Luke 6: 48-49 (NKJV) “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, ICS has experienced many challenges. Firstly, we had to switch to online services since no physical church gatherings were allowed. This was challenging, as I am not gifted in preaching to the camera. I do not belong to the Tik-Tok, Instagram, and Snapchat generation. I am a preacher who need to see the response of the congregation when I speak. Now I had to preach by faith to the camera to an imaginary audience and I had to learn to flow with the Holy Spirit when I am on camera. But praise the Lord, His grace is sufficient for me. When I am weak, then I am strong in Him. To further complicate the situation, the district authorities asked us to password-protect all our online sermons and daily devotionals, and no online seminars or in-person cell group meetings were to be held. We submitted to these requests and complied.
Nowadays, since there are no physical church services, everyone can choose whoever they want to listen to online during this pandemic. In fact, people are presented with a spiritual buffet or smorgasbord whereby they can tune in to listen to world-renowned pastors and preachers. Who would want to listen to an unknown Singaporean pastor of an international church in Shanghai? There have been reports of overseas churches closing down due to the pandemic; attendance dropped when church services moved online and financial giving declined significantly, in some cases by as much as 70-85%. Some overseas local churches are also closing down, their sheep have scattered and preachers have had to take up secular jobs. Talk about the stream that beats against the house!
But we at ICS did not panic in the midst of the pandemic. The Kids Church staff quickly launched an online Kids Church on WeChat and delivered craft work to the homes of all our children. Our Media team came up with a popup studio which has now become quite professional. The Trailblazers youth service went online. We record our Sunday sermons on Wednesdays, teach our cell group leaders online on Thursday nights and record our bilingual sermons on Saturday mornings. The viewership has been close to 1000 weekly, the Kids Church posts receive approximately 130-140 views weekly and the youth service is also healthy. And last but not least, financial giving for the 2020/21 financial year exceeded our budget by more than Rmb 500,000. Glory to God! Though there are adversities, affliction and tribulation, the church of the living God marches on despite all setbacks. The gates of hell cannot stand against her. And a strong foundation in Christ keeps all of us resilient, enabling us to work together as a team.
Sermon Series: Resilience (Part 3)
应对冲击
路加福音6:48-49 他像建造房屋的人，很深地挖地，把根基建在磐石上。到发大水的时候，水冲击那房子，房子总不能动摇它，因为根基建在磐石上。若那听见而不去行的，就像人在地上建造房屋，没有根基，以致水一冲来。它随即倒塌了。那座房子坏的很严重。
自新冠疫情以来，ICS经历了许多挑战。首先，我们不得不不将主日崇拜改为线上，因为不允许进行实体线下教会聚会。这很有挑战性，因为我没有对着镜头讲道的天赋。我不属于 Tik-Tok、Instagram 和 Snapchat的世代。我是一个传道人，我讲道时需要看到会众的反应。现在我必须凭信心对着镜头向想象中的听众讲道，当我在镜头前时，我必须学会与圣灵一起流动。但赞美主，祂的恩典够我用。我何时软弱，就何时在祂里面刚强。雪上加霜的是，地区当局要求我们对所有在线布道和日常灵修进行密码保护，并且在线研讨会或实体线下小组会议都不能举行。 我们顺服遵守这些规定。
如今在这疫情期间，由于没有实体教堂礼拜，因此人人都可以选择他们想在网上收听的牧师和其他信息。事实上，摆在他们面前的是一份属灵的自助餐或大杂烩，指尖一点，他们就能收听世界知名的牧师和传教士的演讲。谁还会想听一位籍籍无名的上海国际教会的新加坡牧师？时常有报道称海外教会因疫情而关闭；当教会敬拜转移到线上时，不仅出席率下降，财务捐赠也显著下降，某些甚至下降了70-85%。 一些海外地方教会也纷纷关闭，其羊群四散，传道人不得不从事世俗工作。这不就是经上所说的冲击房屋的洪水嘛！
瘟疫肆虐，但在ICS的我们并没有惊慌失措。儿童教会的同工人员很快在微信上开办了一个线上儿童教会，并将手工材料寄送到所有孩子们的家。我们媒体团队设立了一个临时工作室，如今已成为一个非常专业的工作室。青少年团契也在线上聚会了。我们在周三录制主日讲道，周四晚上教导小组长，周六上午录制双语讲道。每周的观众人数接近一千人，儿童教会的发布每周约有130-140人次的观看，青少年团契也是健康的。最后一点是，在2020/2021的财政年度，我们收到了超出预算50万的捐献，荣耀归主！虽有逆境、苦难和患难，永生命活神的教会依旧大踏步一往无前。地狱之门不能抵挡永生神的教会。在基督里的坚固根基使我们保持韧劲，大家合一在团队里团结在一起工作。
讲章系列：韧性（反弹/恢复能力)（第三部分)