What's next for the Church during a crisis?
- InspirAGAIN
- Jul 13, 2020
- 6 min read
Many of us grew up in the church and learned the first steps of faith within the walls of religion. We learned how to read the bible, we learned how to sing praise, we learn how to be in groups to memorize scripture and we learned how to be a "Good Christian". We were taught how to dress, how to talk, how to share and how we should do things inside and outside the church as "church people". These were the days of recent times and of what many christians are use to and now are being forced to see something different and to think about what is next for the church.
What happens when the walls fall down or we do not have the ability to go to church?
Here are some questions to think about.
Can faith grow without a buildings?
What is church for?
How do I connect with people without meeting up?
Who is the teacher?
Can I do faith at home?
Can faith grow without a building?
Billy Graham puts it like this, "One of the ways we grow spiritually is through our fellowship and worship with other believers—in other words, through a church where Christ is honored. Not only do we learn from the Bible as it is taught, but we also learn from other believers who can help and encourage us. The Bible says, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” (Hebrews 10:25).
The focus of what Pastor Graham is saying in this statement is in the understanding of church and community which is so needed. I agree with everything he says and truly believe in the power of church. But what we have seen over the last 100 years of church is not always connected to growth in faith with direct correlation to a building. With the extreme circumstances in 2020 and Covid19, we are forced to think of church and faith growth outside the building.
When looking at scripture and the truth in the bible, we have to step back and think and discover again the words directed towards the understanding of church. Do many of us fall into the category of defining church because of our upbringing and environment? This is a questions we must all think of and investigate to re-learn the truth about church.
What is church for?
What is the role of the church and why does it exist today? Robert Velarde in a Focus on the Family article in 2009 puts the subject of church into a very simple quote, "The visible and local church is, of course, the physical churches that we see around us and around the world, as well as the members of those churches. The invisible and universal church, however, refers to all believers everywhere."
To better understand church we will need to look at what the church is called to do.
Worship - never forgetting your love for God
Edification - reflecting the image of God and building each other up
Evangelism - sharing the teachings of God and loving your neighbor
The 2009 article, which seems so relevant to today's current situation with Corona19, says that if a church fails to fulfill any of these key roles – worship, edification, evangelism – then the church is not functioning as God intends. Granted, there are times when churches face challenges and struggles to one degree or another, but a healthy church seeks to overcome such challenges in a way that honors God and His intentions for His church.
So with our current understanding of the church and the difficulties to gather up in one location, the questions goes to, how do I connect with people without the ability to meet up?
How do I connect with people without meeting up?
Connecting in a time of disconnection is a reality we have been all served on a plate of uncertainty and isolation from this global crisis of Corona19. So how do we connect? I think the better thought would be not how we can connect in these disconnected times, but how have we for so many centuries only relied on the physical church to connect the "Church People" to faith and fellowship?
Here are some more questions we can ask ourselves about faith.
Do you only get inspired by a sermon?
Do you only have bible studies at physical church?
Do you only praise and worship with music and a band?
Do you enjoy your status on Sundays?
Do you only read the scriptures on Sunday?
If you answer yes to one or more of these questions above, you might want to think about the faith relationships you have in life and the true reason you go to church on Sunday.
Faith and church are not centered around the thought of gathering in a building with many programs and showing up on Sunday. Faith and church are about connection with God, connecting with people and growing together. This can happen during these extraordinary times when the churches are not accessible and show how people of faith, not "Church People" but "Faith People" that connection and grow can and is happening all over the world.
Here comes another round of questions about faith and community.
Do you read the bible daily?
Do you pray daily?
Do you praise daily?
Do you share daily?
Do you teach/learn daily?
When you start to answer yes to all the questions above, you will start to see your growth in faith and understanding of being a follower of Christ point towards an understanding that not everything is connected to a building.
If we do not have a building to go to and pastors to guide and teach us, then who is the leader?
Who is the teacher?
We all have been in a schooling or educational system before and know the value of learning and applying the knowledge we absorb to our futures. We all see some kind of value in the educational system and rely on it so much to prepare us for the real world. This is also true in the faith education systems and institutes that are existing to help us grow in faith. But just as the schooling system goes, the person and place to influence and prepare in sending you to the real world is not the school teacher or system, it is the home and the community environment. This comprehension is so very connected and true to the relationship of faith to home and community.
The home is the center of faith. The teachers are the parents, the children are the teachers, the neighbors are the teachers. The building blocks of faith start right beneath your feet and should never be limited to how often you go to church but to how often your are the church in your current situation, your home, your community. You are the teacher.
Can I do faith at home?
Home church is a concept that has been misunderstood and miscommunicated for so many years. Many think of home church as; open with worship songs, preach, take some offerings and close in a long elaborate prayer, just like they do at Sunday service.
What if I told you it was so much easier and so much more personal than what you get on the normal Sunday? What if I told you it was absolutely connected to growth in faith and would increase your love for the local church? What if I told you it would change your life and you could start today?
If you got excited about any of the questions above, I think your continuous effort to get to this part of the article is for a reason. It is time for you to start faith at home. It is time for you to start growing your faith in your personal life, your family life and in your community. The attitude you have with your faith journey and how important it is in your life will impact every part of your home, your workplace and the world around you. Here are a few steps you can take to start faith at home right now.
Two things you need today
1. Listen to the bible.
Giving your ears and your heart the ability to absorb scripture is a biblical teaching you can train yourself to do. Click on this link to get support. https://www.inspiragain.com/prs-gift
This training guide will give personal, communal and virtual understand to create community and connection to how reading the bible is needed in your daily life and faith community.
2. Have support to teaching and reaching out
Knowing that you are not doing it alone will give you courage to sustain growth and also build knowledge and experience to move forward. Media is a great tool to use at home to build faith. Click on this link to get support. https://www.inspiragain.com/media-gift
This media gift from InspirAGIAN is not just for you, it is for your family, friends and community to get connected and involved on faith growth.
You can do faith at home and you can start today. The fact is the church environment today is changing but the overall truth is, God is always the same. We are here to support you in this journey and want to encourage you to be the church, grow in faith and take a step today to share your love with others.
InspirAgain - You are not alone - Grow faith - Connect Generations - Connect Cultures
Executive Director
Ricky Kim
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