Using faith to conquer the fear of COVID-19

The effects of COVID-19 have not only changed the way corporations do business and the way schools provide education, but it has also affected the way churches conduct worship. For the first time in our natural lives, churches on American soil have been mandated to close their doors because of a pervasive virus. Until further notice, bodies of believers have been forced to find alternative ways to come together in fellowship. Despite limitations, many church leaders in Houston County are encouraged and holding firmly to their faith.

For one Centerville pastor, this is all a wake-up call to how blessed we have been as a nation. “It is a tremendous blessing to live in a country that typically provides no limitations on when and how we worship,” Pastor Justin Wright of Centerville Community Church said. “While we feel strange meeting in our houses and worshipping together digitally, there are communities of believers all over the world who do not have the freedoms that we benefit from.”

Wright acknowledged that as a Christ-follower, he’s taken for granted the ability to see his faith-family week after week. “I miss them now,” Wright shared. “It is my hope and prayer that the moments we’ve been forced to give up will be precious to us when we are able to be together again.” He went on to say, “Paul tells us in Ephesians that God prepared good works well in advance of us to accomplish. The necessity of pursuing those good works does not stop because the conditions around us have changed.”

The Winning Church is located near Robins Air Force Base. Its pastor, Bishop Harvey B. Bee said, “I believe it would be accurate to say that just about all of us have been affected by COVID-19, and we realize that there must be some way to provide relief for impacted communities.” Bee mentioned that people of faith will be hard hit if there are no plans to protect the critical missions. “I believe the enemy will try to use this as a way to attack our need for social interaction,” he pointed out. “We all have social needs. It’s difficult not to be in physical contact with people that you love, and due to the impact that long-term lack of socializing can have on mankind, something needs to be done quickly to alleviate [social distancing]. We need to have social interaction in order to love, be loved, and feel love.”

Bishop Bee emphasized that the Christian community should be at the forefront to show the love of God in times like these. “My wife and I are going out in our community today and knocking on doors,” he said, clarifying that they will be practicing social distancing. “We just want someone to come to the door so we can offer to pray with them. As believers, we can’t sit back and say, ‘I got mine. You go get yours.’ That’s just not the way God works.”

As pastor of a congregation in Warner Robins, Dr. Michael Holmes of Deliverance Revival Church agreed. “The Bible states a powerful revelation in Mark 12:31. It says: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these,” Holmes said. Additionally, he stated, “This present time that we’re in is pregnant with opportunities for us to repent, develop, and mature in the things of the Lord and to show love to our fellowman.” Holmes also stated, “Our true identity is often found in the rough times. In this unprecedented time, we must leave behind all our God-substitutes and petty idols. We don’t realize that God is all we need until He is all we have. The wilderness usually feels like a place of cursing at first, but if we truly place our trust in God, it will eventually become one of incredible blessings.”

Holmes went on to say, “When this has passed and the body of Christ reconvenes for corporate worship in our separate local churches, we need to be ready to answer the clarion mandate, both individually and corporately as the church, which is the ministry of reconciliation. We need to reconcile mankind back to God.”

Pastor Lewis Kiger believes that both positive and negative things can come of this time of pandemic. “We’ve taken something as simple as a hug or a handshake for granted,” he said, “and now that’s been taken from us; even the ability to get together as a flock. We’re an old school Baptist church,” he said of Memorial Heights Baptist Church in Perry where he serves as pastor. “We still had meals together every few weeks, and that’s been postponed. The positive that I think will come of this is the renewed appreciation for the simple things.”

Kiger says that the negative is that God never designed humanity to live in isolation. “Personally, as a pastor and as a Christian, I believe we need a local church,” he stated. “We need to help bear one another’s burdens; we need the prayers of the saints. And, although you don’t have to assemble to do all those things, the Lord was wise in establishing a church for us to meet. There’s something special and unique about corporate worship.”

The pandemic situation is an opportunity for ministry, according to Kiger. “We have to use this to point people toward Christ. The phrase that I use is that every calamity should remind us of our own mortality. We are finite, feeble creatures. But the good news is that those are exactly the kinds of people that Jesus Christ came to save.”

Pastor Wright maintained that, “If we can glean any good from these tragic circumstances, let it be to make the most of every moment in pursuit of good and godly things. Our churches, our communities, and our families are stronger and more resilient than we realize. This crisis has created an opportunity for us to embrace that strength as the Holy Spirit emboldens us to rebuild and change the world.”

In retrospect, Dr. Holmes expressed, “We’ve been too complacent. Our ministries never should have been restricted to the four walls of a church. God ordered us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. He knows how to redirect us into alignment so that His divine will is done. Taking worship and the Word to the internet, where it’s accessible to almost everyone everywhere, is really an act of obedience. So, even after this global crisis ends, we should continue as much as possible to spread the gospel beyond the church buildings.”

Quoting 2 Chronicles 7:14, Bishop Bee said this: “If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way; then will I forgive their sins and heal their land.” Breaking it down further, he explained, “If there’s no humbling, no praying, no seeking of God’s face, and no turning; then there is also no forgiving and no healing. If we, as a nation and as a world, want healing from this crisis, we’ve got to humble, we’ve got to pray, we’ve got to seek, and we’ve got to turn. God will forgive and heal, but there’s a prerequisite. It’s on us. No matter our church denominations, we’ve got to follow the Word and not just be hearers of it.”

“My encouragement to everyone would be to look to the Lord,” Pastor Kiger said. “He gives us a peace that passes all understanding. Place your faith in Jesus. This is going to pass. God is sovereign, and He has a purpose in this. We’re looking at a small piece of a big puzzle. This is where faith comes in. When everything is clicking along; we don’t need faith. But when a world is turned upside down, that’s when faith becomes precious to us.”

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