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Paul Harrington gave this talk at the recent ‘ReLaunch Australia’ conference, helping Pastors prepare their churches for re-launch as restrictions ease. To listen Paul’s talk, click here. To find out more about the practical help on offer for Pastors from ReLaunch Australia through their “Learning Labs”, click here.


Hasn’t it become so easy to define ourselves through a COVID-19 lens: How many active cases? How many deaths?  How many recovered cases?  And so on.

For Christians, this is a mistake.

Of course COVID-19 has profoundly shaped the context and culture we are ministering in right now. But we must first make sure we define ourselves by the gospel—and only then apply that to our COVID-19 context. That’s what Paul the Apostle does so brilliantly well in Philippians 1. He is in prison, facing possible execution. But he doesn’t define his life by the fact of his incarceration or the limitations it placed on his ministry. As he says in Philippians 1:13, “… I am in chains for Christ”

we must first make sure we define ourselves by the gospel—and only then apply that to our COVID-19 context

Paul’s concern is that “Christ is preached” (v18) … that Christ will be exalted (or magnified) in my body” (v20).

Paul doesn’t daydream about how he will serve Jesus when he gets out of prison, or brood about what he can’t do because he is in prison. Nor should we get frustrated by how COVID-19 has cut across our ministry strategies, or spend all our time planning what we will do when the current crisis passes.

Instead, we need to think about how we preach and exalt Christ in this Coronavirus period.

Time for Retooling

COVID-19 provides an opportunity to stop, assess and work out how we want to recalibrate the ministries of our churches before relaunching into a new “normal”.  But I wonder whether a more helpful concept might be retooling.  In the manufacturing sector, factories are often retooled with new machinery and processes to enable them to be more effective.  It’s an adaptive process to give them an edge.

Coronavirus hasn’t changed our essential task or conviction, but it has provided an unusual window of opportunity to assess the gospel health of our churches and to think how we might equip our people and sharpen our effectiveness in proclaiming the gospel.

I am part of the Trinity church planting network with ten churches and sixteen congregations spread across Adelaide and regional South Australia. Our congregations range in size from 75 to around 400. We own one church building and we rent school halls, an RSL and community spaces for the rest.

Currently the infection rate in Adelaide is one, so right now the question we are being asked is “How long before we will get back to our normal Sunday gatherings?”  It is a fair question, but not the best question. Apart from anything else, no-one knows the answer to the ‘when’? question or what the new ‘normal’ will be.

So instead we’ve been focussing on the key values we wanted to hold on to as the Coronavirus road map unfolds. There are three key questions we are asking—these may not be the best questions to ask, or the only ones that should be asked (this is unchartered waters)—but they might stimulate you as you think through ministry in your context.

Key Questions

  1. How do we increase confidence in people gathering face to face again?
  2. How do we consistently build gospel capacity through every stage in this period?
  3. How do we increase our missional reach through every stage?

Let me briefly talk about each one…

1. Increasing people’s confidence to meet again

I am so thankful for the technology that has enabled us to function through this period, including services online, Zoom meetings for key leaders and Bible studies, internet connectivity. It’s all amazing and my observation is that most of us have—with high adrenalin levels and a measure of exhaustion—moved into this space fairly smoothly.

However, while the shutdown was sudden and well-defined, the road map back looks to be long and complex.

As restrictions start to lift, lots are feeling nervous about meeting again—1:1, in small groups of 10 or 20, or eventually larger groups.  People are nervous because of health issues; the awkwardness involved with social distancing in larger groups (we have all seen those photos of socially distanced church gatherings that look more like crime scenes than family gatherings); or concern for the vulnerable who might be at increased risk.  Others are not keen to rush back—they have enjoyed zoom meetings, and like gathering at home with their family or by themselves for an online meeting.

We need to recognise that people will adjust to the idea of meeting again at very different paces. It could even create a level of division. “Why are you being so cautious about meeting together? God tells us we should”. While others will say “Why are you being so unloving in rushing back to meetings and putting others at risk?”  Both will produce matching proof texts.

We are entering into a period when we need to model grace, patience, tolerance and theological care.  Our end-goal of regular physical gatherings of believers centred on the Word of God has not changed.  How long it takes to recover this will vary enormously from place to place and church to church.

Our end-goal of regular physical gatherings of believers centred on the Word of God has not changed.  How long it takes to recover this will vary enormously from place to place and church to church.

The American military operates with a mantra “leave no-one behind”.  I think this is a good strap line for churches right now. On the road back we want to make sure we take every one with us and leave no one behind. Sometimes when we forge ahead with fresh vision and initiatives, we lose people in the process. Right now is the time for grace and pastoral patience.

2. During each stage on the road back we want to build gospel capacity

The staff and leaders in the Trinity Network have adapted with grace and energy to our current situation, but I know everyone longs to return to pre-COVID patterns—to recover what we had as fast as we can.

But the way back is going to be staged and complex.

