Mission in the world of covid

 We've spent two years adapting to confinement, déconfinement, limits on numbers, spacing out, end of spring out, zoom, post-zoom... 

It's not over yet. At least not for us. 

We're missionaries. That means that although we live and work in France and we are immediately responsible to the church council here in France, we are also responsible to :

our sending church in North Wales who sent us here

our mission, UFM, who helped the church to get us here

individual supporters and supporting churches all over the UK who give to keep us here.

(that sounds a bit odd, but you know what I mean)

So we need to report back regularly.

Our Sending Church

we send a weekly prayer update for their regular prayer meeting

they send out an elder for a pastoral visit once a year. Or at least they did until covid stopped travel! 

we also visit from time to time - generally about once a year

I did a weekly short Bible message on Saturdays during confinement

we do zoom calls amongst the elders

The Mission

the director and deputy director also get our weekly prayer updates

we produce a quarterly prayer letter that gets sent out hither and yon

there are zoom prayer sessions

an annual review procedure comprising a form and interview

a four-yearly "end of term" review

the deputy director also visits perhaps once a year

Supporting churches and individuals

Here's the challenge. Normally each year I would spend two weeks, three weekends, visiting churches in the UK to report back and to continue the close relationships that we have so valued over the years. 

Of course, in 2020 and in 2021 that has been impossible.

Can anything like this happen in 2022? Who can tell!

Meanwhile it seems to me that we need to take action now. 

Churches get our quarterly prayer letters and some also get our weekly prayer update.

Some churches ask for video updates and we gladly cobble something together.

But I'm wondering what action we can take to try to fill the gaps.



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