Though a winter storm may have prevented some churches from meeting in person Jan. 25, many church leaders still pressed forward with online services — while others became the hands and feet of Jesus in their communities.
Steven Kelly, association mission strategist with Morehouse and Northeast Louisiana Baptist associations, believes “COVID prepared us for today.”
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“Most churches learned how to adapt when they couldn’t meet then, and they just fell back to what they did in 2020,” Kelly noted. “Some recorded a modified service earlier in the week, just in case they needed it. A number of others sought to do it live Sunday.
“The problem with going live … was technical issues with Internet and power outages,” he continued. “Some that planned to do this were unable to. No pastor wanted to cancel but I am not aware of any church in our association that met in person. Ouachita Parish was hit hard with significant power outages and trees down. I have never seen an ice storm like this in my lifetime — and we served as church planters in Iowa for three winters.”
Glenn Harrigill, pastor with Riverside Baptist Church, Vidalia, took to Facebook to deliver his message. Broadcasting from his living room with his wife, daughter, her husband and three of his grandchildren and a couple church members, Harrigill shared about hope found amid challenging circumstances.
“We all face difficult times in our life,” Harrigill said, basing his message on Isaiah 43:1–7. “Our hope is found in a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
“In these verses He tells us that He created us, He formed us, He redeemed us, He has called us by name and the we are His,” he continued. “What a comfort and encouragement to know that He knows me by name, I’m precious in His sight, He loves me and will never leave me nor forsake me.”
First Baptist Church Wisner, moved its Sunday worship service to Jan. 23. Pastor Garrison Griffith said because of the uncertainty with the forecast, church staff members and ministry team leaders believed changing the date was the best option.
Helping others
For his part, Daniel Binkley spent his Sunday morning helping others in the community, including fellow pastor Joey Smith, pastor with Grayson Baptist Church.
Binkley, who became pastor with Columbia Heights Baptist Church, Columbia, on Jan. 1, was driving around the area when he encountered Smith, who needed helped removing and cutting up a large limb that covered his driveway.
Evangelist Kyle Williams was unable to preach as planned at multiple churches and an outreach at the St. Mary Parish Jail in Centerville on Sunday, but two days earlier saw four individuals turn to Jesus at a funeral, where he shared the gospel.
Williams was excited that God moved even amid the changes in his schedule.
“The family was praying for a move of God,” he said. “For God to continue using Eli to point others to Christ.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Brian Blackwell and originally published by the Baptist Message.
