My mother-in-law recently moved in with us from Katy, Texas. She is a member of Second Baptist Church in Houston, a church with tens of thousands of members. Every Sunday she avidly watches the church worship service online and yesterday she mentioned to me and my wife that the church announced it is reopening this Sunday, even though the coronavirus pandemic is ongoing.

She said Second Baptist will be seating people three seats apart and holding additional worship services to accommodate everyone.

News of Second Baptist’s bold step started me thinking about if and when and under what circumstances Christians would feel comfortable going back to church, considering that the pandemic may drag on for over a year.

On the one hand, while watching our church’s worship service online at home is an okay temporary solution, it hardly substitutes for actual worship with fellow believers in the same sanctuary.

But on the other hand, we’re concerned about our physical well-being and the well-being of those we love.

I know I am. I’m responsible for my wife, Patti, and her mother. All three of us are in high-risk categories. One of our sons caught coronavirus a few weeks ago simply by shopping in a grocery store. He’s fine now, but his experience has made me hypervigilant.

So if government restrictions are eased for large groups to hold meetings during the pandemic, here are some suggestions for churches that want to assure their members that it’s okay to attend:

• Park cars only in every other parking space
• Everyone attending church wears a facemask
• All doors into the church and auditorium propped open until the service begins
• Multiple hand sanitizing stations
• No groups in the foyer
• No handshaking or hugging
• A stationary offering plate or box
• Seating disinfected between services
• Seating during worship that is no less than six feet apart. Not just six feet apart side to side, but six feet apart in front and in back
• Staggered row dismissal
• Lingering to talk in the foyer is discouraged

Spartan? Certainly. And many might prefer just to stay at home and continue watching the service online. But for me, while I’m used to worshiping with hundreds, worshiping with tens and twenties would be better than online.

Instituting these safety measures might require a church to hold several services, perhaps throughout the week. Members may even need to make appointments. And while the church may need to video record one live service and then replay it several times, at least those attending can have the experience of actually going to church and worshiping with other believers in the same building.

At the very least, perhaps the church sanctuary could be made available during the week for a limited number of people to come in and pray.

Opening up the church safely during a pandemic is difficult and not a great option, but closing the church for months on end could cause it permanent damage.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.