Kansas City, MO - As stay-at-home orders begin to expire in both Kansas and Missouri, a host of challenges remain for many businesses and religious organizations.
While venues and buildings may be allowed to open under certain guidelines, 'social distancing' remains the phrase of the day while the novel coronavirus remains a threat.
That's why Adam Hamilton says they're not rushing to fill the many pews at his church.
“We’re going to continue doing online (services) only probably through mid June, and we’ll reevaluate each week to see what are the statistics, what are the health care officials telling us," says Hamilton.
Hamilton is the senior pastor at Leawood's Church of the Resurrection. It has 20,000+ members, and is considered the largest United Methodist congregation in the world.
Like many religious organizations, the megachurch moved its worship services online in March. Hamilton says they'll keep up that practice for the time being.
“We’re going to continue doing online only probably through mid June," says Hamilton. "We’ll reevaluate each week to see what are the statistics, what are the health care officials telling us.”
For Hamilton the decision to stay online is both practical and protective.
“We’ve actually seen a significant increase in the number of people who are worshipping with us each weekend and I don’t want to put them at risk. I know some of our older members are the kind of committed people that say if the doors are open, I’m going to be there.”
When they do open the doors, Hamilton says there will be fewer services, enforced social distancing, and cleaning in between services.
He says they don’t plan on a full reopening until August.