My personal pandemic story

Tom Harper Nov. 1, 2021

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I've realized I'm not alone in my experience over the past couple years. What I went through isn't all that unique.

But perhaps telling you my story may offer you some comfort and encouragement.

In January of 2020, I took on a new lay leadership position in our church. I was excited at the opportunity to see from the inside how our large church is led and how its staff manage so much ministry. I was anxious to see how God might use me, and what he would teach me.

But then, two months later, the world exploded. My company, Networld Media Group, flew into a panic.

And like many other churches, ours fell under the scrutiny of the government, the health department, and the media.

In my professional life, I started sliding down a sudden slope. The further I slid, the more I realized I couldn't see the bottom.

A big part of what Networld does is produce in-person executive networking summits. Attendees come to hear the expert speakers we've secured, and vendors sponsor the events in order to get exposure to these high-level industry leaders. Our attendees include executives from brands like Panera, Chick-fil-A, Dairy Queen, Arby's, and more.

We run five events throughout the year. But as we reworked our event strategy, we realized simply postponing our events for a couple months wasn't enough. We needed to cancel all of our remaining summits for 2020.

Our staff was devastated. Our management team was at a loss about what to do. Would we ever recover?

I'm ashamed at the fear I felt. I guess it was the fact that over half of our revenue was gone. Shut off, like a spigot. Only a trickle of our remaining income flowed through.

We had to lay off some hard-working, anxious employees. That broke my heart.

Our cash on hand was lower than usual because we had just closed on a small acquisition in January. What horrible timing!

I contacted our landlord in desperation, pleading for flexibility in our lease. I wanted to reduce our square footage right away, regardless of what the current lease agreement stipulated. The landlord of course feared losing his own flow of income. After several months, we finally settled on a lower monthly payment.

On top of that, my executive team cut expenses significantly. Many of us took lower salaries and reduced working hours.

Then the Payroll Protection Plan rolled out in the U.S. I applied for the PPP loan through our bank, but because of a minor error, undeveloped rules and overloaded customer service, the bank put us back at the bottom of the list. Now what? Would we get any funds at all?

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I received a notice from the bank that the loan was granted. Praise the Lord.

That money was a lifeline. The cash influx literally kept us in business. We reinstated everyone's full pay. We breathed a little easier.

Then, round two of the PPP started up. We applied for that too, and after similar drama, we eventually received this second forgivable loan. Suddenly, by God's grace, we had enough money in the bank that we could quit worrying and get back to work.

But in the middle of this, in June of 2020, my business partner of 20 years passed away. He was also my father-in-law. The lead-up to his passing was extremely difficult. It stretched over much of the previous year. After he was gone, my wife's mom needed a lot of help, due to her own health as well as the legal, business and financial side of losing her husband.

Oh, and our dog died soon after. Our kids had never experienced this kind of loss, either. After losing their grandfather a few months previous, their grief just intensified.

We started looking for a home that would allow us to combine households with my mother-in-law—but of course, the seller's market yielded very little inventory, and none that included an in-law suite. Every time an online listing looked like it might work, it literally sold within hours.

I dealt with insomnia (still do). The load at church increased. Our business had stabilized, but hadn't bumped back up yet. Hints of depression mixed with the stress as I cried out to the Lord.

Then 2021 arrived. Our business started recovering. In August, we held our first in-person summit in almost 18 months. Sales orders for online advertising and future summit sponsorships gathered momentum.

The economy rebounded somewhat, vaccines started rolling out, and optimism began spreading. However, when the variant and a new wave broke out, uncertainty reared its head again.

Today, I am cautiously optimistic, conservative about business forecasts. In church, I continue to try to help with marriages in crisis, business disputes, sick congregants in need of prayer, and general support of our staff. I feel honored and yet humbled to be part of the heavy ministry work going on around me. I have a new respect for pastors!

I feel that Jesus has never left my side, walking with me as I've leaned on him. Joy has sometimes been a challenge.

But you know what? I have seen God move in new ways. He has worked literal miracles before my eyes in our church. I thank him constantly for sustaining our company and employees.

My marriage has stayed strong. I've spent more time with my family. I've been more available to meet with people and serve as the Spirit has led me.

I know I have grown. Both as a believer and a leader, and in other ways. My faith has been stretched in new directions. He is faithful.

I feel positive now, despite the ongoing pandemic and the destruction it has wrought. I'm positive because the Lord is in control, his Church is resilient, and his Word has proven so powerful during these dark times.

Excerpted from the free eBook The Top 5 Post-Pandemic Challenges for Church Leaders.

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Tom Harper is publisher of BiblicalLeadership.com and executive chairman of Networld Media Group, a business-to-business publisher and event producer. He has written five books, including Servant Leader Strong: Uniting Biblical Wisdom and High-Performance Leadership (DeepWater Books, 2019) as well as the Christian business fable Through Colored Glasses and its sequel Inner Threat (DeepWater, 2022). Learn More »

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