Church Leaders Consider ‘Drive-In Churches’ So Congregants Can Worship Together while Respecting Social Distancing

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, churches are looking at ways to reach people, including drive-in churches.

Health officials had initially strongly recommended no gatherings over 50 people and when people did meet, officials said to practice “social distancing” and stay at least six feet from each other— both recommendations were hard for churches.

Then in Marysville, Washington, The Grove Church staff considered a drive-in church. The Grove Church wasn’t the only church considering the change.

Pastor Bob Kemp-Baird, who heads the Daytona Beach Drive-In Christian Church in Daytona Beach, Florida, told Christianity Today that running a drive-in church is not that difficult. Other pastors in the U.S. have been reaching out to him for questions about how to launch a drive-in church.

“It’s not like there’s a lot of equipment that you need beyond what churches have anyway to amplify the message,” Kemp-Baird said.

He said a low-frequency transmitter sends a signal out up to a mile, allowing people to tune into the “service” via their radios. For that type of broadcast, most states do not require radio licenses.

“Churches are trying to find any way they can to gather people together,” Kemp-Baird said. “They’re really feeling from their congregants, ‘we want to come together to worship, but we recognize the health…