See part 2 here
God evidently has a ‘vision 2020’ for his church which is much more challenging, and potentially productive, than any of our church & ministry vision statements could have imagined. Covid19 is providing Christian ministry an excellent opportunity to learn how to minister in a ‘novel’ context.
The physical restrictions associated with the novel coronavirus pandemic continue to both tighten and lengthen. This is an opportunity for us all to (1) refocus on what really matters—what in our ministry is essential, and what’s nice but not really necessary; and then (2) learn how to ‘transpose’ our ministry to an online context.
Online ministry feels different because it is different. Previously:
- Pastoral ministry was physically proximate. We met as real, physical people, in a real, physical building.
- Therefore the activities of ministry occurred in a real, physical community. We could see each other, share food with each other, and perform appropriate acts of touch—shake hands, high-five—which communicate mutual care.
- Ministry therefore required minimum technological skills. All we really needed was a microphone—and that’s only if our meeting was reasonably large. Small-group Bible studies didn’t even need that.
Now:
- All pastoral ministry outside people who officially share the same address is indirect and physically remote, mediated electronically.
- So while we can still hear and see each other, we cannot perform the same ‘tactile’ activities—we can’t touch each other. Also, the words and actions we see and hear are mediated through the screen, which reinforces the fact that we are physically remote.
- And participating in this online ministry requires technological competence which not all ministers, let alone congregation members, possess. And it may be expensive—reliable bandwidth and technology doesn’t come cheap. This crisis may create a novel category of ‘poor’ people—people who lack the technological skills and/or money to access and engage with this new online world, and therefore become marginalised and forgotten.
The fundamentals of ministry haven’t changed because God still exists and Christ still rules.
But as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The fundamentals of ministry haven’t changed because God still exists and Christ still rules.
- We need to continue to engage with God’s word, together. The Bible communicates God, because it is the word of Spirit, which brings us to the one true Christ, who alone is the means to the Father. As divine communication, it also gives us God’s perspective on the world, which means it gives us God’s perspective on this crisis. The more we know God according to scripture, the better we will be able to respond to people, in this crisis and any time, in ways that are truly informed and wise and loving, because we’ll be informed by the one true, almighty, wise, loving, creator God.
- Knowing God builds character. At this time, people are experiencing unusual and unexpected hardships caused by working from home, schooling from home, unemployment, sickness—and fears of becoming unemployed, sick, etc., even if it hasn’t happened yet. All this hardship will both demonstrate existing character, and is an opportunity to grow in our Christlike character.
- As leaders we need to keep shepherding our people. We need to be sufficiently connected with the people of our church to know how they’re going in their Christian life, family relationships, work, etc., especially in these times of increased and unexpected stress, and keep encouraging them and showing them how to respond to these pressures in Christlike ways.
- And we need to keep encouraging our people to connect with each other. Our church community and sub-communities—Bible studies, small groups, growth groups, gospel communities, whatever we call them—needs to continue to care for each other and help each other to keep going and keep growing in Christ.
- And in all this, we need to keep reaching out to people with the Christian message, and equipping and encouraging our people to do so. We are going to get heaps of opportunities to talk about why and how our Christian equips us to respond to this crisis with confidence instead of fear, and with care towards the vulnerable instead of complaining about how our freedoms are restricted. We can point to how this crisis has shown the weakness and ineffectiveness of all the secular ‘gods’ whom we ‘trust’ and ‘believe in’—medical facilities; the government; our own health and strength; our wealth and insurance. And we can engage in real activities where we care for the vulnerable with sacrificial generosity, reaching out to those who are friendless and isolated.
All ministries should be enacting the above five points anyway, online or IRL[1]. They are not new; they are our distillation of how gospel-shaped, Bible-based ministry should happen all the time. Our challenge is to ‘transpose’ these principles online—which we’ll look at in our next post.
[1] In real life.
