Finding creative ways to care during COVID-19

Kim Niles March 27, 2020

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COVID-19 has done a number on churches, businesses and incomes. Uncertainty, worry and fear are spreading as quickly as the virus itself.

What makes this time unique is it disables our opportunity to minister in person (at church services, hospitals, and public places, etc.). With other tragedies, people sought out the church as a place of refuge—think how church attendance massively grew after September 11th. But with COVID-19, the church can no longer meet in-person.

As leaders in church and ministry, we are well versed in offering care and leadership, but this is a new frontier—a pandemic kicks it up an entirely different notch in crisis care. This means church leadership will need to find fresh new ways of offering crisis care and leadership throughout these challenging days.

Here are seven useful ways and opportunities to offer effective crisis care to our communities:

1. Ask God specifically to give you wisdom, understanding and discernment. 

You will need this and continue to need this to best lead your church staff, congregation and ministry. 

2. Seek to find ways to lead, minister to and care for others through social media. 

Use every avenue available: live videos, blog posts, Facebook updates, emails, Twitter, YouTube, etc. There are many opportunities for ministry through the blessing of digital avenues. If you don’t already have a Facebook page, website or blog for your church or ministry, start there. 

Email or call those you minister to and ask them to join the page, website or blog. It’s a great way to offer encouragement, hope, scripture, teaching and updates. You can write posts or offer videos on these as well.

3. Stay connected and offer biblical encouragement. 

Do your best to prepare those you minister to for the challenges they’ll be facing. Give strong encouragement by addressing themed topics: fear, worry, anxiety, depression, uncertainty, praising God through storms and hardship, financial frugality, blessing others financially if God has blessed you with extra resources and helping others who are in need. 

Give them any themed encouragement that you know will help through this hard time.

4. Offer hope through sharing Bible verses and personal stories of how you have personally overcome harsh life challenges and trials. 

It is so important to empathize with others. Consider how they are feeling and navigating through this very unexpected trial. Take these opportunities to connect and minister. 

5. Look for ways to safely help your community. 

Come up with creative ways to care. So many people are impacted and it offers the challenge and opportunity to help others, but we will need to look outside the box to figure out ways to effectively care. 

When we can’t do anything in person, we can look to digital ways of offering care, support and ministry opportunities. Digital gift cards and delivery services are one creative way to offer care during this time. Ask God to show you effective ways to offer crucial care.

6. Partner with others in fervent prayer. 

Prayer can truly change everything. With the intense challenges the world is facing, praying with others is vital. 

Matthew 18:19-20 shows the way: 

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

7. Use this time to encourage revival, a turning back to God’s heart and His ways. 

Our world—even our churches, ourselves and our own home—have ventured off of the best path God has truly called us to. This is a great time for personal reflection to soberly do a personal inventory of the true spiritual health of ourselves, our marriages and family and our church/ministry. 

Our ability to effectively help others will only match our own current spiritual health. Ask God to show you any areas of idolatry, compromise and half-heartedness that needs attention. Then afterward, we can encourage those under our care to do the same.

Let’s heed 2 Chronicles 7:14: “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

With COVID-19 rapidly changing the world and ministry, it is extremely important to seek God’s heart like never before.

May God bless all of us with creativity, resourcefulness, fresh new perspectives and brand new ways of caring, encouraging, leading and ministering to those He has so graciously placed in our care.

If you feel overwhelmed, remember this: God called you into ministry, knowing that this trial would come. He has equipped us and will graciously continue to equip us to help others in such a time as this. 

None of this has surprised God. He has a plan and purpose in all of this. He has called each of us into the unique position of offering care and hope to those who need it most:

 “... And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” ~Esther 4:14

Let’s ask, and allow, God to give us the wisdom we will need to offer crisis care, compassion, hope and strong caring leadership in this unprecedented time.

Join me in praying for all who are in church leadership and ministry, that God will equip each with creativity as they seek to find ways of offering crisis care.

May God heal, bless, restore and help all of our churches and communities.

Photo source: istock 

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Kim Niles is the author of Getting Your Breath Back After Life Knocks It Out of You and is the co-founder of Grief Bites. She is also a writer and partner for YouVersion, a Community Leader at her church, and an inspirational speaker. Learn More »

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