As the world continues to experience the effects of Covid-19, a Church of the Nazarene in a Creative Access Area (CAA) felt the call of God and opened the eyes of its leaders to look for opportunities during this pandemic.

With the Covid-19 outbreak happening in their city, the local church pastor had a vision. Believing “that their church will focus on doing compassionate work”. This will give the church an opportunity to build a closer relationship in the community and walk alongside them as they experience the negative impact of the pandemic in their lives.

With this vision, the church has 3 core objectives:

• to show God’s love and introduce to the community,
• to allow the church to have practical actions in reaching the community, and
• to build a bridge and evangelize to non-believers.

“The church goes alongside you throughout the pandemic.”

Coronavirus Response Team

With the vision and goal in mind, the church organized a Coronavirus Response Team. This team will take lead in preparing and distributing food to families, mostly affected by the lockdown in their city. The church alloted their own budget to buy the basic supplies, and by God’s grace, someone sponsored the exact amount.

The church was able to prepare an initial 100 food packs and connected with the local authority for the distribution.

But the work did not stop there. The church received continued donations from other mission organizations and individuals. Believers and non-believers as well. As a result, the church has already made 6 consecutive weeks of distributing the much-needed food packs. This includes vegetables, fish, and disinfectant solutions. Because of this collaborative effort, people started to notice the good deeds that the church is showing to the community.

The pastor also shared that this ministry will not be possible without the help of the young people. Despite the risks coupled with bad weather, they volunteered their time and energy in preparing and distributing the goods. There were also people who shared their finances and transportation. Even though the threat of COVID-19 is present, everyone was very supportive to help.

The church plans to continue doing this compassionate work. He shared that although Covid-19 had a lot of negative effects on our world. It has also brought positive results to the mission of the church. The church was able to build a stronger relationship with its members and the families around their community. He concludes: “this pandemic is a season of opportunities where the church can show the love of Christ to the community through compassionate work.”