The COVID-19 pandemic influences the believers’ lives very much, as they can not attend regular in-person gatherings, but there is God’s goodwill in everything. The following thoughts were shared by some pastoral workers to show God’s intentions in special times.
1. Believers take root in truth
"Christians should return to the essence of faith, rather than chase fantasies." A female believer S (pseudonym for safety reasons), a graduate of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, said that believers should keep their focus on Jesus Christ.
S is from a grassroots church in Henan which was in revival before the epidemic, with a registered number of up to 1,200 members who were enthusiastic about evangelism. Church choirs and bands were not only invited to conduct activities in wedding services and memorial services, but sometimes they also blew the ram’s horn during local festivals to spread the gospel to the villagers. The youth fellowship in the church also often went out to conduct evangelistic meetings, sometimes even returning home after 10 pm.
"It was perfect that they had a zeal for God to spread the gospel, but in the midst of this plague, I believe God has a wonderful will in everything," S said that at that time those without a strong foundation of faith became weak in faith when facing difficult times.
Due to recurrent outbreaks of COVID-19, many onsite activities didn’t take place as usual, so believers have to turn to online pastoral care, strengthening their spirituality.
2. The pastoral management ability has been improved
Since the outbreak, in order to prevent the spread of the virus, the country has issued a number of policies, to which churches have actively responded. It is a challenge for the pastoral team to disciple believers well.
A few days ago, an old pastor in Jiangsu shared his experience of how to manage his church during this special period. He said that the pastoral team should understand the reason and purpose of the management and control policies of the government and study relevant documents so that they could explain to worshippers why they should sit at a social distance and register their names. Leaders should first realize that these requirements are good for the health and safety of believers, followed by their explanations to the congregation to avoid spreading misunderstood ideas. As the number of worshippers the church can accommodate is reduced due to these guidelines, the pastoral team must find a way to receive as many believers as possible in the worship service. They should think about increasing the number of sessions, organizing staff workers to manage seats, and requiring the attendees to check in to avoid overcrowding.
Secondly, church workers should learn relevant laws and regulations. For example, facing the demolition of their church due to urban construction, church staff need to study local laws and regulations after praying to understand the government’s intentions to rebuild the church following the guidelines of higher authority. To carry out online pastoral care during COVID-19, church staff must learn the Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information Service to obtain the "Internet Religious Information Service License".
According to that pastor, being well received by the local government as the church resumed in-person gatherings in accordance with epidemic control requirements, they also got support from the government when they put forward some reasonable suggestions for the church and its members.
3. Establish the family altar to enhance relationships with children
S believed that it was a good opportunity to conduct family worship in the outbreaks when they were forced to stay at home and church activities were suspended.
"When there were Sunday schools and youth fellowships before, believers handed over their children to the church, without doing anything when kids returned home." S shared that the inheritance of faith was very important, and parents could not entrust their children completely to the church, as if they should not just rely on schools in primary education.
She stated that Christian parents should realize the importance of family altars when they could spend more time with their children due to the epidemic. Even if there were no perfect pastoral materials, it was a good way to get closer to God by reading the Bible, praying, and praising. Parents should also practice what they preach. “It can even bring about better results to children’s spirituality than before the epidemic,” if the worship activities in the family could be continued.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
疫情给信徒的生活带来各种不便，聚会都成了难题，但凡事都有神的美意，一些教牧同工的分享，似乎可以为我们打开另外的思路，让我们看见神在特殊时期的带领。
一，让信仰回归内面
“信仰这个事情，最终需要回归到里面真实的东西，不是外边这些虚浮的东西。”来自金陵神学院的一位毕业生S姐妹讲到，信仰要回到耶稣基督里面。
S姐妹来自河南一个基层教会，该教会在疫情之前非常复兴，在册人数可达1200人，传福音的活动火热开展。教会诗班和乐队不仅在信徒喜丧家事时被邀请举办活动，有时在地方节期也可以吹响赞美的号角，向乡亲们传福音。教会中的青年团契也经常外出开福音布道会，有时甚至在晚上10点以后才回家。
“那时候火热也是好的，传福音，荣耀神，但是现在，我一直相信，环境走到这一步的时候，一定有上帝的美意在里面。”S姐妹表示，回想当时，很多人的信仰根基其实并不牢固，以至于随着环境变化，一些人的信仰渐渐失去了力量。而疫情导致很多类型的实地活动无法开展，教牧团队多集中网络牧养，信徒接受牧养的形式集中到证道信息上。这恰恰会让信徒的灵命真实地扎根在主的话语，而不是花里胡哨的活动中，信徒的生命会有根有基，真正得到成长。
二，教牧管理能力得到锻炼
疫情以来，为保证社会面疫情稳定，国家出台多项政策，各地教会积极配合。但如何在配合疫情管控的前提下，依然让信徒灵命得到喂养，这对教牧团队的管理能力是一大挑战。
日前江苏一位老牧者分享其经历，提到特殊时期对教会管理能力的锻炼。他讲到，教牧班子要了解管控政策的原因和目的，学习相关文件，这样才可以结合所在教会的具体情况，实现配合管理和牧养会众并行。他提到疫情暂缓期间，教会开放要实现隔位就座，实名登记等，牧者首先要认识到这些要求最根本是为了会众的健康安全，因此一方面要向会众传达解释，避免蔓延偏颇偏激的理解；另一方面这些规定势必导致教堂容纳信徒数量减少，那么教牧班子要想办法，尽可能保障多数信徒都可以参加礼拜，思考并解决如何分堂礼拜、如何组织同工管理座位、礼拜签到如何避免人员拥挤等实际问题。
