Harvest Time: Our Local and Strategic Response to the Global Crisis
A special letter to MCChurch, by Ps. Paul Magno.
In spite of the circumstances surrounding the global crisis we are living in, I still firmly believe that we are about to enter into a time of great growth and momentum as a local church. I’m very hopeful that the lockdown will soon end, perhaps with some social distancing guidelines to be followed, and that soon all physical isolation measures will be lifted and we will begin to resume gatherings as a church once again.
In addition to that strong personal conviction, the Holy Spirit dropped a phrase in my heart, “HARVEST TIME.” It released a faith in my heart that we are going to grow as a church, in spite of our challenges as a congregation, a society, and a generation.
With this expectation in mind, I want to share with you our local church’s strategic response to this global crisis. In short, our strategy is to commit to the harvest. Our response is to strengthen our resolve in God’s call to the harvest fields and to reach the lost — no unfavourable circumstance or seemingly impossible challenges will cause us to waterdown or diminish God’s call to the harvest. Instead, our attitude should be like vehicle drivers in Manila when they get to a traffic intersection: green means go, yellow means go faster, and red means go anyway!
Here is a simple 3-step strategy to the engaging with the harvest:
PRAY
Pray for 5 people during this lockdown. (5 is symbolically the number of “grace” in Scripture.)
Pray for them by name. Don’t just pray for the lost in a generic sense, but pray for them specifically by name.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to open their hearts to Jesus (Acts 16:14), as Jesus is actively seeking them out like He did the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7; 19:10).
Pray for the urgently and faithfully, and ask God to reach them in unique and unexpected ways to open hearts to Himself.
CARE
Show real care for the practical needs of the people you pray for. Ask them how you can help during this crisis, and do whatever you can to show them that you care. Remember the old saying: people don’t care how much you know, they care how much you care.
Depending on the government’s distancing measures, help out with meals, groceries, shopping, babysitting, etc.
Check in on your prayer list of 5 on a regular basis through SMS, phone call, email, or social media messaging. Make the point of contact personal and exuding with care.
Confidently ask them, “How can I pray for you?” Confidence — especially Godly confidence — can be immensely comforting and encouraging during a crisis.
SHARE
Boldly share your hope and faith in Christ. Do not think of this as a sales pitch or a business presentation that people buy-in to or not; our responsibility is to share the Gospel, and let God do a work in people’s hearts.
Share your testimony. Your story of finding salvation through the grace of God by faith in Jesus is a powerful way to naturally draw people into the Gospel.