From Dia-Logos: 7 tipping points for 2021.
To read the whole article, click here: https://dialogos.co.za/seven-tipping-points-in-2021/
About COVID-19 – MORE THAN JUST HEALTH
2020:
March 11 2020 was the day that irreversibly changed the world as we know it. Deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction, WHO made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
By January 8 2021 there are nearly 87 million coronavirus infections and nearly 1,9 million deaths related to COVID-19 (3%). Nearly 62 million have recovered (97%)
The challenge of the pandemic, however, can only be discussed in the context of all the misinformation and conspiracy theories that accompanied it. In the internet era, everyone suddenly became an expert on COVID-19 and pundits cherry-picked the data that matched their beliefs and seemed to speak with authority. This resulted in an unprecedented infodemic that travelled faster, broader, and deeper more than the accurate information provided by virologists and related experts. Sadly, many Christians contributed to a season of uncertainty by distributing theories and conspiracies of fear and suspicion
The tipping points that COVID-19 offers to the Church is profound:
500 million people were added to global poverty – 8% of the global population. This provides new opportunities for Churches and missionaries to engage and expand their footprints in caring for the poor. Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in the USA shared on Christian Post[4] how the Church embraced the opportunities and has now become the largest food distributor in Southern California, having served over 3.5 million pounds of food to over 300,000 families.
With Churches being closed and meetings coming to a complete halt, technology opened new doors for believers to meet across theological, national, and cultural borders. Warren also shared how Saddleback has seen over 16,000 people come to Christ since March — and is continuing to see about 80 new conversions a day. “Of those 16,000 people who have come to Christ, over 12,000 of them have come through personal, one-on-one witnessing by my members. Not led to Christ by my sermons. By one-on-one evangelizing.” Warren shared
Travel came to a virtual standstill. This meant no short term outreaches, no training, no deliveries, and no meetings. The UNREACHED suddenly became INACCESSIBLE. This places a new missions emphasis on developing local and indigenous leadership and equipping local believers. This is a tipping point in how Churches approach missions
FINANCIAL RESOURCES also decreased and unemployment increased. Self-supporting pastors are now dependant on support and this should become a priority for those who seek to invest in poorer communities.
