Organic Outreach Amidst COVID-19
Kathy Johnsen
Kathleen Johnsen is the Owner and HR Consultant for K. Johnsen Human Resources Consulting. The agency exists to help companies train, engage, and retain their human capital, and navigate California’s complex labor law landscape. Kathleen also serves as the Volunteer Editing Team Leader for Organic Outreach International, Inc.
“As a church leader, you play an important role in leading
your church in this season of stress.”
Rick Warren, Founding Pastor of Saddleback Church
With the coronavirus wreaking havoc on our lives, it is more important than ever that we, the Church, bring peace, hope, and healing to our neighbors and communities. We need to be Jesus to those around us. How do we do this when we are sheltering in place? How do we do outreach when we are socially distant?
Rick Warren, Founding Pastor of Saddleback Church and the P.E.A.C.E. Plan, and Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., the Billy Graham Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism at Wheaton College and Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center, have created a dedicated COVID-19 website. They have partnered with the Billy Graham Center, the Humanitarian Disaster Institute, and The P.E.A.C.E. plan to bring resources to church leaders to help their congregations and communities survive and thrive during this time.
We encourage you to check out the CoronaVirusAndTheChurch.com website. All resources are responsible, relevant, and completely free. There are webinars, sermons, checklists, planning guides, and practical information. Some of the topics you will find include:
- Tips for creating healthy, engaging online church services and resources for doing virtual church
- Embracing Facebook and YouTube to stream your service
- Communication Templates & Resources for Pastors
- How to Talk to Your Kids About COVID-19 (PDF)
- Advice for Churches from the Surgeon General: Preparing Your Church for Coronavirus
- Soul Shepherding resources
- Weekly webinars for church leaders
- Tips on how to have a family worship experience at home
- Informational resources from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention
It’s nice to have it all in one place. Browse and pick what is most practical for you, your congregation, your ministry, and your community.
In an article recently written by Ed Stetzer for Christianity Today (Christians, This Is Our Moment: A Call to Clarity and Mission, March 12, 2020) he provides these tips for leading your church through the COVID-19 chaos:
- Seek expertise, not personality – look for experts who have dedicated their lives to help. In this case, it means the doctors and healthcare professionals who are courageously fighting and preparing to fight this virus across the country and the globe.
- Seek clarity, not impulsivity – take time to think through what fears are at work in your heart and your community. Write them down and think through how best to respond in ways that are constructive and God-glorifying.
- Seek hope, not fear – during the confusion, we should be informed and have a plan but most critically we should be regularly in prayer and God’s Word to refocus our hearts on where our hope, courage, and encouragement come from.
- Seek mission, not isolation – first, focus on the vulnerable populations that will be particularly hit by this virus. Second, resist the bunker mentality that prioritizes yourself to the exclusion of others. Third, be ready to pay a cost.
To read the article in its entirety go to: https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/march/christians-this-is-our-moment-call-to-clarity-and-mission. The goal of the CoronaVirusAndTheChurch.com website is to provide you expertise, clarity, hope, and mission all in one place.
In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul encourages us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” As church leaders we are called to lead our churches and ministries in good times, and even more critically in difficult times. Fortunately, when it comes to COVID-19 you don’t have to do it alone.