One of the things that the COVID pandemic has thrust upon us is the need to experiment and innovate. While many of the pressures created by the pandemic have been unwelcome, have created angst, and have created a sense of loss, forced adaptive change also creates opportunity.
This season is not just one to be endured, but an occasion to learn new lessons, to discover new things about ourselves, both individually and corporately, and to seek new ways to be faithful to our calling as Jesus followers. Involuntary innovation is rarely enjoyable, but it is important.
My prayer is that this long season of disruption will generate new creativity, new insight, and fresh approaches to work, life, relationships, and ministry.
First Pres is committed to the work of innovation and experimentation when it comes to ministry this year. It will not be easy and, surely, everything we try will not end up being a homerun. But we want to walk alongside you as we together find fresh ways of being the church, sharing the Good News of Jesus, and growing in our relationships with God.
The First Pres staff is working hard at adaptation and innovation in our various areas of ministry and staff members are currently collaborating with many of you as ministry leaders in that work. As the church continues to worship online, a host of other in-person and online ministry experiments are underway.
We will need your help this year during this season of forced adaptive change. We will need your prayers, your patience, your participation, and perhaps most importantly, your insights. Let us know your ideas, the opportunities you see for ministry, the ministry experiments that are helpful, and the ones that are not. The church is devoted to finding ways to meet you in your COVID-modified life in order to help you and your family move closer to God during even this season of life.
Together we will do more than survive this pandemic together; we will learn, grow, serve, share, and celebrate God’s goodness as a church family.
