‘Back to normal.’ It’s what most Canadians—and people worldwide—would like right about now: for COVID-19 to be old news and for life to get back to normal.
But at Samaritan’s Purse, we’ve learned a timeless truth after decades of experience working in long-term disaster recovery. There is no such thing as ‘back to normal.’
Any significant life experience heightens awareness, teaches us new things, and produces effects that simply can’t be undone. Every crisis ushers in a ‘new normal’—and this will hold true for the COVID-19 crisis too.
“Many years ago, the great writer and theologian A.W. Tozer made this profound statement: ‘A scared world needs a fearless church.’ That is so true. During this time with the coronavirus, fear is gripping the hearts of people around the world. We who are the Church need to stand up and be the hands and feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
– Franklin Graham
If we wait for life to return to an ‘old normal,’ we risk robbing ourselves of the treasure lying at the heart of the fire we’ve faced: the opportunity to actually benefit from taking the heat.
Take this moment in history, for instance. Everywhere, people are being innovative and discovering new ways of doing things. Many of us are working from home for the first time—experimenting with and learning about the technologies that allow us to work remotely. Neighbors are interacting with each other in new ways. Students are learning differently.
With some intentionality, all of this innovation can contribute to improved ways of doing life. It simply must, if any meaningful, positive effect is to be drawn out of the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 also forces the Church to consider the reality of a new normal. Now is a time for us to lead our communities into a future that reflects a “Common-Unity” rooted in God’s love for His world.
Samaritan’s Purse Canada is available to work with churches—drawing on our disaster recovery experience—to help discover what this ‘new normal’ might look like. Together, we’ll explore what the Church’s role can be in our communities right now and after the COVID-19 crisis is over. Peruse our website for more information or contact us at [email protected] to get a hold of one of our staff.
“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert” (Isaiah 43:18-19, ESV).
Help Samaritan’s Purse strengthen the impact of local churches in communities recovering in the aftermath of disasters. As caring Christians are trained and empowered to walk alongside individuals and families to find solutions to complex needs, God opens doors to share the Gospel.