One of the areas of life affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the ability to go to church. Gathering in-person to sing, pray, find hope and draw closer to God has been shut down for almost a year now.
Some churches have acquiesced; some have defied the edict, even though the Bible tells us that to defy governing authorities is to defy God. Some cry that “Jesus is under attack“, although He’s been under attack for the past 2,023 years, since King Herod sent his goon squad to kill every boy two years old and under in Bethlehem. But rather than complain and yearn for a return to normal, maybe we can take this opportunity to re-examine the way people Do Church.
Prime Minister Trudeau talks about a “Great Reset”, but hasn’t God constantly been re-setting things ever since He said, “Let there be light!”? Spreading the Gospel has moved from a group of people wandering with Jesus from town to town, to surreptitious gatherings in upper rooms, giant cathedrals, tent revivals ... you get the idea.
In the COVID era, some churches are now presenting services online until indoor gatherings can be allowed again. But online technology also provides an opportunity to take Church in a somewhat different direction.
Almost a year ago, another pastor and I started an experiment with an interactive church using the online platform Zoom. Called, in a flash of creative brilliance, “The Gathering On Zoom,“ a small but congenial group joins from thousands of kilometres apart: Melbourne, Australia, La Ronge, Saskatchewan; around Vancouver Island and occasionally around the USA. We talk about what’s happening in our lives and pray for one another, which sounds like any “home group”, except that there is also a time of Praise music and a short sermon. There’s also time to discuss the sermon, where there is no such thing as a “stupid” question.
Another feature is the “open pulpit” – anyone who has a Scriptural message to share is welcome to do so. The fact that The Gathering brings in people from such a variety of places brings an added dimension as we talk about our different experiences and find that things aren’t that different, at all.
But this is not a commercial for “The Gathering”. I bring it up as a possible example of a Great Reset in churches. After all, what is a Jesus Follower called to do? Go to church, or promote the Gospel to people who haven’t heard it? (It’s ironic that Dr Bonnie Henry responded to complaints about the ban on public gatherings by reminding people that church is not a building – something often said in church.)
Fellowship and sharing the Word is vital – lifeblood and air to breathe – so we can be strengthened to get out there and fulfill The Great Commission, meeting the spiritual needs of people in our own backyard – no matter their faith. I can think of some people currently living in tents, who could stand to hear, not that they are social detritus and a collective political football, but that they are loved, both by God and another human being.
The really encouraging part? God has placed all of us in this particular time in history because He knows the challenges and knows that we are the ones to, with His help, face them. As the Apostle Paul writes, we are more than conquerors, and this Great Church Reset is an opportunity to show that.
Drew Snider is a former pastor at Gospel Mission on Vancouver's Downtown East Side, and has been a guest speaker at churches in BC. He writes about the people and events in his e-book, ‘God At Work: A Testimony of Prophecy, Provision and People Amid Poverty’. (available at online bookstore
You can read more articles on our interfaith blog, Spiritually Speaking, HERE
* This article was published in the pront edition of the TImes Colonist
Photo of church by Karl Fredrickson on Unsplash
