We are really blessed in our church to have Amy. Amy works for our church full time doing various things including pastoral ministry but focusing on evangelism.
She has been brilliant at mobilising the mums in our church in their outreach. Before lockdown she was helping us to run several courses inluding “wonderfully made” and “Christianity explored” and we were seeing exciting fruit from that.
But during lockdown she’s continued to encourage us to reach out with the gospel despite social distancing.
I wanted to share her event idea with you, because it was really encouraging and fruitful, and perhaps it is something that your local church could do too (although aim to do it quickly, as who knows when lockdown restrictions will be lifted?!).
So the event was called “COVID-19, Homeshcooling and Hope”. It included three 5 minute slots by a different mum in our church who shared some stories about trying to homeschool their children during lockdown (funny, real and sweet stories) and then a “tip” of something that they had tried and had some measure of success with during crisis-schooling. The tone was very conversational, of ordinary mums trying to muddle through, and certainly not as experts. After each slot, we would go into breakout groups (we tried to keep friendship groups together to make conversation easier, to give people another reason to attend the event – i.e. to see friends virtually, and to make follow-up easier). Then there was a 10 minute evangelistic talk at the end of it. If you would like to hear an audio of the event, either for your own encouragement or out of interest then subscribe to our mailing list and you’ll receive a link to all our downloadable material, including this talk. If you’re already a subscriber, look out for this week’s round up of posts in your inbox (it should come on Monday), and we’ve added a link to the download page into that email too.
Also, if you would like to do a similar thing at your church then I am happy to send you my evangelistic talk script, and you can just edit it to use your own anecdotes.
We were really excited by the response to the event. We had 25 mums attend, 17 of which were guests. There seemed to be a real appetite for connecting with other parents, for chatting this stuff through and for the message of hope too.
So Amy and her graphic design fiance designed a 5 week follow-up course and booklet. Based on the same themes as “wonderfully made”, but edited to make it applicable to parents of older children who are crisis-schooling.
The format is similar – 1 mum will have a 5 minute slot on an area of crisis-schooling, another mum will have a 5 minute slot to talk about a common problem area in parenting, and then a 5 minute pre-evangelistic talk (we hope this might lead onto a Christianity explored course once wonderfully made is finished). Between each of these talks, there is time for discussion in breakout groups.
We would encourage you to try something similar with your friends or as your local church. If you have any questions about how this could work in your context just send us a message, I’d be really happy to help, or maybe get Amy to call you – she’s so winsome and encouraging, you’ll be pumped up to do it!
If you’d like to subscribe to our weekly email list and receive access to the talk, you can use this form below:
N.B I wrote this a couple of weeks before lockdown. But as the Prime Minister has just announced that one of our children could be going back to school in a few weeks time, fear is something that could very easily creep in.
That’s the thing about fear – it can come in many different forms, about many different issues. And so, as we publish this now old post, we trust that the Holy Spirit will encourage you with these timeless gospel-truths to bring comfort to you in the midst of the very real fears you may be facing right now, in the midst of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
What is it for you?
Cancer? Social media? Sexual predators? Road accidents? Drowning?
Do you have a recurring fear? It’s the one that keeps you awake at night. Perhaps you have flashbacks to the near accident. Or the images of your child in A & E are seared across your memory.
Fear is crippling and debilitating. But this fear isn’t about you. It’s about your children, which makes it even more terrifying. And even more compelling a watch in your minds eye.
We don’t want to think about it, but somehow the fear just keeps resurfacing it’s ugly head.
As a couple, we have different recurring fears. Cathy is terrified of road accidents. We live on a main road, without off-street parking, which obviously contributes to it.
Scott is afraid of one our children drowning. When we were on holiday once, a life-guard alerted to us that our eldest was floundering around in the swimming pool. He had jumped in without his life jacket on. Scott often remembers the incident and is keen for all our children to master swimming ASAP.
Over the last few weeks I (Cathy) have been reading “To seek and to save: Daily reflections on the road to the cross.*” It’s a really excellent devotional for Lent. It follows the journey of Jesus to the cross through the second half of Luke’s gospel. The devotions are very short, but they are challenging and poignant (ideal for parents of young children).
