Government Agencies

• Federal

  • Center for Disease Control

  • World Health Organization

  • FDA COVID-19 FAQs

  • COVID-19 Symptoms and Testing

  • White House Press Secretary

  • Transportation Security Administration

• State

  • State of Texas

  • Texas Department of State Health Services

• County

  • Brazoria County

  • Brazoria County Health Department

• City

  • Alvin

  • Angleton

  • Brazoria

  • Clute

  • Freeport

  • Friendswood

  • Iowa Colony

  • Lake Jackson

  • Manvel

  • Pearland

  • Richwood

  • Surfside

  • Sweeny

  • West Columbia

• School Districts

  • Alvin ISD

  • Angleton ISD

  • Brazosport ISD

  • Columbia-Brazoria ISD

  • Damon ISD

  • Danbury ISD

  • Friendswood ISD

  • Pearland ISD

  • Sweeny ISD

Southern Baptist Entities

• Southern Baptist Convention

• International Mission Board

• North American Mission Board

• LifeWay Ministry Grid Training

• LifeWay Coronavirus Resources for Your Church

• Baptist General Convention of Texas

• Southern Baptists of Texas Convention

• GuideStone

  • Property and Casualty: Risk Management Resources

Church Resources

These resources are listed in no particular order. If you know of a resource that would be useful to churches, please email the information to us.

• 5 Questions Churches Should Ask Before Holding a Virtual Business Meeting

• Resources for Churches that have gotten a Payroll Protection Program Loan from the SBA

  • Financial Information from Tarrant Baptist Association

  • Capin Crouse LLP COVID-19 Resources

  • Batts Morrison Wales & Lee COVID-19 Resources

  • Church Law & Tax article

  • FAQ for Lenders and Borrowers (PPP)

• Reopening the Church

  • State of Texas Protocols for Reopening Texas

  • Texas Attorney General (Final version): Guidance for Houses of Worship During the COVID-19 Crisis

  • From the SBTC - Coming Out of COVID: Strategy Options for Reopening the Church

  • From the SBTC - Regathering the Church Part II: Leadership Toolkit

  • From the BGCT - Relaunch: Resources for Reopening Your Church Facility

  • From Union Baptist Association - Should We Reopen Churches?

  • Article: Texas Opens Doors for In-Person Church Services

  • Article: 48 Questions to Ask Prior to Reopening Your Church

  • Article: 4 Phases for an Orderly Return to Church

• VBS in light of COVID-19

  • Lifeway: 4 Ways to Do VBS This Summer

  • CBC: VBS Planning During COVID-19

• Important CARES Act 2020 Information

  • Guidance from BGCT on how churches and non-profits can receive assistance from the CARES Act 2020

  • CARES Act 2020 webinar with Senator Marco Rubio and Ed Stetzer from Exponential

• New resource: Free Church Crisis Toolkit from Barna & gloo—Pastors, please check out this resource, sign your church up, and connect to GCBA.

• Resources for Non-profits Impacted by COVID-19, from TechSoup

• What you should know about the Coronavirus (from the CDC)

• Article: 5 Principles for Church Service Decision-Making in a COVID-19 World (Facts & Trends)

• Article: 5 Reasons Christians Should Take Coronavirus Seriously (Nathan Creitz)

• Article: How to Prepare for the Current Public Health Crisis (National Center for Life and Liberty)

• Article: Digital Pastoral Care in the Age of COVID-19 (Gabby Wilkes)

• Resources via Tarrant Baptist Association

• Resources via San Antonio Baptist Association

• Resources via Union Baptist Association

• Resources from Houston Responds

• Resources from various Christian organizations (Coronavirus and the Church from Saddleback Church Peace Plan and Billy Graham Center at Weaton College)

• Children’s resources from LifeWay

• If your church is not using online giving, LifeWay Generosity has a special deal to help you get started.

• Some churches are utilizing FM modulators to host drive-in worship services. You sit in your car, tune into a specific FM frequency, and participate in live worship from the parking lot. One such system can be found here.

• Livestreaming is the weekly reality for many churches for the weeks ahead. A robust toolbox is available from Boxcast. This company is highly recommended by people I trust, although I have not used this service myself. Other options include YouTube Live, Churchstreaming.tv, and churchonline.com (http://bit.ly/2U1kdZK).

• How can you do Welcome Time in worship going forward without all the hugs, handshakes, and high fives? Send us your best ideas.

• Consider creating a YouTube or Vimeo channel for your church and post daily or weekly updates. See FirstHurst.com for a good example.

• This is a good time to create what Peter Drucker calls a Stop Doing List. What are those things your church does that do not add value? What opportunities cost you more than they are worth? This is the best time you will ever have to declutter your weekly event list. 

• What concerns do you have regarding your church's long-term viability if you have to keep missing Sunday offerings?

 Ministry Ideas

This list of ministry ideas is just getting started. Please let us know what you and your church are doing by email so that we can add it to the list.

• There are international students in our area who may not be able to stay in their dorms and cannot go home. Are you able to host one or more? 

• Consider calling every family in your church to see how they are doing and what their unique needs are.

• Important questions to ask: How can I lead my congregation to serve in this time? What are we best equipped to do? How can we join others in what they are already doing?

• One of the issues that will increase in our churches as this crisis continues is the feelings of isolation. Even though your congregation is gathering virtually to worship, there will be a growing sense of isolation on the part of individuals. As pastors in the church, what can you do to address this growing issue?

  • There’s no such thing as overcommunication. Reach out to your church members often and in multiple ways, the online worship service being just one way.

  • Use phone calls, texts, and FaceTime to touch base with your members. Work with your staff and lay leaders to come up with a plan to make sure no person is forgotten. Pastor, you can’t do it alone, ask for help. Church members, your pastor can’t do it alone—help him, and when someone other than the pastor contacts you, realize that you are loved and cared for.

  • Pre-record your streaming service, and then while you’re playing it “live” on FaceBook, take time to interact with the people watching.

  • Schedule virtual hang out times and invite members to come and talk.

  • Sign up your church and get the Church Crisis Toolkit from Barna and gloo. You will find great tools to help you not only keep in touch with your members, but also to keep a pulse on how they are doing physically, spiritually, and financially. This will better allow you to minister to your congregation.