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Rising to the Covid-19 Challenge “There is an unstoppable wave of pastoral and practical challenges facing church leaders” Jason Lane. At the start of the pandemic, at Innovista, we heard a cry for help. Church leaders, like many of us, were overwhelmed and scared. The world around them had changed and so had church life. Their buildings were often closed. People were coming to them with terrible stories of hardship. They needed a new way to be church in very different times. They simply didn’t know where to begin.
Baha providing food parcels to the elderly in Central Asia
Answering this cry for help, we carried out 647 emergency coaching sessions with over 250 leaders in the first few months of the pandemic - mostly online. These sessions focussed on encouraging leaders to reach out beyond their churches and into their communities to serve the most vulnerable.
The sessions covered topics such as: • Serving the mission of God • Care for the poor and vulnerable • Courage and creativity In turn, the leaders have been both courageous and creative. New projects sprung up across the region, as leaders mobilised their churches and rose to a new challenge.
