Stores emptied of sanitizer, canned food, toilet paper, and water. Fights over the sale of limited supplies of face masks. Anger as congregations continue to gather for worship, prompting accusations of a lack of “social responsibility.”
The COVID-19 virus has spread from Asia to Europe and North America rapidly over the past week, bringing with it a level of panic and angst—everywhere from the supermarket to the stock market to the local church—not seen in recent times. The global tally is now more than 125,000 infected and more than 4,600 dead.
Churches in Singapore, which Billy Graham affirmed as the “Antioch of Asia,” have already weathered the anxiety now sweeping the world. On February 7, the nation-state’s government raised its national risk assessment level from Yellow to Orange, indicating “moderate disruption” to daily life—and in particular to large gatherings of people.
March 7 marked the one-month anniversary of Singapore—which has seen 166 cases but zero deaths—going Orange. This means that for the past month, local churches—which account for about 1 in 5 Singaporeans—have been forced into an extended period of self-examination, reflection, and action.
The process has not been straightforward, with a senior pastor afflicted with the coronavirus (and subsequently discharged), entire denominations suspending services, church-based preschools closing, and very public online disputes—in a nation that strictly enforces religious harmony—on how the situation is being handled by church leaders.
To help churches in the United States, Italy, Brazil, and other countries now facing decisions that churches in China, Korea, and Singapore have been grappling with for weeks, here are seven lessons the Singaporean church has learned over the past month:
Congregations are creatures of habit. Churches are built on traditions, liturgies, and order in worship. Over time, every church’s line between what is fundamental to the faith and what is merely institutionalized response gets blurred.
Does Communion have to be actual wine and unleavened bread to still count as holy? If you don’t actually lay hands on someone, are prayers of healing still effective? Does a church have to gather in the flesh to count as a congregation?
Every church, and every member of your church, will have different views on such often-undiscussed questions. The COVID-19 outbreak presents a needed moment of doctrinal stocktaking.
Every church board and pastoral staff team in Singapore has come together many times over the past month to grapple with what is non-negotiable in God’s eyes.
“The biggest lesson for me has been navigating the road between fear and wisdom,” said pastor Andre Tan of The City Church. “It is especially tough as fear often has a way to masquerade itself as wisdom. How many precautionary measures are actually sound judgment and how many are too much, such that they teeter over into irrational fear and anxiety?
“It is a tough road to navigate, as we had to both convey safety to our members—by way of implementing recommended health measures—and yet not succumb to the cultural climate of fear, anxiety, and self-preservation,” Tan told CT. “We do so in all our notices by ensuring that we are not just communicating measures but also casting a vision for how to be the people of God in this time.”
In practical terms, a church’s response will vary depending on its doctrine, local context, and exposure to suspected cases of COVID-19. There is no correct answer; all are seeking the most appropriate response in extraordinary times. Precautions that Singaporean churches have taken to maintain services include:
Some have chosen to suspend their services entirely. The Roman Catholic archdiocese in Singapore took the unprecedented step of suspending Mass in its 32 parishes starting February 15, advising congregants to continue to fulfill their spiritual obligations by tuning in to online sermons, spending time in prayer, and reading the Word at home. (The Catholic church, which accounts for about 7 percent of Singapore’s 5.8 million people, has announced that Mass will resume March 14.)
“In moments of crisis, people are looking for leadership,” said Ian Toh, pastor of 3:16 Church. “The first responsibility of the leader is to remain calm. Panic causes tunnel vision, which is terrible for decision-making. Strong leadership reminds people that God is in control of every situation and there is never a reason to panic.”
Toh told CT his leadership team found their role was “to teach from the Bible, minister to and encourage those who are fearful.” The process drove them to their knees, seeking divine wisdom in an unprecedented situation.
“The biggest lesson that I have learned dealing with COVID-19 is the need to be humble as a church leader,” said Toh. “There is so much that I do not know and have to learn. And that increases my desire and the need to seek the face of the Lord daily.”
As the virus continues to spread globally, church leaders around the world should be aware that their flocks are watching their shepherds intently. Signals of faithfulness will have implications long after the COVID-19 season is over.
“A senior leader once told me, ‘A leader’s action is a theological statement,’” said Rick Toh [no relation], pastor of Yio Chu Kang Chapel. “As leaders, we need to have a theological stance on all things. We need to process our fears before God and let our actions be inspired by faith and guided by sound theology. Let not disease, or earthly decree, but doctrine guide our decisions.”
While the Singaporean government has said an upgrade to the Red risk assessment level is “unlikely,” local churches have explored improvements to their video recording and live-streaming capabilities in preparation for a worst-case total lockdown scenario.
Seeing the need, various groups have put together websites and webinars with free advice for churches on how to switch to livestreaming.
For example, the Bible Society of Singapore partnered with ThunderQuote, a procurement-related startup founded by Christians, to launch Streams of Life, a resource center listing various livestreaming options ranked by difficulty level.
“It is a wonderful time for the ecclesia to exercise practical wisdom and explore creative methods of ministry,” the Streams of Life team states on its website.
In a similar vein, Singapore Bible College conducted an “Introduction to Instant Message Broadcast and Live Video Streaming” workshop, while digital-exploration ministry Indigitous partnered with church IT specialists to host a “So You Want to Livestream Your Church Service” webinar via the Zoom video conferencing platform.
Church worship and AV teams are also navigating the music licensing challenge that livestreaming presents. Many local worship groups have explicitly granted permission for churches to play their songs on livestreams without fear of copyright or licensing issues.
Awaken Generation, founded by Calvin and Alarice Hong, was “keenly aware” of how small churches could find it difficult to afford livestreaming licenses for worship services. “Given the backdrop of things, we simply felt that it was really not the time to enforce our strict rights in collecting livestreaming communication fees,” the worship group told CT. “So it was our honor to offer these songs for use.
“They were written by and for the people of our nation, and it was our privilege to see them used as an offering as the nation rallied together to intercede and break down barriers of fear.”
Bible Study Fellowship’s 7,500 members in Singapore have kept up their weekly lectures and discussions via Zoom.
Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC) chose to suspend weekly gatherings from mid-February as an act of social responsibility. “This decision was a very difficult one to make,” said senior pastor Daniel Khong. “We were constantly checking ourselves to make sure that we were not responding out of fear, and weighing out all the various considerations. But our main church building sits in the heart of a neighborhood with a population of about 46,000 people. With how dense this area is, this could potentially become a major cluster for the virus to spread.”
An unexpected result: The move to livestreaming seems to have strengthened the church community, Khong told CT.
“Many of our cell groups come together in homes to watch our service livestream. We deliberately end our livestreamed services early so that our cell groups can go out and pray over their neighborhood. Many have said they now feel a sense of responsibility for the spiritual well-being of their community, and some were even able to share the gospel with people they met.”
FCBC members are now on a journey of rethinking their understanding of church, said Khong. “The church today must be a people of purpose that are willing to go beyond the constraints of ‘place’ or ‘program.’”
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