When Grace Assembly of God‘s Senior Pastor Wilson Teo received the news that a pastor from his church had tested positive for COVID-19, the first thing that came to mind was: “Oh no! Why are we the ‘chosen one’ again?”
This week, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that a 30-year-old Singaporean permanent resident who works at Grace Assembly was among the 26 new cases on Wednesday night (May 26).
Expressing his surprise at how this could have happened, Pastor Wilson explained that the church had already suspended on-site services after May 2.
Other than essential personnel, all staff had also been instructed to work from home since then.
So when Grace Assembly made the headlines again yesterday, it seemed like it was all too familiar.
Early last year, the church became one of the first local COVID-19 clusters and was linked to 23 cases of COVID-19 infection, 17 of whom were church members or staff.
In fact, Pastor Wilson himself was one of the earliest COVID-19 survivors and had shared just four months ago about how the experience had been a crisis on many fronts: personal, family and church.
As it turned out, the female pastor had visited JEM on May 11 and went for a swab test on May 24 as part of MOH’s advisory.
“Nonetheless, we were still glad that our affected pastor is responsible and had responded voluntarily to the surveillance testing operations for those who had visited JEM and Westgate,” said Pastor Wilson.
“Otherwise, she may not have been detected given that she was asymptomatic.”
Remaining hopeful, Pastor Wilson pointed out that Singapore’s contact tracing capabilities are much better than a year ago.
He remarked: “We were quite confident that the authorities would be able to track down and ringfence those in close contact with the affected staff in a much shorter time than before.”
Comparing the overall response from the church this time, Pastor Wilson also observed: “We were calmer and more collected than last year when the virus first hit us.
“We immediately communicated the direction of online engagement with the church, and contacted members who may be adversely affected by the decision not to have on-site services. Thereafter, we pivoted online and continued our mission in discipling our members.”
3 LESSONS GRACE ASSEMBLY HAS TAKEN TO HEART
Reflecting on what the church has come to learn through the disruptions of COVID-19, Pastor Wilson outlined three lessons:
1. The method to connect with each other has changed, but the mission of the church remains the same
The pandemic has shown that church members are resilient and able to adapt to new ways of connecting with each other through digital technology.
As such, the church has “experimented and adopted different ways to ensure church life continues and that we stay connected with our members regardless of the situation”, said Pastor Wilson.
2. The church must be at the place where pain is
The painful trial that the church went through last year as a result of being a cluster has also heightened its awareness of those who might be struggling during this difficult season.
“In the current Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) period, we need to be sensitive to the needs around us so that we can better minister and reach out to those who are struggling – mentally, emotionally, and spiritually,” revealed Pastor Wilson.
“We are asking ourselves how to bring God’s healing touch to those who are in pain due to the current tightened measures.”
To that end, Grace Assembly had arranged for flowers, cards and snacks to be delivered to frontliners at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) earlier this week.
“Having gone through a similar episode last year when members of our church were shunned because we were the largest religious COVID-19 cluster, we could empathise with how the staff of TTSH felt – the fear, the anxiety, for their own health and that of their families, while having to carry on caring for their patients,” Pastor Wilson had said.
“As a church, we wanted to let them know that there are many of us who appreciate them and the sacrifices that they have made, so that the rest of us can be safe.”
3. The pandemic has reinforced the need for a faith community that is real, deep and transformative
Another takeaway for the church is the importance of small groups as an essential ministry that needs to be strengthened, especially in times like these when worshippers are unable to return for on-site church services.
“As the pandemic drags on, we need to ensure that every member is connected to a smaller community for spiritual engagement and support,” said Pastor Wilson.
Despite the fact that this latest development occurred at a time when the church had only recently begun to welcome members back on-site, Pastor Wilson said: “I don’t see this as a setback, but rather a reminder to stay nimble to adapt and change our strategies for the future.”
Operating within this volatile environment means that churches must stay agile to remain relevant in meeting the spiritual needs of congregants, he added.
“The latest tightened measures serve to test our internal church system and processes towards the new normal of constant uncertainty where churches must continue their mission without the comfort of our church premises.”
I don’t see this as a setback, but rather a reminder to stay nimble to adapt and change our strategies for the future.
Finally, even though these are unpredictable and challenging days, Pastor Wilson shared that we can trust that “God is still doing a great thing”.
“It encourages us whenever we receive testimonies of healing, salvations and baptism of the Holy Spirit, especially during this period when we can only invite friends and loved ones to pray or watch our services online, and listen to the message behind a screen,” he noted.
“This shows that our God is not limited by time or space. With technology, we can continue to minister to others and touch lives.”
Encouraging church members to pray for their leaders, Pastor Wilson urged: “Please pray for God’s wisdom to be upon the leadership of all the churches – not just Grace Assembly – that we will hear clearly from God on how we should disciple our sheep and reach out to pre-believers in these unprecedented times.
“And may He protect the Body of Christ as we unite to achieve greater things for His kingdom.”
- Pray for healing and recovery for the affected pastor and all COVID-19 patients.
- Pray for church leaders and members to adapt well to the evolving situation.
- Pray for those who have yet to know Christ – for opportunities to encounter Him and experience His goodness during this pandemic.
Remember to look out for the needs around you and reach out in love too!
