GREENWOOD — Worshipers filed in for Sunday services, taking their spot among fellow believers at Calvary Baptist Church in Greenwood.
They raised their voices together to sing hymns such as “To God Be The Glory” and “He Will Hold Me Fast,” while the band played music in the background. One volunteer read a selection from Psalms, while the sermon came from Genesis.
On the surface, it seemed like any other normal Sunday worship. But instead of pews, attendees sat in their own vehicles. The altar was replaced by a raised deck overlooking a grassy hill.
As Pastor Dave Cook stepped forward to give his weekly message, it was through a loudspeaker and FM radio transmitter.
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“Most of us have been saying for years the church isn’t the building; the church is the people,” Cook said. “Now, we’re forced to really live that out.”
Calvary Baptist has had to rethink its approach in light of the coronavirus pandemic. With many members of the church falling into high-risk categories for the virus, it felt irresponsible to bring the congregation together in one building. But being separate goes against the core meaning of the church, Cook said.
The solution has been drive-in services, conducted on the grass next to the church while people sit in their cars or set up lawn chairs under tents.
“It came down to that nature of what a church truly is — a gathering of believers worshiping Jesus. And we wanted everyone in Greenwood to have a way to do that, that was safe. This was the best way to serve the community,” Cook said.
For Sandy and Rob Bailey, the idea of an outdoor worship service was appealing from the start. As members of the church, they had enjoyed the opportunity to meet as a congregation inside the church building, worshiping together.
But Rob Bailey had undergone treatments for cancer, and with a weakened immune system, they didn’t want to take any chances of getting sick once the coronavirus pandemic broke out.
Drive-in church offered an alternative.
“We’ve both been able to attend church with it outside. I love being outside — the Lord blessed us with the lot to have it in. You get to see a lot of people, and the way it’s all set up, it works out really well,” Sandy Bailey said.
The idea for drive-in services grew from a desire among church leadership and members to meet together to worship. After churches closed their doors in mid-March due to the pandemic, online services allowed people to pray and take part in worship from their homes.
But it was missing an important component, Cook said.
“For us, there was a priority on assembling together. That became more important to us than being indoors,” he said. “By nature, a church is an assembly of believers. We were just looking for a good way to assemble.”
Cook worked with a pair of church members, one of which is a retired physician and the other a medical researcher, putting together a reopening plan. He leaned on their expertise to make safe decisions for the congregation while also meeting its spiritual needs.
At the same time, the church was fortunate enough to purchase an FM radio transmitter that allows them to broadcast a short distance.
“They were so hard to find, because every church in America was looking for them. But we happened to have one, in God’s kindness, and we just kind of put two-and-two together,” Cook said.
Searching for a location for the services, they found an ideal spot: Next to the church, a wide open grassy area with ample parking. A house owned by the church provided a deck to look out over worshipers.
The first service May 10 was entirely drive-in; no one was allowed out of their cars, as church leaders followed guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state officials. Each vehicle was spaced six feet apart, so that if members wanted to roll down their windows and sing, they would still be safe, Cook said.
The entire service is broadcast over the FM transmitter, so people can tune into a specific radio station and listen through their car speakers.
A base of volunteers had to be rebuilt from scratch, as many of those who helped put on Sunday services in the past were older adults. Instead, the church reached out to younger members who might be willing to help perform music, direct traffic and myriad jobs.
“We had to bring them in, coordinate them, train them, on a very quick basis,” Cook said. “Fortunately, the Lord has given us several new, young people who were eager to step up and serve their elders.”
Slowly, the drive-in service evolved. People are now allowed to get out of their vehicles, either to stand out in the open to sing hymns, or to set up lawn chairs under spaced-out canopies on the edge of the property.
“They have the choice now of either staying in their cars, keeping the air conditioning on or sitting outside,” Cook said. “More and more, people are choosing to get out and sit six feet apart under the tents.”
Early on, church leaders implored members to pray for good weather on Sundays, as the services couldn’t go on if it was raining, Cook said. He cited the biblical story of Elijah from the First Book of Kings, who prophesied a three-year drought.
“He was heard because of his righteousness, and it didn’t rain for three years,” Cook said. “So I told them, if we all pray together for good weather weeks in a row, (God) might do it. Since then, we’ve met all of May, June, July and some of August, and we’ve only had to cancel once.”
Originally, the idea had been to continue the drive-in services until Labor Day weekend. Church leaders decided this week to extend it through the end of September, and potentially longer, Cook said.
Though still different from the traditional service the congregation had been used to, the drive-in worship has been a relief and a comfort to those involved.
“Especially after not being able to for seven weeks early on, just being able to see some people’s faces is huge,” Cook said. “Probably the most encouraging part is when everyone leaves, they drive by me with their windows down, and I can see everybody’s faces. I get one quick conversation with people on the way out.”
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Drive-in church
Where: Calvary Baptist Church, 200 Sunset Blvd., Greenwood
What: Outdoor church service, in which people stay in their cars or sit under tents at safe distances from each other.
When: Arrive by 10:20 a.m. Sundays; services last from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Current plans are to meet through the end of the month and possibly longer.
Information: cbcgreenwood.com
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