Does God Have a Purpose in the Pandemic?

Acts 8 tells us that on the day Stephen became the first Christian martyr, severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered. That had to seem like a very dark day. The verbal abuse and intimidation had turned to physical violence that resulted in the death of one of the church’s leaders. The joy of the resurrection and the growth of the Christian movement in Jerusalem appeared to be threatened with extinction.

Yet history looks back on those events and sees that the persecution resulted in the immediate spread of the gospel beyond Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria. Acts 9:31 reminds us:

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

The persecution that was intended to destroy the church became an impetus for evangelism, church planting, and growth in numbers. Some Bible scholars have argued that the persecution was permitted by the Lord to get the church to do what he had commanded them to do in Matthew 28.

I wonder if Covid-19 and the consequences of the pandemic might not be God’s tool for a similar purpose today. The stay-at-home order has forced nearly all our churches to go online. For most of our churches, their online audience outnumbers their attendance when people can come to their buildings. Could it be that God has allowed us to go through this experience because he desires the church to get out of its building and carry the gospel to the world around us? This is a unique opportunity to shape the service and the sermon to engage with people who may never have been to a church before; to people who may have never heard the gospel before.

What seems like a dark and difficult time may have an important purpose and a great opportunity. The church cannot stay in the building. It must be in the community. Let us make the most of every opportunity in the short time we have available.

Rev. Douglas G. Conley
District Superintendent