Scripture teaches us that churches have five ministries or functions given to them by Jesus, the Head of the Church. Pastor Rick Warrren called these ministries the five purposes and wrote books that taught both churches and the lives of individual believers should be driven by Fellowship, Missions, Worship, Discipleship, and Evangelism.
COVID-19 disrupted church life as we know it in 2020. Fellowship was handicapped when events, classes, and meetings were postponed or cancelled. Missions or service to others was limited when people were mandated to stay-at-home. Due to state regulations and guidelines, Worship capacity in our facilities and buildings were capped at a percentile that drove down attendance and required us to physically distance ourselves from one another. Discipleship turned digital, unfortunately causing the discipleship ball to be dropped in locations that had not previously readied themselves in and for the coming digital revolution. Likewise, as human contact decreased, Evangelism took on new forms.
The ministries of the church have been hurt by the pandemic, but in more subtle ways, the ministries of the church have also been helped. Churches have been able to become stronger in ministry areas they were weaker in because well, they were forced to. One ministry area the church desperately needs to capitalize on in this time of crisis is Evangelism. Currently, medical companies are sending out vaccines to defeat the evil coronavirus. Are we being evangelistic and letting the world know that Jesus has already defeated sin, death, and hell?
Are we sharing The Story: creation, fall, rescue, and restoration? Are we sharing the grand narrative of the gospel story that takes the stories of our lives and begins to make sense out of them?
Creation: This world was a beautiful place at its inception. It was virus-free!
Fall: Due to man’s original sin in the garden, creation itself now suffers and we have to deal with viruses such as Covid-19.
Rescue: Thankfully, Jesus came to heal us from all our sins and one day . . .
Restoration: . . . We won’t have to worry about the virus called sin that infects us all or sickness such as the coronavirus!
In a world full of bad news, people are dying to hear some good news. Will you be the one that shares it with them?