It is very clear from Scripture that the Lord wants us to meet as His people on a regular basis. It is also very clear that one desired end of this practice consists of spurring one another toward love and good deeds. However, is it possible to accomplish this end without having to meet face-to-face? Well, during this time of confinement due to the corona virus, the churches in Heredia and San Rafael have demonstrated that it is possible to do so. Indeed, since the beginning of March this year, local leaders have sought alternative means for keeping the spirit of worship alive, making sure that members continue to receive badly needed shepherding, and teaching the gospel to visitors who need to be evangelized.
Firstly, the spirit of worship has been kept alive by giving members the opportunity to connect to at least three social media outlets during the accustomed worship hours of Sunday morning. As revealed by the last count of devices connected to each media option, “attendance” to our virtual services could very well be hitting the mark of 150 individuals. The challenge of providing quality content to the lessons and the activities through a different means is obligating us to spend more time in the drawing board not only preparing but also rehearsing for the Sunday services. This has created opportunities for a lot of distance teamwork and collaboration among key church members, male and female.
Secondly, the members continue to receive shepherding through an organized effort to contact each one of them. One hundred and forty adult members and their families were contacted by ten leaders and their wives who cheerfully volunteered to call a total of 14 members each. This was initially thought to serve the purpose of understanding how their means of making a living have been affected by the pandemic and thus make decisions about how to carry out benevolent work. However, it also afforded the opportunity to get to know them better as calling some of them ended up in conversations in which some emotional needs were met. Some of the men and their wives who made phone calls report having enjoyed a lot the conversations in which they gave and received encouragement.
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| Bible Study with Elder and Lucy |
Thirdly, the efforts to evangelize those who were visitors before the pandemics continued to be carried out. Results from these efforts include the conversion of two ladies who were recently baptized. However, the means to make sure that the gospel was being taught to them had to change overtime. There are now home Bible studies being carried out through digital platforms that are just as effective as face-to-face encounters.
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| Jorge Cambronero baptizes María Luisa and Laura |
In conclusion, local church work continued to be carried out successfully thanks to the diligent and creative ways that leaders sought to replace face-to-face encounters by the broadcast of quality content of activities through popular social media, the organized effort to minister to the members by calling each one of them personally, and the teaching of the gospel to those who have been willing to receive it through digital platforms.
