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Converting Crisis into an Opportunity
by Captain Manikya
Mera
Covid-19 has affected the Church
worldwide. Many churches around the world have been forced to
virtualise themselves to stay linked to their congregation.
For several years, the Church has worked linearly in buildings
where the community is supposed to come and attend formal
worship. This linear thinking never inspired churches to
explore other ways in which they could be more effective in
spreading the Gospel. The tragedy of the pandemic provided an
incentive for the Church to step out of the box. Platforms
like Zoom, where people can come together and Pushpay where
tithe can be made online, are becoming more prevalent among
churches. In Australia, more than 300 church buildings have
been sold in the last 18 months because of the decline in
traditional churchgoers.
Buildings have become an icon mostly
used for business rather than its original intent. The
conventional model of the Church is struggling to advance the
Gospel and becoming more like an inward-looking community. The
pandemic has reinforced the Church to lead the salvation war
alternatively instead of a traditional way. The crisis is an
opportunity, so this could be an opportunity for the Church to
reflect and find alternative ways to spread the good news of
Jesus.
One of the ways that have worked for us
in Melbourne, Australia, is by focusing on relationships. We
began developing relationships with the people in our local
community as we became friends with people. We shared the
Gospel through our words and character, which led many to
believe in Jesus. Since 2014, our faith group has expanded to
more than 100 people from different ethnic backgrounds. The
pandemic did not have a significant impact on our version of
the Church due to our focus was on building real
relationships. In our faith community, there is no structured
partnership between a pastor and a congregation; instead, we
are all equal as friends, exploring Jesus and deeply
reflecting on the Word of God. We don't have any worship
service or songs, but we only read the Bible continuously week
by week, and through that, people have come to faith.
The pandemic teaches the established
Church a lesson to go back to the organic way of spreading the
faith, not formalising it inside the buildings or one-hour
worship, but instead keeping it informal, expressing in every
moment of our lives through our character. The greatest
challenge for the Church is not to learn new practices of
sharing Gospel, but rather to unlearn old ways that have
become outdated. Let us go out not to convert people, but to
represent the true love of Jesus, with no agendas attached.
Jesus healed people, showed the compassion that led many to
believe in Him. Loving our God and our neighbour has done
wonders and still does. So let us focus on these two greatest
commandments and nothing else.
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