Almost everything about church has changed because of COVID-19, including communion and the offering. Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss how to still include these elements in the worship experience.

2:08 Lee asks Danny: What have you seen done that is a complete mistake when it comes to offering communion?

3:11 Since passing the basket is out, probably for good, Danny says the simplest option is placing an offering box or bucket in a secure location in the back.

3:32 Danny says, Don’t take the worship element out of giving just because it’s online.

4:21 Even if it’s just a quick announcement, you still have the opportunity to cast vision and train people in what giving actually is all about.

4:31 It’s still important to schedule the offering within the normal order of worship experience, whether in person or virtually.

5:10 You can use the offering as a time for people to fill out virtual connect cards.

5:34 Make the offering about worship, not just the function of a financial transaction.

5:39 Lee says, Don’t bypass the opportunity to teach on giving. "People still need to be reminded and educated, why this is an important part of our faith journey."

5:57 Lee says it’s important to give very easy, clear next steps. If you have boxes or baskets in the back, point those out, explain what to do. Explain envelopes are only necessary for cash. Drive everybody to online giving as much as possible.

7:43 Lee and Danny talk about how to do communion in this season of church? How do you do communion virtually? And then how do you do communion when you do get back to in-person gatherings at some level?

9:29 Lee’s church used pre-packaged communion elements when they had their first in-person gathering since COVID. He explained to people what to do and that they were all put out in a sanitary method.

11:00 Danny says pastors should let people know it’s OK not to take communion if they don’t feel comfortable. Consider doing it at home or wait until you’re more comfortable.

Lee Stephenson: Everyone, welcome to the Unfiltered podcast, real church conversations about church planting and everything else that we want to talk about. My name is Lee Stephenson, lead kind of Converge church planting dude.

Danny Parmelee: Wow, that was an awesome intro, Lee, executive director of Converge and a lead pastor/church planter. It's hard to remember all of that. No, that's, that's great. My name is Danny Parmelee, and I oversee church planting for Converge MidAmerica. I am not a lead pastor. And I've been telling everybody in this COVID season that I'm glad I'm not because now all I do is just come up with ideas and sit in the peanut gallery and say, Man, why don't you try this instead?

Lee Stephenson: Yeah, which is really your spiritual gifts.

Danny Parmelee: Yeah, exactly. Just tell other people how I'd do it if I was in charge. It's so fun. It's fun being on the other side for once.

Lee Stephenson: I'm sure. I'm sure rub it in.

But, you know, one of the things being in a pandemic, I know thinking through touch points is really important for church leadership and church volunteers. Everything from how doors are opened, how doors are closed, how child check-in's taking place, trying to minimize honestly just cross contamination and passing COVID throughout the entire church. I think of two very practical things that have had to be shifted for those that are in-person gatherings. And I think even continuing when majority of us get back to normal in-person gatherings, at least for a long season. It will require of us and I think of those two areas are communion. How do we do communion? You know, do we pass plates anymore? Do we share a cup anymore and then second of all, is offering, just the practical how do we receive and take the offering? Let me pose the question to you this way, Danny: What have you seen done that is a complete mistake when it comes to offering our communion?

Danny Parmelee: Okay, so I don't even know if you saw this or not, because it was going around on Facebook, but there was a remote control car, a dump truck, and people would, you know, drop their offering in. And I'm not sure if it was real or not, or if someone was just smart enough to go: If I fake this, this will fund my church because this is going to go viral type of thing. I'm kind of leaning towards the second, but it looked real as people were trying to do it. Um, I'm going to put that on the no-go list. It looked hilarious. And but it also looked really ridiculous at the same time. ...

So would say passing the basket at all is just out. I don't care if you're, you've got a drone, if you've got a remote control car, it's really just unnecessary. So, so for me, your simplest is to do the the box or the bucket, you know, type of thing in the back a secure location to do that. But since everything has moved to online, has been even over the last 5-10 years, and then with COVID it's like you're 100% touchless, you know, type of thing. And this is one of those areas where it's like, man, if I was a lead pastor, church planter, how would I do this to me, I think that it should still be part of the service that we don't take the worship element out of giving just because it's online. So still creating an environment where people have a moment to think, to pray, and even if they're regular givers if they're still thinking about their own giving and generosity to do that.

Lee Stephenson: Do you have the church secretary still come up and sing her solo?

Danny Parmelee: Absolutely, yes, you have to have that. So, but yeah, I mean, honestly, even if there is a special music or there's video, but that there's some intentionality behind it and that it doesn't become just, oh, well, you all gave online during COVID. So just give online. And that's it. It's just a quick announcement, you still have that opportunity to cast vision and to train people in what giving actually is all about.

Lee Stephenson: So you're saying it's still important to schedule it within the normal order of worship experience, whether or not it's in person or even virtually.

