David Rogers got quite creative in finding a new way to worship during COVID-19 — gathering with a small group for a “worship circle” that sings in an empty grain bin.
Rogers is the minister of music at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and is in charge of a segment which centers on worship music. Every Thursday, members of the choir gather to sing and play live music together as part of community outreach.
The worship circle began online in March when Pleasant Grove shifted all of its programs to virtual platforms as a way to stay connected with followers since churches had to close because of the coronavirus.
Rogers wanted to change things up a bit and organized a worship circle at his family’s farm, which is about three miles south of Owensboro near Southern Oaks Elementary School. He said he knew the reverberance would be “fantastic” in an empty grain bin.
“I thought it would be really fun to get folks out there to sing,” Rogers said. “We just did that one night as an outreach for our church, just another worship Thursday night, but this one was so different it took off like wildfire.”
The first few segments had received several thousand views on Facebook, but the most recent one has more than 22,300 views.
Rogers said he did the math and could fit 10 people in the grain bin and still adhere to social distancing guidelines. There were eight members from the church choir, himself, and a cameraman who met up and the group sang several worship songs including “Amazing Grace” and “God Bless America.”
“I think singing together is a really big part of what we do as a church and that was something that we hadn’t been able to do since quarantine really,” Rogers said. “It was a special moment to reach out to our folks. Every word lingered. And I just thought that it was a neat place to sing.”
Since Pleasant Grove opened its doors again on Sunday, Rogers said that changed the online program schedules — but he might plan another worship circle at the grain bin in the future.
“We see the benefits and the fruits of doing this online, so a lot of this may continue,” he said. “This may be an avenue that we’ve had this tool all along and maybe not been able to utilize it to the best of our ability. But now that we’ve been forced to we see the benefit of it so I think the church is adapting and learning as well.”
