Mission During a Pandemic: Response to Covid-19

Ways That COVID is Impacting Missionaries and Their Work Overseas

Ministry is very relational. It’s around tables. It’s very personal.

As missionaries are still sorting out how to best serve during the COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest question is “What does ministry look like?” Ministry is very relational. It’s around tables. It’s very personal. With that being the case, how do we minister to people when we are required to be more distant? This is especially true for vulnerable communities like refugees and asylum seekers. These people are already vulnerable and are now becoming more vulnerable. It has certainly raised questions. 

There is certainly a lot of ministry that can be done during this time.

In the history of the church and even through the Scriptures, we see the church being dispersed and scattered. This is what we are seeing right now because we can’t gather safely as congregations, but we’re still the church. We’re still the sent missionary church. This is providing some great opportunities. I think about the mailbox conversations that people are having all over the world. Even in our neighborhood, there are people that are sick and need to see the doctor but are scared to go out. They don’t have masks and equipment. For those of us that have more to share, it’s a great opportunity, even without seeing people, to communicate to people through social media or through text. There is certainly a lot of ministry that can be done during this time.

Changes Due to COVID in Ways Missionaries are Approaching Reaching People with Christ

We know what our restrictions are because of COVID. Even so, I’m seeing people around the world that are caring for the poor, for people that are hungry, and for people that already lack resources. I’m following friends who are doing some courageous work with food banks and caring for the poor. Obviously, they are masked up. They have on their protective gear. But they are delivering food and communicating Jesus to people that are so afraid.

Major Issues to be Considered When Doing Missions Amidst and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Part of the challenge is that we want to minister to people, but we don’t want to get people sick.

There are several issues to be considered when trying to minister to people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the challenge is that we want to minister to people, but we don’t want to get people sick. In looking at the refugee population or even the elderly, we want to provide helpful aid and communicate with people. In all this, however, we need to do it safely. We are seeing some exciting things such as Bible studies and seeker Bible studies. Some of our global interns this summer are doing Bible studies over Zoom and other digital platforms. We can still communicate, but in terms of getting people care and other things, a lot of precaution needs to be taken.

Resources to Help People Understand and Adjust to Changes in Missionary Activity

To help equip people during this time, we decided to do a special course in the second half of the summer of 2022 on Facebook Live called “Twenty-first Century Mission Amid Crises” (The videos for this course can be accessed online). Obviously, the global pandemic is a crisis, but CIU already has programs on disaster relief, emergency management, global migration studies, intercultural studies, and communicating. This course was a combination of those concepts, with some more mixed in. It was a course on missions during crises that included things such as sharing the gospel and responding tangibly to disasters. It also included counseling those that are in trauma because there are many people that are isolated or traumatized. Obviously, we proclaim Jesus, but some people also need help in the way of counseling. We wanted to provide an overview course that would be very practical.