Isolated Church: Week Six – Anxiety

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

Week six: Anxiety…

Looking around it is not hard to spot that people are anxious. Maybe it’s seeing people rushing to and from the shop with their head down, maybe it’s seeing people jump back in fear when someone sniffs near them. Maybe you’re feeling pretty anxious as you spend lots of time reading the news and swiping through social media.

In this weeks session we want to encourage you to lift up your head, focus on God and learn from our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world who, despite dealing with daily anxiety, have found a peace that really does pass all understanding.

Before you jump in, we also know that during this global crisis our church family around the world are in need. The anxieties that we are experiencing are 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. 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!

Week six: 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 ‘Anxiety’ reflection…

Download the ‘Isolated Church – Anxiety’ Video reflection…

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 video.
  • Reflect on the questions, then read Khushal’s story.
  • Turn over and pray the final prayer. You’ll be done in under 10 minutes.

Simple.

If you are really struggling with anxiety, please do speak to someone you trust. You might want to explore some different coping mechanisms here…

Week six: 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: Anxiety’ 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.