DADE CITY, Fla. -- The coronavirus doesn’t stand a chance against Sunday services at the Calvary Church of God in Dade City.
- The Calvary Church of God started a drive-in service
- Church members listen through the radio station 89.5
- More good news
They say if the service can’t be held inside, then they’re bringing it outside.
“Did you ever in a million years think you would be hosting a service outside in a drive through setting?” asked Bay News 9 reporter Ashley Paul.
“No, no not at all,” said Pastor Robert McConathy.
Safety rules in place — the show must go on.
“Last Sunday we were looking at all the things coming out, the six foot social distancing and stuff, and the leadership group was just talking nonchalantly and kind of brought up how the drive-in theaters were just slammed because people are wanting to get outside in the air and the weather's great. So the idea was birthed and our pastor ran with it and he was like, ‘Let’s do drive-in church,’” said Larry Miller, a member of the Board of Elders.
All people have to do is drive up, turn the radio to 89.5, and listen to the service from the comfort and safety of their own cars.
“You have to actually get an FM transmitter. And so that was the hardest part because everything is shipping kind of slow. But we ordered the FM transmitter, fortunately it got here in time so we could do this. Then it’s all about the set up, running everything through our mixing board, and sending a signal out to that FM transmitter,” said Pastor McConathy.
All across the parking lot, people sang, people danced, and people prayed— just as they do every Sunday.
“If you hear the horns blowing, we told everybody if you want to say, ‘amen,’ or something like that, just blow your horn. So we can speak that way and keep our social distancing. Keep everybody safe,” said Miller.
Because even when you have to be apart, it’s important to be able to come together.
“You kind of still get to interact and it’s like our church family, so you miss being around them, so it’s important to make that connection,” said church member Teghan Sheets.
“We want to bring them in to help them deal with these certain types of fear and worry and anxiety, and hopefully this type of setting can shed some hope into their situation,” said Pastor McConathy.
The church hopes to continue these drive-in services each week, with special plans underway for Easter Sunday.