Isolated Church: Week Five – Waiting

Grow with God during the COVID-19 lockdown. Short on time? Scroll down for a lite option!

Week five: Waiting…

Everybody loves waiting right? Waiting for that new season on Netflix to binge on, waiting for that YouTube video to stop buffering, waiting for COVID-19 to be over and social restrictions to be lifted.

There have been glimmers of hope in the news headlines and daily briefings about the lifting some of the restrictions. However, we are still being asked to wait: “Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives”. At times this can be frustrating, however we want to encourage and challenge you with stories from our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world who are holding onto their faith in Jesus whilst they don’t just wait, but wait on God.

So, find a good chair, grab a drink, your Bible, a pen, some paper and get ready to hear some amazing stories that will challenge and encourage you to trust in God’s plan and purpose during this time of waiting.

Before you jump in, we also know that during this global crisis our church family around the world are in need. The frustration of waiting that we are experiencing is being shared by Christians who are really struggling during this outbreak. In India, many Christians come from poorer communities. Being on lock-down means they can’t work, which means no money for rent or food. All they can do is wait for supplies and food. And this is where we can stand with them, providing what they need whilst restrictions are still in place. Please check out the new coronavirus crisis appeal here, take on a fundraising challenge, share the link and help your church family around the world. Thank you!

Waiting

Vid 2: Noeh

Vid 3: Noeh

Week five: Reflection download…

Download this little devotional for prayers, stories, activities and some Bible stuff to help you lean into God despite the fear and doubt that you may be experiencing through this crisis! Reading through, with some time to stop, think and pray, shouldn’t take no longer than 20 minutes max, but take your time, we want this stuff to sink in for you! This reflection works alongside the video, so you can either stream it or download a copy…

Download the Isolated Church ‘Waiting’ reflection…

Download the Isolated Church ‘Waiting’ video…

Download the Noeh 1 Vid: ‘I want to be a teacher’…

Download the Noeh 2 Vid: ‘Home and hope’…

Short on time? Only got ten minutes?

If you haven’t got loads of time or aren’t a big reader, don’t panic, you can still use the materials. Try this:

  • Download the reflection watch the first video about Rebecca.
  • Reflect on the questions, writing out a prayer.
  • Turn over, read and act on one of the responses, and pray the final prayer. You’ll be done in under 10 minutes.

Simple.

Week five: Youth leader notes…

We’ve also adapted the reflection above to give you some ideas and content to use in a virtual youth group setting. Have a look at the notes below to see how you can work through the stories, discussion points, prayers and activities with your group in an online chat. You don’t have to use all the material, see what will work for you.

Download ‘Isolated Church: Waiting’ leader notes…

If you’d like one of our team to join your youth group via video – we’d love that! We’re often out speaking at Youth Groups and events and would be happy to present a quick thought or devotional to help your group grow through the current crisis. If you’re interested, then drop us a line at youth@opendoorsuk.org…

That’s it for this week. Thanks for checking out the resource. We hope you’ve found it useful, challenging and inspiring. Let us know what you think and tell us any things you’d like us to cover in future weeks too. Drop us a line at youth@opendoorsuk.org – we’d love to hear from you.

Want to access other Isolated Church reflections?

Head to the Isolated Church landing page to download all the reflections we’ve produced so far.

We support people who are beaten, tortured,
imprisoned, falsely accused, and hated simply for following Jesus.