Crisis Response: Leading Well and Loving our City
Moments like these remind me of how grateful I am to belong to a citywide community of women and men who love Jesus, genuinely care for one another, and deeply desire to follow the Holy Spirit's lead.
The Within Reach movement exists, in part, for such a time as this and I believe that we have a tremendous opportunity, in the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic, to band together like never before in order to extend compassion and hope toward our great city.
It's going to take clarity, courage, and creativity to do so; however, I am confident that Jesus will lead his church to be a source of light and vitality during dark and uncertain times.
Tremendous insights have been offered this week around how we, as leaders, can respond in the face of the current crisis. One resource, written by Carey Nieuwhof, stands out among the best because of its sound and practical wisdom.
You can find that post here!
In addition to what has already been shared, we want to provide helpful resources to assist and encourage as you make the very best decisions for the good of your families, teams, and faith communities in the days ahead.
Here are five resources!
Online Church Platforms ZOOM call w/ Myron Pierce: Thursday, March 19 @ 2PM - Myron, a social media and online platforms guru, will lead us through a conversation on how to service-proof your church by leveraging affordable platforms and tools. We would love for you and your team to join us. Here is the ZOOM link!
Online Church Resources: Our friends at Stadia Church Planting have released several helpful resources including a 75-minute webinar to help churches create fast and affordable online worship experiences. Here is the link to Stadia.
Collaborative Conversation: Friday, March 20 @ 9AM - Within Reach will host a conversation for city and church leaders to prayerfully explore ways that we can respond collectively and compassionately to the needs of our city. You can join us by following the RSVP link below. Location TBD.
Within Reach Crisis Response Team: We are currently identifying a team of leaders who will help identify ways to best provide care, resources, and direction to our church partners.
Presence: We are here to encourage and assist you in any way possible. No matter the need, please know that you can always reach me directly at jed@withinreach.com.
Finally, I know that many of you are currently making decisions around whether to gather publicly or online this weekend. While we pray that God provides you with clarity and wisdom, we want to offer a message from our good friends at Christ Community that we hope will be of encouragement as you finalize your plans. You can listen to Mark Ashton's message here.
May God guide you every step of the way, and may the goodness and beauty of Jesus be seen in all that you do.