Life is Done Better Together

In MARCH 2020, ONE THING WAS MADE CLEAR TO THE STAFF OF WOODBURY LUTHERAN CHURCH: WHILE THE WORLD WAS SHUTTING DOWN DUE TO COVID-19, MINISTRY WOULD CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. SO, WE PUT OUR VIRTUAL HEADS TOGETHER AND GOT TO WORK.

Our staff worked together and our senior leadership encouraged us to try new things to care for our members (huge shout out to Pastor Tom Pfotenhauer and Joel Symmank…there’s no one else I’d rather have leading us).

It wasn’t easy at times. We mourned events that didn’t happen the way we envisioned, mission trips that we didn’t get to go on, and we longed for the days when the sanctuaries at our campuses would be filled again. Even though we mourned, we knew our people needed to hear that their God loves them. Regardless of the circumstances, this is our calling as church workers.

While we navigated ministry in a pandemic, our Directional Leadership Team came up with five guiding principles from which all of our ministerial decisions would flow out of:

1. We will be good citizens (Romans 13)

2. We will provide ongoing ministry (Hebrews 10:25)

3. We will make personal connections (Philippians 1:3-6)

4. We will find ways to help (James 1:27)

5. We will steward our resources well (1 Peter 4:10)

These five guiding principles were a lifesaver for the entire staff. They not only helped us make decisions, but they gave us ideas. They gave us the freedom to dream of new and exciting ways to connect with our people and to reach out into our community. These principles helped us to continue down the path of multiplying disciples and transforming lives.

I have the joy of being able to walk alongside the kids at our Valley Creek campus and the youth of our Oak Hill campus. Over the past year, we have:

• Created quality weekly online kids ministry programming

• Provided in-person and online options for both kids and youth • Hosted Vacation Bible Schools in the parking lot of our campuses

• Found ways to make our faith milestones (First Communion, Confirmation, Bible University for our 3rd graders) not only happen but still be celebrated by the WLC community

As we’ve navigated this past year, we’ve learned lessons along the way, but we’ve been reminded time and time again that life is done better together.

We saw that in the teens who were willing to sit on yet another Zoom call on a Wednesday night when they spent all day in and out of calls for school.

We saw that in the kids on the roofs of their parents’ cars in our parking lot for VBS.

We saw that in our small group leaders who went out of their way to make sure our kids knew they were loved by them, their church, and God.

It’s my prayer that we never forget the ministry lessons we learned in 2020 and how we saw God’s presence and guidance as we made tough ministry decisions, how the Holy Spirit worked in creative ways, and how Christ’s love and compassion flowed to and through our church family as well as our community.

— Story by Sarah Dibbern, BA ‘15, Director of Christian Education at Woodbury Lutheran Church, Woodbury, Minn. | Photos Courtesy of Sarah Dibbern and Woodbury Lutheran Church

Parking lot VBS in summer 2020