The Covid Pandemic has challenged the world at the most fundamental level, demanding change. Almost overnight, Covid19 took away our weekly corporate worship and rising to this challenge, Melbourne Asian Seventh-day Adventist Church (MASDAC0 morphed from physical worship into an online live worship service almost overnight.
God brought people with passion and love for the church together and clustered them into an on-line worship committee. This committee took on the challenge, producing online content, announcements, pastoral prayers, opening songs, sermons, benediction, closing songs, special items, painstakingly piecing them together, working day and night, to create the weekly pre-recorded online Sabbath service, bringing corporate worship back to members at home.
The extended lockdown period experienced by Victorians further added logistical and organisational issues to the worship service. Despite these restrictions, the worship team managed to piece together a MASDAC Choir, a Virtual Orchestra, a number of inter-church musical events, a pastoral appreciation ceremony as well as the Communion Service. All these were done in the confines of each person’s home. In addition, the team linked speakers from the USA, Singapore and Malaysia and created seminars followed by Q&A sessions to bring a sense of unity to members separated by lockdown regulations. The team felt the need to encourage members engagement with the church, and created a 3-part Christian Apologetics course to deepen members understanding of Christianity, all in the comforts of their own home.
As a result of these online activities, the gospel was extended beyond the member of MASDAC into the larger world. More than 70% of viewers of their content came from outside Australia. Now they are communicating with people from as far as Nepal. Praise our Lord.
Covid19, necessitated a change to the digital platform, and, driven by Revelation 14:6 “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people…” MASDAC responded.
Indeed, we all know that all things work together for good for those who love God and for those who are called to His purpose. Because of Covid19, MASDAC now has a more unified church and at the same time a church that has an online audience that represents for than three times its physical membership. God indeed works in mysterious ways. Praise Him!!!