With the ongoing pandemic, courtesy of the novel Coronavirus, the world wakes up every morning to threatening statistics, stories of hospitals and medical frontliners overwhelmed, governments desperate for help and the poor as the worst-hit. In the middle of this, it is easy to lose faith and live in fear of the headlines. While we know God is our only constant and He does not change, our methods to touch lives must adapt to the change the world is experiencing. And in light of this, we’ve put together some ideas and resources to help you live out your faith now.
1. ONLINE BIBLE PLANS
There are a ton of online Bible tools that can help build your faith. YouVersion, an online and mobile Bible platform has thousands of Bible plans curated to encourage and challenge people to seek God and receive His hope for each day. You can use these plans as a base to kick off your online Bible Study sessions with the gang!
2. FACETIME FELLOWSHIPS
The practice of social distancing has made many come up with innovative ways to fellowship with the church community or to reach out to someone with the Good News. Zoom and Skype have always been old favourites for online meetings. But, you check out Houseparty and host your next group fellowship there. Take time to pray for each other and maybe even play online games there!
3. GET CREATIVE WITH SHARING HOPE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media has become a hub for crazy creative content, whether it be a witty TikTok video, a calligraphy tutorial account on Instagram or a brilliant viral meme on Twitter. With more people logged on, this is a unique opportunity to pump faith-based quality content into the digisphere. Maybe, try out Canva, a graphic design platform to create social media graphics, presentations, posters and other visual content.
4. GO GOOD SAMARITAN USING THE INTERNET
While many of us have the privilege of staying in without worrying about paying rent or having food on the table, many daily-wage earners, small businesses and NGOs are closing shop. And, Jesus calls us to look out for our neighbours (Mark 12:31). How about you come up with ingenious ways to help those in need? Start a GoFundMe page to help pay rent for someone who lost their job, offer to order a meal for a family, or donate if you can.
To top it off, connecting with God on the daily will give you the best ideas to utilize this lockdown period effectively. Bonny Andrews, Chief Dreamer at LiveJam puts it this way: ‘In the midst of a crisis, don’t just do what people do. Do what God is asking you to do.’ So, tune into what God is saying. He has some big plans up His sleeves for you!