The other night I woke up, and had the familiar image of one of our children nearly getting run over by a car. It came out of nowhere. I was just trying to get back to sleep – in fact, I may have been beginning to drift off, and BAM – there it was again. It comes in different forms at different times, and in different dreams (the other night I dreamt that our handbrake didn’t work and I only got our third child out of the car just in time before the car rolled off a clifftop).
But they always involve a near car incident. They always shock me by their suddenness. And I always feel my stomach lurch and churn.
Usually I struggle to get back to sleep again afterwards.
But the other night when it happened, the Holy Spirit immediately reminded me of what I’d read in the Lent devotion that day. It was based on this passage:
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:22-26
I was immediately comforted by the knowledge that if God genuinely cares for and provides for the birds (who are much less valuable that my three year old son) then how much more would does he care for my little boy? Because he cares more for my son, I can worry less.
On the tail of this thought, came another; I immediately remembered that terrible accidents do happen to Christians, they are not immune to suffering. But then the sovereignty of God comforted me. I cannot add a single hour to my son’s life by worrying. I can’t do that very little thing. And therefore I don’t need to worry. Because worrying is powerless to rescue him.
And beyond that, if God loves my son, if he knows the exact number of days he has left, and if he has through his son Jesus, made eternal life possible; then I need not worry. Because even if the very worst were to happen – death and despair would not have the final say.
I’m so thankful for how clearly the Holy Spirit comforted me with God’s promises in the nighttime.
So what is it for you? What are your recurrent fears? What thoughts plague you in the night?
Why don’t you meditate on that passage and remember the comfort that Jesus offers you.
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32
This blog post is part of a series whereby we get a glimpse into the life of different Christian families during the COVID-19 lockdown. This time we’re excited to introduce you to the Wright family.
The Wright Family
Describe your family and what your average day looks like now under lockdown.
Ed and I (Heather) have been married 9 years. Bertie is 8 and Ernie is 4 I’ve always believed strongly in home-schooling, and this year B has been pretty miserable at school, which he previously loved, so I’ve been glad to have him home for some de-schooling. He’s finding it hard to adapt to an indeterminately long break from his friends, and E can’t compute not going to his lovely nursery for his normal 2 days. We’re thankful B has some proper walkie talkies – we dropped one off at his best friend’s house and now they can call each other up and talk nonsense at each other whenever they like (within reason).
Ed works in science/tech and is expected to do as many hours as normal – with some flexibility. In contrast I work nominally “11 hours a week” for our church as administrator, and doing what I do from home is fine – but of course with children home it doesn’t really work, so I have to steal an hour while Ed has lunch with them, then do little urgent bits as they crop up, fending off boys, and catch up in the evenings. And juggle that without squeezing out stuff I need for me like Bible time. (I will freely confess that “quiet time” was never a thing I did before, but has become a firm habit since giving in to my friend’s suggestion of getting the YouVersion app and starting Bible In One Year – a genuine technological blessing that is changing my life!) My work on the church website and comms is particularly key right now, and I’m definitely doing extra hours, and getting too little sleep!
I’m glad I didn’t commit to the “screen-free Lent” I fantasised about – we’re now relying heavily on the internet, even if no more TV than usual! We are not really keeping any daily structure – it’s far too manic in this house! We’ve had some really nice and not onerous tasks set by school (including bird watching – which is a family passion anyway), but I’m very much of the view that it’s all optional and our focus should be on the mental health of everyone concerned. We live in an amazing village with wonderful woodland walks and we have an allotment as well as our tiny garden, so are spending a lot of time outdoors.
I’m excited to have the opportunity to get more Bible into the boys while they’re home, so I’m trying to highlight a letter of the alphabet a day for E to learn, and choose a Bible word and memory verse for each one, plus a song that fits (we love to learn through music). It’s giving me a focus even if we don’t always actually learn the verse so it can be recited. But they’re sponges and seem to find it easy. They’re also keen to learn the New City Catechism – our pastor recommended getting the app and doing it with our kids during Lent. I wish someone had got me to memorise this stuff as a kid!
2. What challenges have you encountered?
The kids have been “emotional” to put it mildly (oh the tantrums!) – this is so unsettling for them. They need tons of extra reassurance and unconditional love, which is sometimes easy to give, but sometimes really challenging – we’re tired and unsettled too. Thank God there’s grace for imperfect parents too!
