt (who was infected with the virus by a family member who was visiting for a movie night) and many others as personal evidence that the vaccine is critical. His church served as a local vaccination site for several weeks earlier this year.

“All of us know someone that we’ve lost to this,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I was tired of going to a cemetery, going to a funeral home.”

Said Sykes: “The reality is you have had vaccinations for so many different things. If you step on a rusty nail right now and go into the emergency room, they’re going to give you a tetanus shot. Now how many people would step on a rusty nail and go into the ER and say ‘You’re not giving me a tetanus shot!’

There’s about 14 things that we get vaccines for. Fourteen things, and we’ve been getting them. We just stood in line and got vaccinated.”

He also took issue with the notion perpetuated by some that getting vaccinated is against their religious beliefs.

“I’m a Baptist pastor – stop saying that it’s against your religion,” he said. “Stop saying that – you’re a Baptist, you’re a Christian. There’s nowhere in the Bible that says it’s against your religious beliefs. Where do you get that from? We read the word of God.”

Said Sykes of St. James: “If nothing else, think about your loved ones if you don’t want to think about yourself.”