LightHouse Church at Ordinary figured out a way to hold an Easter service for a crowd while maintaining social distance: a drive-in service. Sound was provided by large speakers and also through vehicle radios. At left, Bethany Davis plays a violin selection; right, the spaced-out vehicles and the stage. Several local churches tried the drive-up arrangement for one of the most meaningful services of the Christian year.
Much like other churches this Easter, LightHouse Worship Center, Hayes, held two drive-in Easter services in its parking lot.
“We chose to keep the structure of 8 and 10 a.m. services to accommodate our parishioners’ schedules and have ample space for anyone that wanted to participate,” said LightHouse Executive Pastor Bernie Gillott IV about the event. “The services provided something for every age group. There was multi-generational worship and special music. We had a message from our Lead Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Ken Cramer. We even had a special message for our kids from our Family Ministries Pastor, Sara Gillott.”
The Rev. Ken Cramer delivers the Easter message to the LightHouse church congregation in the parking lot.
The children’s message focused on Luke 1:37 and the message was “nothing is impossible with God.”
The church’s pastors, worship and media teams and a team of greeters and parking attendants participated in the services which were attended by nearly 350 people in 140 cars.
“No challenge we faced was insurmountable,” said Gillott. “Moving an entire service outside is a large undertaking. At LightHouse, all events and ministry are coordinated using lots of teams so minimizing the number of people that could be involved and adhering to social distancing created some challenges.”
“It was encouraging and energizing for our families to see each other and celebrate Easter together even if only from our cars,” said Gillott.