Though a number of pundits told us to expect a second COVID spike, we were all hoping it would not happen.

In many areas, the spike has happened.

We at Church Answers are in constant conversation with church leaders, so we were really curious to know how churches are responding. Between our Church Answers' community of 2,000 leaders and social media, we heard directly from over 200 church leaders. They shared five responses we list here in order of magnitude.

1. Taking extra caution. The number one response is a commonsensical response. The church leaders see the COVID numbers on the rise, so they adjust with additional cautions. Several churches strongly encouraged the members to resume wearing masks. A number of churches decided to move their small groups to digital only, even though they began meeting in person just a few weeks earlier.

2. Making no changes. For the most part, the churches in this second most frequent category felt like their current level of cautions were sufficient. Even with greater numbers of COVID cases, they saw no need to make changes. A few leaders in this category told us that the number of cases in their areas had not increased.

3. Offering more options. The third most frequent response was making changes by offering more options. The most common option was additional worship services. "We had moved back to our pre-COVID number of services of two," a Pennsylvania pastor told us. "But we are seeing an increase in COVID cases, so we are going back to three services to allow for even more social distancing."

4. Deciding to close again. This response was a distant fourth. Some leaders thought the numbers of cases warranted their closing again. Many of them actually dreaded the second closing more than the first. They thought a number of church members would give up on attending. The leaders nevertheless decided to close again as an abundance of caution.

5. Keeping the status quo of not opening. A few of the church leaders told us they had not opened at all since the pandemic began. This second spike in COVID cases meant that most of them would not open until some time in 2021. One pastor shared that his church will not open before April 2021. To be clear, very few churches are in this category.

These are the top five responses we received to our inquiry about responses to the second COVID spike. Let us hear from you. How is your church responding?

Thom S. Rainer is the founder and CEO of Church Answers, an online community and resource for church leaders. Prior to founding Church Answers, Rainer served as president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. Before coming to LifeWay, he served at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for twelve years where he was the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions and Evangelism. He is a 1977 graduate of the University of Alabama and earned his Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

For the original article, visit churchanswers.com.

Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Dr. Mark Rutland's

National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)

The NICL is one of the top leadership training programs in the U.S. taught by Dr. Mark Rutland. If you're the type of leader that likes to have total control over every aspect of your ministry and your future success, the NICL is right for you!

FREE NICL MINI-COURSE - Enroll for 3-hours of training from Dr. Rutland's full leadership course. Experience the NICL and decide if this training is right for you and your team.

The NICL Online is an option for any leader with time or schedule constraints. It's also for leaders who want to expedite their training to receive advanced standing for Master Level credit hours. Work through Dr. Rutland's full training from the comfort of your home or ministry at your pace. Learn more about NICL Online. Learn more about NICL Online.