Rev. John Richter works out the details for streaming Sunday’s service at St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church Thursday afternoon. Richter said getting sermons online for the congregation is a learn as you go experience. 

Due to the social distancing requirements from the COVID-19 pandemic, churches aren’t meeting as a body, but they are continuing to gather in spirit, thanks to technology.

The congregation at Cornerstone Church of the Nazarene gathered in person last Sunday, but the next day, additional restrictions were put on the number of people that can be in one place at a given time. As a result, the church is using other methods to keep connected.

“I’m a strong believer in staying connected,” said Pastor Joe McNulty, whose background is in psychology. “I just know that people like to be connected and that people care about them and know where they are.”

The church will be using FaceBook Live and Youtube to broadcast Sunday Celebration Services until at least April 5 and Zoom to broadcast its Wednesday Night Bible Studies. The advantage of Zoom for the Bible studies is that it allows participants to see each other and interact as if they were in the same place.

In addition, McNulty said they will be sending out a weekly newsletter with updates, words of encouragement and prayer requests. “Staying connected to all of you during this difficult time is important,” McNulty told the 100-member church. “But it’s especially important for our seniors and those with physical limitations.”

He said in the long-run, the changes the church is making for the COVID-19 crisis, “is going to change the way we do our whole ministry. It may be forcing us to do something that we should have been doing all along.”

Other Cullman Churches are also embracing technology instead of each other during services. United Methodist Churches, including First United Methodist Church Cullman, live-streamed their services on Facebook last week.

Pastor Todd Henderson, speaking from the pulpit to congregants at home, “As God said, your home is now a sanctuary.”

St. John’s Evangelical Protestant Church is another local church that is transitioning to an online-only sermon this week, and Reverend John Richter and Youth Pastor Trent Dodson were at the church Thursday afternoon making sure everything flows smoothly.

Richter said the church did a Facebook Live broadcast for Wednesday’s service that served as a test run, and Sunday’s service could be broadcast live, pre-recorded or both. 

“We haven’t decided exactly how we want that to look,” he said.

During Wednesday’s live broadcast, Richter said the church tried to create the same feeling of being in a familiar place of worship with familiar faces, and Sunday’s service will also try to match that feeling.

“We wanted it to be as intimate as possible,” he said. “And I think we were able to capture that.”

Wednesday’s service got more comments and interactions than he thought it would, and many of the church’s other posts are also seeing more engagement lately, Richter said. 

The area isn’t under a strict quarantine, but people are trying to limit their person-to-person interactions, so that could mean that they are looking online for some of their personal connections, he said. 

“People are responding and they’re appreciating the contact,” he said. “We got lots of positive feedback from our congregation.”

Richter said St. John’s had already been planning to increase its online presence, and while the COVID-19 outbreak has accelerated those plans, the move to online services could help the church reach its members who are unable to get out of their homes or reach new people who are looking for a place to worship. 

“You never know how you might connect in ways that you just don’t expect,” he said.

Pleasant View Baptist Church in Holly Pond will not meet through the month of March, but will live stream Bible study on the church’s Facebook page on Wednesday at 7 p.m. On Sundays, Sunday school lessons will be at 10 a.m. with service following at 11 a.m.

Spirit Life Church of God has moved services online. Find the church at the Facebook group Spirit Life Church of GOD.

Services are Sunday, 11 a.m.; Sunday, 6 p.m.; and Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. All will be available for later viewing for those who cannot tune in to the live stream.