We are living in strange and unsettling times, aren’t we? How do we cope? Well, it became apparent in our congregation that, as the Coronavirus crisis has hit, we have needed continual spiritual encouragement. Hebrews 3:13 says 'But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.’ We have always needed regular daily encouragement, but our situation now has made that need even more real.
Therefore, I decided that I would try to put together a daily mini-podcast for our congregation to help them navigate all the personal and discipleship challenges we're facing. Each episode is 7-8 minutes long and looks at a particularly relevant topic or Scripture. So far we have covered issues such as ‘listening to the news’, ‘panic buying’, ‘parenting in a crisis’, ‘Psalm 23’, and ‘preserving our mental health’. This has been good for me to do for my own discipleship, as well as hopefully of help to the church. It has also been an opportunity to reach unbelievers as the congregation have sent out some of the recordings to friends and family.
As with everything with our present crisis, we’re learning old things in a new way. For me, I am being convicted of our need for regular encouragement, together with the need to address specific discipleship issues. Whatever way you do it, let’s keep spurring one another on to follow Jesus amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andy Mason is Vicar of St. John's Chelsea, and Director of Training for Co-Mission. Below is a selection of episodes from the daily podcast.
Read Andy's latest article "Facing Coronavirus in Christ."
