Remember when Elijah was struggling? He had just come from a great victory over the false gods at Mt. Carmel. God had sent down fire from heaven to consume the altar and show everyone that He was the one and only true God.
But throughout this experience, Elijah still felt alone. He was struggling in ministry. He felt like he was the only one that was serving God.
Look with me at what he says in 1 Kings 18:22.
Then Elijah said to them, I am the only prophet of the LORD who is left, but Baal has 450 prophets.
God goes on to remind Elijah that He is not alone. There are thousands of others who are facing some of the same challenges He is facing.
Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.
Elijah needed to hear that. He felt isolated and alone. Wondering if he would survive this time of intense ministry. Knowing that he was not alone was good to hear.
Fast forward to now. Like Elijah, you have seen God do some wondrous things. And then Covid19 came on the scene. And with the virus, came intense challenges that you had never faced before. Challenges that decimated your volunteer team and forced you to do ministry in a different way.
And you've been discouraged. Even to the point of wanting to call it quits. Kinda' like Elijah. Discouraged and frustrated.
You have lost many of your volunteers. You are not alone.
You have had families tell you that they are not comfortable coming back to church yet, but they don't hesitate to head to the ball field. You are not alone.
You have classrooms that you have not been able to open back up due to lack of volunteers. You are not alone.
You have had some parents stop bringing their family to church and they have no plans to ever come back. You are not alone.
You have had to chop your budget down. You are not alone.
You feel like you're starting from scratch and you're having to rebuild the ministry. You are not alone.
You are feeling overwhelmed. You are not alone.
You have doubts about the ministry ever rebounding to where it was before the pandemic. You are not alone.
You miss not being able to do some of the big summer events like VBS, camp, trips to parks, etc, You are not alone.
You are searching and seeking God's will about next steps you should take, but you feel like the heavens are silent. You are not alone.
There are thousands of other leaders who are praying and working to come up with viable ministry solutions that will enable ministries to move forward and continue reaching and discipling kids and families.
And don't isolate yourself. Stay connected with other children's ministry leaders. Share ideas. Pray together. Encourage one another. Share best practices.
Yes. It's a tough time in ministry right now. But it's also a time of God refining us and molding us into His image.
Challenging time in ministry? You are not alone.
Your turn.
What are some things you are struggling with during this pandemic?
What have you done to start rebuilding your team?
How can 1 pray for you and your ministry?
Share your thoughts and prayer requests in the comment section below.