Our biggest danger is that we will over-invest in planning socially distanced gatherings in spaces that will now only be allowed to hold around 1/3 of the people that could fit in before COVID-19.  Then, because we are good at overcoming challenges, our reflex response will be to work out how we can multiply the number our gatherings to cater for everyone we had before we closed down.  But this huge investment will produce less than optimal returns. It will almost certainly lead to fewer members meeting and leave behind the unbelievers we’ve been connecting with over this period.

Instead, we are trying to think through how we occupy and thrive in each stage on the road map back.  How do we grow capacity at each point?  What will that look like?

While we are limited to meeting in tens and twenties, how can we best use that time?  This is a chance to invest in recruiting and training leaders.  Wouldn’t it be great to return to our regular meetings with a 1/3 more small group leaders and more people meeting in small groups to read the Bible, pray and care for one another?  There are some people who have emerged as evangelists over this time: how can we get them together to encourage and train them to be more effective?  Are there gaps in ministry with children that can be addressed when the formal ministry to children is not happening?  Right now space is opening up for everyone to gather in larger numbers at home—can we encourage members to open up their homes for meals and invite others over for online church?  Is it the time to start meeting with people you have been keen to invest in and encourage to think about vocational gospel ministry?  How can we grow the culture where people are meeting 1:1 to pray for their unbelieving friends?  Where are the discipleship ministry holes you want to start addressing?

The overarching thought is ‘how do we invest in training people over this time to expand the depth and skill of our leaders and members as disciples of Christ?’  Then, however the road map unfolds, whether we find ourselves taking two steps forward and one step back in terms of gathering, we will have a better trained and more agile people who are already engaging in Ephesians 4 every member ministry.

What I’m saying is don’t be eager to jump over the situation we find ourselves in—rather think through how you and your team can capitalise on this time and build capacity for the long haul.

3. How do we increase our missional reach?

My guess is that Paul the Apostle wouldn’t have chosen prison as the place he wanted to invest his evangelistic energies. Yet in Philippians 1 he talks about how God has used it to advance the gospel.

I think it is the same with us and Coronavirus. The last few months have generated enormous gospel opportunities:

  • When we went online it felt like the churches in our Network had added and filled-up a couple of rows of seats at the back of their virtual church meetings with newcomers (it’s just that those newcomers happen to be sitting in their lounge rooms at home). 
  • Colleagues and neighbours are more open to having conversations—albeit in a socially distanced way. 
  • Friends and family who wouldn’t accept invitations to church events have been prepared to receive an invitation to online gatherings.  Some of these have already started to do courses to investigate Christianity.  A lot have stayed anonymous, but in a friendly stand-offish way.

Whatever steps we take from here, it will be really important that we bring these people on the journey with us. 

It’s also another reason not to rush back. If we do go back now, not only will we be gathering in smaller numbers, but there will be a stack of reasons why it won’t work for the not-yet-Christians we have been connecting with:

  • There just won’t be enough room for them.
  • They will be really nervous. Some believers will be champing at the bit to get back. But the average unbeliever won’t have any interest at all while there is still an infection risk associated with larger groups of people meeting.
  • The gatherings won’t be especially relational—distancing is an unsociable activity.

At each stage on the way back we should make it our goal to gather more and more people. Wouldn’t it be terrific if, in twelve months, we can see that the level of evangelistic concern and activity has gone up in our churches; that we have loads more of our members confident to preach Christ?  Wouldn’t it be a great outcome if our main gatherings have increased in number because unbelieving newcomers who have been invited to join us?

In the Trinity Network we are planning to retain one online meeting that will serve all ten churches—even when we start face to face meetings. Our goal will be to triage people joining us online in to local churches. We want to  supplement this with other online evangelistic investigation options. The idea is to create pathways for unbelievers to connect and investigate. We want to avoid closing doors.

Our goal will be to triage people joining us … to create pathways for unbelievers to connect and investigate. We want to avoid closing doors.

We also think this period presents us with a fresh opportunity to plant churches. Three of the churches in our Network are retooling their church planting plans. As restrictions lift they are planning to start up small groups in the neighbourhoods we want to plant in. Maybe they will initially meet in homes for Sunday streamed meetings. Then, as the restrictions are progressively relaxed, we might see some of these groups combine for online meetings in smaller hired venues that can take 30-50 socially-distanced.  Possibly we could build three of these small gospel gatherings, and then in due course they could find a venue they could combine in.  All the while they will be reaching out into local communities, gathering people to meet with them and being trained in smaller missional contexts.  It is one way we are thinking we can adapt and grow capacity within each stage.

Conclusion

If I was to adapt and apply the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:13ff for our day it would be along these lines:

Brothers and sisters I want you to know that what has happened to us (the Coronavirus) has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, we have had the opportunity to proclaim the gospel to many more neighbours, family and friends. We are in this pandemic for Christ.

Friends, this is a wonderful opportunity for retooling; for considering how we can grow and progress through each stage and invest in building more mature and clear minded disciples and gospel communities that are passionate about seeing the gospel proclaimed to everyone in our country.

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