其次，教会同工要学习相关法律法规，比如因城市建设教堂面临拆迁，教会同工在祷告的同时，也要学习当地法规，在理解政府作为的基础上，根据法规合理要求教堂复建等；又比如，疫情之下，教会多依赖网络牧养，教会同工要学习《互联网宗教信息服务管理办法》，考取《互联网宗教信息服务资质许可证》等。
这位牧师分享，他所在教会由于严格按照规定聚会，积极配合疫情工作，收获当地政府好评，这也让他在为教会和信徒提出一些合理意见的时候，得到了他们的理解和支持。
三，重视家庭祭坛，重建亲子关系
S姐妹认为，疫情之下，信徒被迫多了在家里的时间，加之教会活动受限，这或许是重建家庭祭坛的好机会。
“之前有主日学和青年团契的时候，信徒一股脑就把孩子都交给教会，回到家里反而什么都不做了。”S姐妹分享，信仰传承非常重要，家长不能将责任都托付教会，就好像普通教育中家长不能都依赖学校一样。
她认为，疫情客观上带来了更多的亲子相处时间，基督徒家长要认识到家庭祭坛的重要性。首先，在信仰问题上要做到言传身教，不必拘泥于多好的牧养教材，仅仅与孩子一起读经祷告赞美就可带来意想不到的好效果；其次，这些家庭内部的敬拜活动要长期坚持下去，那么在未成年信仰问题上，“甚至可以带来比疫情之前更好的效果。”
https://www.gospeltimes.cn/article/index/id/65314
疫情下的思考：神在特殊时期的带领
The COVID-19 pandemic influences the believers’ lives very much, as they can not attend regular in-person gatherings, but there is God’s goodwill in everything. The following thoughts were shared by some pastoral workers to show God’s intentions in special times.
1. Believers take root in truth
"Christians should return to the essence of faith, rather than chase fantasies." A female believer S (pseudonym for safety reasons), a graduate of Nanjing Union Theological Seminary, said that believers should keep their focus on Jesus Christ.
S is from a grassroots church in Henan which was in revival before the epidemic, with a registered number of up to 1,200 members who were enthusiastic about evangelism. Church choirs and bands were not only invited to conduct activities in wedding services and memorial services, but sometimes they also blew the ram’s horn during local festivals to spread the gospel to the villagers. The youth fellowship in the church also often went out to conduct evangelistic meetings, sometimes even returning home after 10 pm.
"It was perfect that they had a zeal for God to spread the gospel, but in the midst of this plague, I believe God has a wonderful will in everything," S said that at that time those without a strong foundation of faith became weak in faith when facing difficult times.
Due to recurrent outbreaks of COVID-19, many onsite activities didn’t take place as usual, so believers have to turn to online pastoral care, strengthening their spirituality.
2. The pastoral management ability has been improved
Since the outbreak, in order to prevent the spread of the virus, the country has issued a number of policies, to which churches have actively responded. It is a challenge for the pastoral team to disciple believers well.
A few days ago, an old pastor in Jiangsu shared his experience of how to manage his church during this special period. He said that the pastoral team should understand the reason and purpose of the management and control policies of the government and study relevant documents so that they could explain to worshippers why they should sit at a social distance and register their names. Leaders should first realize that these requirements are good for the health and safety of believers, followed by their explanations to the congregation to avoid spreading misunderstood ideas. As the number of worshippers the church can accommodate is reduced due to these guidelines, the pastoral team must find a way to receive as many believers as possible in the worship service. They should think about increasing the number of sessions, organizing staff workers to manage seats, and requiring the attendees to check in to avoid overcrowding.
Secondly, church workers should learn relevant laws and regulations. For example, facing the demolition of their church due to urban construction, church staff need to study local laws and regulations after praying to understand the government’s intentions to rebuild the church following the guidelines of higher authority. To carry out online pastoral care during COVID-19, church staff must learn the Administrative Measures for Internet Religious Information Service to obtain the "Internet Religious Information Service License".
According to that pastor, being well received by the local government as the church resumed in-person gatherings in accordance with epidemic control requirements, they also got support from the government when they put forward some reasonable suggestions for the church and its members.
3. Establish the family altar to enhance relationships with children
S believed that it was a good opportunity to conduct family worship in the outbreaks when they were forced to stay at home and church activities were suspended.
"When there were Sunday schools and youth fellowships before, believers handed over their children to the church, without doing anything when kids returned home." S shared that the inheritance of faith was very important, and parents could not entrust their children completely to the church, as if they should not just rely on schools in primary education.
She stated that Christian parents should realize the importance of family altars when they could spend more time with their children due to the epidemic. Even if there were no perfect pastoral materials, it was a good way to get closer to God by reading the Bible, praying, and praising. Parents should also practice what they preach. “It can even bring about better results to children’s spirituality than before the epidemic,” if the worship activities in the family could be continued.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
3 Lessons We Can Learn From COVID-19
