Photo by Erin Nelson.
Pastor Buddy Champion faces empty pews as he gives the sermon during an online-only service at First Baptist Church in Trussville on May 3.
The walk across the First Baptist Church Trussville campus elicits an eerie feeling for Pastor Buddy Champion these days. With the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc across the country, large gatherings — such as church services — have been eliminated for the time being. The number of people at the church throughout the week is low. The ones that are there implement social distancing practices.
“The traffic on campus is minimal,” Champion said. “Staff members come and go as they need to, to accomplish certain tasks. But by and large, they’re at home and working virtually.”
Since late March, FBC Trussville’s Sunday services have taken on a different look. As opposed to the normal pair of services that combine to host nearly 2,000 people each Sunday morning, there is now just a single service with no physical congregation.
In other words, a preacher’s worst nightmare.
“You always dream about working so hard and nobody shows up for church,” Champion said. “Now, it’s happened. There’s almost zero interaction.”
There is no handbook on how to lead a church during a pandemic. But once it became apparent that things were about to change, Champion said there was no choice but to begin navigating each day to the “best of your ability.”
“It was initially very surreal, that we were about to not be able to meet. That was something you never ever dreamed would be possible. But you talk with colleagues, talk with people in the church and other churches and see how they’re handling things, and you just jump on board,” he said.
The only people in the building for those services is Champion, the worship team leading through song, and the media team that produces the livestream on the church’s website.
The church live-streamed its services before the pandemic, with those typically garnering between 350 and 400 views. With the livestream now the only option for church members, that number has spiked to over 4,000 per Sunday morning.
Without a group of people in the sanctuary able to provide interaction, Champion admitted there was an adjustment period. But there has been a concerted effort to still have a “full worship experience.”
“We try to remember that the people are with you, they’re just behind the red dot on the camera,” Champion said.
Champion gave plenty of credit to the media team, led by Director of Media & Communication Chad Summers, for its work in continually improving the livestream experience each week, with more eyes focused on the digital platform.
“They’ve done a tremendous job stepping up to the plate and providing an experience in people’s homes that touches their hearts,” Champion said. “They work hard before and after each service to find areas of improvement and implement that with the next week’s service.”
The church has stepped up in many ways throughout this unique period of time. A new website, fbctfamilies.org, launched in March and offers daily devotions and family activities that go hand-in-hand with small group lessons. There are also children’s worship services on the website each week. Many of the small groups throughout the church have continued to meet virtually through programs like Zoom as well.
“We’re trying to kind of keep the flow of Sunday going,” Champion said.
Fellow members are serving in various ways as well. Grocery shopping is a need for those at a higher risk of contracting the coronavirus, and a team of over 60 people contacts the 600-700 people involved in the senior adult ministry each week to check in on them.
“It’s incredibly humbling how understanding and encouraging the members have been,” Champion said.
Champion believes there will be a mixture of excitement and reluctance once people begin gathering at FBC Trussville in large numbers once again. He quoted Romans 8:28 from the Bible, which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
“We’re going to have some good come from this, and it’s going to be something that we can be stronger from,” he said.
First Baptist Church Trussville’s services can be viewed Sundays at 10 a.m. on fbctrussville.org.
*Update 6/3: FBC is resuming in-person services Sunday, June 7, with services in the Worship Center at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00 a.m. For the full update on the return of church activities, click here.