Danny Parmelee: Right. Yeah, I mean, I think that you do that. Absolutely. I mean, otherwise, what we unintentionally do, is we take the worship element out of it, well, it was just something that you, you know, you need to do and so because we're not passing, because before we did pass the basket, or we did a worship song a lot of times during pass the basket, because you just needed it for the time, you know. And now it's like well, no, let's give people some time to reflect on it. As an added bonus, I think that you can use it as a time for people to fill out virtual connect cards. So even if they're signed up already and they're doing um, you know, they're doing automatic giving on a, you know, recurring giving type of thing, use as a time that they can reflect, they can write prayer requests down, they can thank God for all the blessings that they have. I mean, again, just it worship, worship, worship, worship, make it about worship, not just the function of a financial transaction.

Lee Stephenson: Yeah. And I think don't bypass the opportunity to teach on it. You know, it, people still need to be reminded and educated, why this is an important part of our faith journey. And so look for those opportunities, even if it's a two to four minute moment that you create in a service, but I think in that process, you have to give very easy, clear next steps. And so if you have boxes or baskets or whatever in the back, point those out, explain what to do. Explain envelopes are only necessary for cash, you know, and specifically if you want that to be designated a certain way, but I would encourage again drive, a lot of it's been forced this way, but drive everybody to online giving as much as possible.

And I mean there's a, it would have to look a little different, but there are some church cultures as well, where people still walk down the middle of the aisle and they place their offering in the basket as a, you know, come and bring, like I'm bringing my offering before the Lord. And I think there's something powerful about that. And so I figure out a way to, you know, I don't know if it would work in every church culture to do that, but that's your setting that kind of moment up, even if a box is in the back, and they do it on their way out. Create that moment and that focus on that.

Danny Parmelee: Lee, that is an extreme example, but it is exactly what a pastor should be thinking through. OK, this is what people are used to. And this is kind of what we've done. How can we even continue? I'm not opposed to a pastor or church planter experimented with that and say, You may have your online app giving in your hand and you are going to walk up and you're going to hit send when you get to the altar. I know that sounds just corny and ridiculous to some of the people that are out there. But for some, it may work. It's just a matter of asking, How do we create it to be a part of worship?

Lee Stephenson: Yeah, absolutely. And then on communion, I mean, there's traditionally you have the pass the plate method, or you have what we would call the Catholic method of "continction." I say it for that way for the lay people. And then I know what I'm talking about too. But in that process, both of those are kind of a no-go. And so how do you do communion in this season of church? And let's talk about two levels. How do you do communion virtually? And then how do you do communion when you do get back to in-person gatherings at some level?

Danny Parmelee: Yeah. Well, I mean, I've seen virtual done fairly well. And especially because you, you have less of the issue. If people are at home, get your grape juice, you know, get your bread. If you don't have grape juice, it's okay. It's symbolic. You can use soda, you know, whatever, whatever, orange juice.

Lee Stephenson: I saw a church by the way that brought a glass of whiskey for its communion.

Danny Parmelee: So, um, you know, we'll just leave the pastors to individually figure that out. That one to me is a little bit easier because you can just train them on that and again, I think you have a beautiful teaching moment there. ... The in person I'm not sure. What are you guys doing? Have you have you had communion yet since returning back?

Lee Stephenson: I don't know if you knew this, but they make these pre-packaged communion things that work really well. And so we actually, I mean, just this past week was our first in-person gathering. And we did communion just because it was our first time coming back together. I just want that moment. So I mean, practically speaking, as people walked in, we told them, hey, today's communion, and as you walk into the auditorium, we have very specific like, this is the way to walk. We had tables set up with convenient elements all pre-packaged there ready to go. And so we bought the pre-packaged kind that, pull the first top, there's a wafer for you, pull the second top and you can take the juice and we just told people, you know, as you walk up, grab one and walk out. They were all put out, you know, in a sanitary method, and then we told people, Just hold on to it until we get to that part of the service. And then I actually, I literally had to walk people through how to do this, like, Yeah, you're gonna have to pull off the top, then you can pull off the next one and explain that and so don't expect everybody can just figure that out. So it's kind of like IKEA when it comes to you got to give some very specific directions on how to put this together.

Danny Parmelee: I think that is so key that one of the things you said was that you explain the sanitary method that you put it out because for some people, they you know, are wondering, Well, did someone just cough all over these and then hand them out? The second thing would be is I think giving people permission not to if they don't feel comfortable and to think that they're, you know, they don't get a spiritual ding on their card if they skip communion because they just didn't feel comfortable; totally OK. Now, you know, consider doing communion at home or if you wait until you're more comfortable, it's not, you're not getting in trouble for that.

Lee Stephenson: We even put a bottle of hand sanitizer in the middle of the table, and we told everybody to give a squirt of hand sanitizer before they grab their communion thing.

Danny Parmelee: Yeah, that's great.

Lee Stephenson: So there's some practical things. You know, some of it's a no-brainer, but I do think it's part of the just necessary conversation in the times that we're in and so, great conversation. Thanks, Danny. This has been the Unfiltered podcast for all those that tuned in. And thanks again for tuning in. Until next time, keep it real.