Facebook wants to show me that half my friends are incredible parents with squeaky clean houses and home-schooling routines, while the other half are being negative about their kids and spouses. Neither is edifying! I’ve found myself wanting to post on Facebook the Bible stuff I’m trying to do with the boys, but have been struggling to decide whether it’s going to do more good in encouraging people and putting scripture out there, or do harm by adding to inferiority complexes already being built by all these “super-mums”. To be honest, I’m not sure I have time anyway!
And it’s not easy being the other side of the country from my Dad, knowing that all his normal activities, which have been a lifeline since Mum died 5 years ago, are cancelled. Thankfully he’s part of a home group that WhatsApps, a really solid church which is producing daily teaching online, and he has good neighbours. We talk on the phone or videocall, but it’s not the same.
3. What encouragements have you seen?
Our pastors are live-streaming on Facebook and using Zoom for those within the church family – Sunday mornings and meeting to pray at noon each weekday, which is lovely and is actually building recognition between my kids and some church faces they’ve probably paid no attention to before. It’s great to see all ages at church learning to use Zoom and connecting with each other. It’s also meant that people who can’t normally get to church are suddenly as connected as the rest of us, and small groups can include people who would normally miss out, e.g. both parents can now attend because they’re still in the house with their children. I think there’s a good argument for continued use of Zoom when life returns to normal!
The crisis has also forced me to step out and be filmed myself – first in order to continue to teach a dance routine to girls from B’s school, then to lead worship on piano at a live-streamed prayer event, then recording virtual story and singing slots for Tuesday mornings on our Toddlers Facebook group! I’ve been surprised to find I haven’t felt embarrassment, just a passion to encourage others and glorify God. This is definitely a case of God equipping for a particular time/need, as I would not have believed you if you’d told me a month ago!
4. Why is the gospel good news for your family at this time?
Because it’s good news for everyone, all of the time!
But more specifically, if I didn’t have the gospel I would be drowning right now. I struggle with anxiety and depression, and last year it was really severe. I was having awful panic attacks with increasing regularity and felt darkness swamping me every night before bed and at random times during the day. I knew it to be both a spiritual battle (having a friend pray Jesus’ name powerfully with me over my bedroom made a massive difference) and a physical illness – though it’s always hard to admit the latter, instead feeling I should be able to snap out of it if I’m a Christian! I finally went onto antidepressants in October, which is something I’d been desperate to avoid this time, but they’ve made me functional again – my family really needed this! Through the dark time I was holding fast to the promises of God but the chemicals in my brain were having none of it. My pastor reminded me that if I had e.g. diabetes I wouldn’t have been wrestling with whether I should take insulin or not! Now that I am medicated I have my joy and hope back in a much more real way.
As a result, while many people who thought their lives were sorted are currently being swamped by anxiety about what Coronavirus means for their health, livelihood, social life, etc., I find myself genuinely calm and confident in the Lord. It is so true that he uses trials to train us and refine our faith, and works all things for our good! It is helpful to reflect that the Bible is packed full of people suffering, facing massive upheavals, surrounded by enemies, struggling to trust God, crying out “where are you?” and not always getting the response they’re looking for. And God being faithful. In some ways being in a crisis like this helps us to better understand some of the OT stories where people were living a much more powerless, hand to mouth existence, and had to rely on God’s providence. The Bible is also packed full of exhortations not to worry or fear. I know these so well as I’ve been clinging to them for years. So I find myself equipped to share my hope, and demonstrate that in knowing my own weakness and helplessness I can confidently lean on Jesus, my rock, my fortress, my saviour. In his faithfulness he will not let my foot slip. So few of my friends have the hope of eternity, and in times like these we who do will shine more brightly.
It is great to be able to comfort my children with my sure and certain hope, to remind them that Jesus can calm the storm, heal the sick, raise the dead and do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. To teach them that he’s the one that won’t let them down and can’t be taken away from them.
A huge thank you to the Wright family for taking part in this series!
Why don’t you take a few moments now to pray for the Wright family? Pray for Ed as he works from home and for Heather as she tries to juggle working remotely for church and homeschooling her children. Pray that God would continue to use her to build up their church family and reach out into the community with the good news of the Gospel.
