I spent 5 years pastoring in a small town near Edmonton. Anybody who has spent any time in a small town church knows that there are many opportunities that exist that our friends in larger city churches don’t necessarily have. Small town churches may not have the budgets or buildings of our larger friends, but what we do have is an opportunity to be a fixture in our community. To stand out and be noticed. To have people know that we are “for” our community.
While the Covid-19 shutdown has left us reeling, alarmed, and not certain how to function as church in the coming weeks and months. I believe we have an opportunity to use the circumstances in-front of us to impact our communities for Jesus with our actions as opposed to our gatherings. As pastors, if we can mobilize our people and not allow them to be frozen by fear. We could come out the other side (and there is going to be another side) stronger and more effective than ever.
Here are 5 ways you can impact your community during the COVID-19 crisis.
1. Find ways to help with childcare
This one could be made more difficult as new restrictions come in, but if there are people in your church who could take on one more child while their parents are at work during the school shutdown that could be a great chance to mobilize your people. Of course, you need to be aware of police checks and other liability. But be thinking “how could our church support people that can’t afford to stay home with their kids”?
2. Shop Local
Local business is being crippled by the economy grinding to a halt. One way you can help is by going out of your way to buy your coffee from the local café as opposed to the mega-chain down the road. Purchase gift cards that you can use later when this all goes back to normal. Encourage your people to share these purchases on their social media and hashtag it #For______ . My community was Beaumont so we would post #ForBeaumont. The point is to have the community know the church is for them.
3. Support those who are vulnerable or in need.
As we know the most vulnerable to be seriously harmed by Covid-19 are the elderly and the already medically compromised. These people should not leave their homes. This is a chance for the church to mobilize and bring meals, supplies, flowers, candy. Something to brighten the day of people that are trapped and scared. Work within your own networks, but perhaps post the availability of your mobilized support team on your community’s official Facebook page.
4. Make a Phone Call
A phone call is not as common as it once was, and I have admitted many times before that a phone call I am not expecting brings me a rush of anxiety. This is the time to encourage our churches to put those feelings aside. There are people trapped, for the most part, in their homes. There are no sports to distract us from life. Stress and anxiety, as well as loneliness, are going to be dangerously high. As pastors, we should be making at least 5 calls per day. But we cannot do this alone. Delegate to some of your core leaders and volunteers, make sure that this week everybody from your church has had a one on one interaction on the phone to see how people are doing. This is where especially with men you may need to be a little more persistent. Men do not generally share their feelings well, but without any sports, it may be exactly what they need.
Here is a great resource created by our own Bob Jones on CREATING A PHONE TREE
5. Prayer
This one goes without saying, you need to pray for your community. But how do you make yourself available to believers and non-believers who are scared and looking for answers. Finding an outlet for these people could be the first step for them into living a Jesus based life. Take prayer requests on your social media (Instagram), or share on your town’s official Facebook page and ask for any prayer requests people may have to be sent to an email or direct message. Make your church available for people who just need to call and talk. They may not take you up on it, but even if you make it available, whether it is today or next year people will remember in a time of chaos that the church down the street was there as much as they could be for our community. And whatever God they follow sounds like a guy I want to get to know.
This isn’t a time just to survive, it’s a time for us, as a church, to thrive.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Kiers serves as the Next Gen Coach for the District Resource Centre. Jeff is passionate about finding creative ways to communicate the gospel to traditionally unchurched demographics.