Pandemic Pause—But the Race Continues
Written by overseas workers of GCC
In early 2019, after seven years of serving in Asia and investing in God’s Kingdom along with local believers, we sensed Father was moving us to another place. We didn’t know where, but we were convinced it was His timing. My wife and I had decided to go to that place initially because we committed to following His lead and staying put until He moved us. That move came in March of 2019 when we came back to Texas. We travelled quite a bit through that year, going back to East, South, and Central Asia. In January of 2020, we were in Hong Kong when the local news broke a story about an illness coming in from mainland China. The streets emptied overnight and the pandemic pause soon upturned the world.
Not only were we in transition from one season of ministry to the next, but it seemed like the next step stopped while one foot was still in the air. Our former host country in Asia was in lockdown. We couldn’t travel to continue ministry in faraway places. Thankfully, technology enabled us to keep in touch to a degree. Ministry over remote means, however, is very risky in that country where the government closely monitors electronic communication and persecutes believers that refuse to keep their heads down upon command to do so. Accordingly, our contact was limited in scope.
Suddenly the churches there were faced with learning how to serve members and the community when people were isolated, and in some cases, literally locked up in their homes by authorities. All provinces were closed and roads were literally torn up and blocked with debris in order to slow the spread of the illness. Neighbor was fearful of their neighbor, and outsiders from other communities were refused entry. People exhibiting symptoms were rounded up and hauled away, many dying and being cremated quickly, apart from family. City folk were not prepared to live in such conditions. Country folk were better suited, but still ran out of food after crop stores from the Fall harvest were depleted. As nourishment for the body became difficult to obtain, depending on the resourcefulness of the individual, so did spiritual nourishment.
What is a pastor to do in such conditions? How does one minister to people when most are physically isolated from one another? The pandemic pause was a difficult problem for people, but not for God. He gave His people creative ideas and means to serve in new ways. He emboldened church leaders and the body of Christ to reach out to neighbors and help provide for physical needs, while sharing the Good News and ministering to the spiritual needs of a fearful and desperate population. The Lord used the illness to spark an OATH (outreach across the hall). The “pandemic pause” local mission movement had begun. Small group Bible studies formed in isolated buildings and apartment communities all over the country. Later, as local communities began to open on a small scale for limited activities, believers took to the streets, buses, and subway to hand out masks and Gospel literature. All of this was happening while we in the West were only just beginning to see the illness spread in our cities.
My wife and I, feeling as if one foot was still suspended in the air, continued to come to terms with having left the place and people we loved, and not knowing what was coming next. We began to deal with things in our own unique ways. I like to keep busy and maintain a sense of purpose and accomplish tangible things (meaning, I like to build and fix stuff) so I have found projects to help friends and family with. I often contact friends around the world, encouraging them and providing ministry resources to those who need help sourcing them. My prayers have been for clear understanding of God’s purposes during this time and guidance about our future ministry activities. I am talking with some other mission-minded folks about next steps and strategies that the Lord is giving us to continue Kingdom work when national borders open. My wife has been working in the garden and helping with chores at the home of the friends we are staying with. She has been reading, praying, playing the piano more and resting in order to draw closer to the Lord. Her goal is to know God better, hear His voice clearly and to discern His direction in the season to come.
Personal challenges for us include feeling like transients during this pause, while waiting to see where we will be based next. Of course, the physical separation from family and friends, including our brothers and sisters overseas, has been most difficult. Expenses for many things are higher in the U.S. compared with our overseas budget. Holding online training with pastors and missionaries in our former country is on hold since the government there is restricting such activities. Nationals are continuing to lead ministries, but involvement with foreigners is under increasing scrutiny and puts them at risk. We very much look forward to resuming our work of encouraging and equipping believers across Asia and Eastern Europe. The need has not diminished, only changed somewhat in the context of the current global situation.
In summary, I have seen individual believers, and the global church as a whole, gain new understanding and wisdom during the pandemic pause. We, the Body of Christ around the world, have been jolted into a new season. As the Lord positions each of us according to His plan in this season, I feel as if we should continue to find ways to serve the people He first led us to, wherever they are in the world. Specifically, He has impressed upon me that we need to teach believers about the Kingdom of God. We must each know who we are and what our role is in His Kingdom, and which spiritual gifts He has given us in order to proclaim the Kingdom wherever He sends us. We must understand and exercise the authority He has given us to boldly proclaim His Kingdom regardless of opposition. This is our race until He changes our direction or returns in glory.
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.