Pastors weather COVID shutdown two days into new ministry
When Ruben and Lori Prewitt accepted a call to pastor Light of the World Church in Pauls Valley in March of 2020, they had no idea of the curve ball God was about to send their way.
“We were voted in on March 1. Our first service was March 15, and then on March 16 everything began to shut down for COVID,” Lori said. “The crazy thing was we were trying to move and pack things during this time, so we were not listening to the news. So, when we go to get toilet paper and stuff – I’m just being honest – we were shocked, because we hadn’t watched the news, and there wasn’t any.”
That was their first clue something was awry.
By the following Sunday, many churches across the area, including Light of the World, had made the decision to cancel services. With only one service under their belt, the Prewitts were left to grapple not only with how to minister during a pandemic, but also how to get to know their new congregation.
“We didn’t know what to do,” Lori said. “We did different things we’d never done before. We were trying to get to know our people, so we did some parking lot services, and we did some video services.”
The family, who had been pastoring at a church in Lexington before taking the post at Light of the World, were also still trying to find a place to live as they made the move to Pauls Valley.
“We had 30 days to be out of where we came from, and like nobody was wanting to show places or anything. So, we had a difficult time,” Lori said.
The family finally decided to move their RV to a local RV park and lived in it for several months. Even that adversity provided opportunity for an unusual sort of bonding.
“There were people (from the congregation) that didn’t know us, but they knew where our RV was and they would drop things off there for us,” Lori said. “They didn’t know us, but they just would. And so, it was really sweet.”
Despite the challenges, Lori said they never felt like giving up or like the situation was just too hard.
“No, we never thought or felt that. We just thought, ‘God you have a sense of humor! How funny you are!’” Lori said. “We come here, and then the next day, all this happens.”
By the first of May, many of the lockdown restrictions were lifted, and the church resumed in-person services with COVID-19 precautions in place.
Like everyone else, they had to tackle considerations like social distancing, cleaning microphones and other surfaces, and whether to mask or not.
“We took a while before we started doing certain things,” Lori said. “It’s just difficult going through all the different changes.”
In addition to changes caused by the pandemic, Lori said she and Ruben, who had not pastored a bicultural congregation before, were facing new challenges like learning how to preach in tandem with a Spanish interpreter. At the same time, the Light of the World congregation was making the transition to new pastors after the passing of their former pastor, who had led them for 40 years.
“That’s change in itself, no matter who came in there, it’s going to be a huge change,” Lori said. “So, then you put the automatic change on top of pandemic change – it was A LOT.”
Despite it all, Lori said the months of adversity and change at the outset have definitely made her and Ruben stronger ministers and strengthened the church as a whole.
“You just rely on Him, that He’s got it,” Lori said.
As they mark their second anniversary at the church this week, Lori said things are mostly back to normal, though she points out they don’t really have a “normal” to compare to, since they came in as the pandemic was revising what normal looked like. They have a renewed appreciation for the ability to gather as a church.
“Through all this, it makes you realize how important coming together as a body is and not to take it for granted. There’s nothing like gathering with the body of believers, coming together and uniting together,” Lori said. “And, God will get you through anything.”
