In the midst of the chaotic combust of the COVID-19 pandemic, with hard hitting headlines and news reports covering the region all around us, our church had to search for a way to keep moving forward… there was no choice!
It’s safe to say that the word “unprecedented” has been heard almost every day by the general population. At Gilson College Community Church (GCCC), like most, we had to think fast and act quickly to sift through the many adjustments and options that would sustain a tiny bit of “normality” for our church community.
A month gave us time to realise we needed something new to unite and connect our community, rather than trying to put on the usual Sabbath program.
Society had changed and we needed to target and implement more than just a 10:00am Sabbath fix. The church had left the building and we had to find another way!
So we changed up our church acronym (GCCC) to mean God, Community, Connect, Care.
We learnt that the core of a thriving church in the midst of the pandemic – well, any time really – is keeping God at the centre, the community in the focus and staying connected as a community and church body, through caring for one another.
Our church has lived by this acronym ever since and we have seen God move in the swiftest of ways.
Zoom meetings allow our community to connect, to feel a sense of belonging and of being cared for.
On Wednesday evenings we zoom into “The Prayer Room” where we have a brief Bible study before we focus solely on praying for our Church community, our School community and the prayer requests that come our way.
Sabbath morning the church service is held on zoom and we have had many different guest speakers join us, which has been enriching! Some afternoons we have held Zoom workshops and we have invited guest speakers who specialize in certain aspects of ministry and leadership, to equip and empower our up-and-coming leaders!
Throughout the week we have community break out rooms and life groups. We allow time at the beginning of every session to connect in “Community Breakout Rooms” which means you get randomly selected and put in to a Zoom breakout room to connect with others there. Each room is given three to four questions to help everyone get to know each other. Within a month of starting this, we had moved past the superficial questions such as ‘What is your favourite colour?’ to the deeper sort, the sort that rivets the undercurrents of the building blocks of community.
We have 8-9 life groups in our Church and a few of them have been churching throughout the week with different things, our children meet up and have play dates and mothers chat over Zoom whilst our young adults meet on Fridays with themed nights and dinner such as a ‘Show-n-Tell & Burger Night,’ which was making your own burger and ‘show-n-tell’ing something you have in your home! Our women’s life group has been connecting on Thursdays and playing fun games like charades and Kahoot! And our high schoolers life group has an exercise night where they work out together on Zoom!
It has been a fun and challenging time adjusting and finding ways to connect and do life together from a distance. But it has been the most rewarding year we have had!
We have seen more growth in our community this year then the years before.
On Sabbath mornings our online attendance large and consistent! Our life groups have been cultivating and growing more and more with our biggest one holding 25-30 young adults!
Making the conscious change from Gilson College Community Church to God, Community, Connect and Care has instilled the narrative of the kingdom culture in our community. Every decision, every program, every move we make has been centred on that acronym. Because of it, we have recognised that the actions of our church community have started to speak and show the narrative.
Care packages are being dropped off at the doorstep of homes. Messages and encouragements of hope and optimism have built friendships and connections in our community for a lifetime. Members are still finding the means to celebrate special days with spoiling our mothers on mother’s day and fathers on father’s day from a distance with packages and breakfast deliveries dropped to their homes!
Our Social media team has been actively working hard to implement the GCCC acronym online too. We have a segment called ‘Motivation Mondays’ that allows our church community to share their stories and encourage whoever watches! This has generated a large social media presence on Facebook, Instagram and via our E-Newsletter.
We also created a Youtube channel and a Spotify playlist, with all our praise and worship songs. Since we cannot worship and sing together physically, this provides easy access to create a worshipful space within everyone’s own homes.
Now and then challenges arise with the restrictions that hold us at bay and the general frustration of adjusting to the online world. But we have also seen God’s hand print all over our community and our Church. The back of a tapestry is messy, out of order and the picture a chaotic scene!
But the front of the tapestry is a perfectly spun image. This is God’s work, leading and guiding us through the pandemic. He has spun the picture all together and continues to guide us.
We thank God for being our Master Tapestry Designer, as we allow God to design our lives throughout this pandemic… and beyond!
Pr Mau Tuaoi