Pastors Council to Lead Reopening of Church Facilities

April 22, 2020



A group of pastors from the community will meet to develop guidelines for opening church facilities during COVID-19.


“I’d like for them to lead the charge on what they feel is best for the health of their congregation as well as people in the community that their members interact with,” said City of Jackson Mayor Scott Conger.


“I’ve admired the creativity and ingenuity that churches have used to continue meeting via online streaming or drive up services. We want people to continue to exercise their religious freedom but have to acknowledge that large groups of people accelerate the spread of this virus.”


The goal of this committee is to recommend guidelines for the city moving into May.


“We expect that individual churches will use different plans to meet their specific needs but thought this would be a good opportunity for pastors to get together and share what has worked best for their church and what could be done moving forward,” said Madison County Mayor Jimmy Harris.


“Tony White will participate in the meetings on behalf of the county and Alex Reed will participate on behalf of the city,” said Harris. “This is a joint effort and we are looking forward to receiving the pastors’ recommendations.”


The first virtual committee meeting will be Friday, April 24.


  • Pastor Ronnie Coleman – Soulquest
  • Pastor Sky McCracken – FUMC
  • Pastor Eugene Brand – Fellowship Church
  • Pastor Jeremy Brown – Journey
  • Lovell C. Hayes, Minister – East Jackson Church of Christ
  • Bishop Nathaniel Bond – Light of Light Ministries
  • Pastor Justin Wainscott – First Baptist Church
  • Pastor William Watson – Historic First Baptist
  • Pastor Dennis Blaylock – New St. Luke MBC
  • Pastor Adam Dooley – Englewood Baptist Church
  • Pastor Ernest Polk – St. James MBC
  • Pastor Larry Mercer – Cerro Gordo Baptist Church
  • Father David Graham – St. Mary’s
  • Danny Sorrell, Lead Minister – Campbell St.
  • Pastor Andy Neely – West Jackson Baptist Church
  • Pastor Claude Bass – St. Paul CME