Navigating Needs During and Beyond the Pandemic

One Sunday you are in church, sharing hugs, holding hands, and praising God with your neighbor. Then the following week you are mandated to stay home, turn on your T.V. or laptop, and watch service online. This is the experience of The Temple of Praise in Southeast Washington, DC, and many other churches across the United States. Pastors and ministries were not given a warning or instructions on how to handle the COVID-19 crisis and the abrupt changes. Many members lost their jobs and were forced out of their homes due to a pandemic with severe economic implications.

Although churches are expected to immediately meet the needs of the members, the church was never identified as essential, subsequently limiting the contact between clergy and members. The Temple of Praise, along with many other churches around the world, had to think of a strategic plan and respond Immediately.

The Temple of Praise continued to conduct online worship services and Bible study, but the tangible needs of members were still not met. The church decided to use their partnerships and networking to distribute fresh produce to families in need immediately following the church shut down.

Each week, families were able to drive-up or walk-up and receive a box full of groceries lasting for close to a week. The church was also able to provide produce to local ministries to support additional communities. This was part of a strategic plan that implemented collaborative partnership efforts to address community needs.

Now that the tangible needs and spiritual needs of the community were met, the church decided to target the spiritual development of youth during this pandemic. Youth are stuck on virtual school and zoom calls all week, and in order to engage them spiritually during this national crisis, a targeted focus and programming are required. Temple of Praise's Senior Pastor, W.

Lamar Staples, who took over the church from his father, Bishop Glen Staples, started youth bible study to support the spiritual development of youth as his first youth initiative. I want the youth and young adults to be the priority and focus of the ministry because the church will have no future without them," said Pastor Staples. He and Youth Pastor Arthur Darby decided to create a weekly Youth Q&A Bible study that allows youth to ask questions pertaining to the Bible and life.

Pastor Staples and Pastor Darby both conduct this live series weekly, where youth from any church can join in and submit questions. This has kept youth engaged and looking forward to the weekly discussion with anticipation.

The weekly Bible study sessions with youth and young adults ages 17-34 have been great, but also challenging. There are so many intriguing questions that oftentimes challenges traditionalism and requires a level of transparency that can be uncomfortable at times.

The youth are seeking to grow in an authentic relationship with God that extends beyond practice and that is rooted in truth. The youth and young adults shared they have enjoyed the transparency between Pastor Staples and Pastor Arthur," and like how their questions are answered with the Bible, but also real-life examples.

As one of the main facilitators, I find myself studying Scripture more to ensure that my responses and applications are rooted in Biblical doctrine. The reality is that I do not have all the answers. Some of my responses are subjective and are open to being challenged. I sometimes receive text messages from youth after the sessions asking for more clarity pertaining to my responses. I believe this is an advantage of the weekly sessions. It sparks dialogue in efforts to seek truth and understanding of the word of God. I expect these sessions to grow in the number of participants. I desire for more youth and young adults to feel comfortable acknowledging and expressing their spirituality. We currently have 75-100 viewers weekly on social media. We answer on average 8-10 questions per week to give us time to provide adequate responses. The goal after the pandemic is to be able to host the weekly Bible study in person with a live audience of youth and young adults.

In addition to the weekly Bible Study, Temple of Praise will have a Youth Discipleship Training starting in January that will teach and train youth on how to disciple during a crisis, such as the COVID pandemic. The instructional portion of the program will last 4 weeks and is open to all youth who are a part of any community. This program will allow youth to engage in developing programs and initiatives specifically for teens and young adults. We are encouraging the innovation of youth to facilitate the next moves for the church in efforts to target and embrace youth spirituality. A computer lab will be installed at the church to assist those participants that do not have computer or internet access at home.

The Temple of Praise is just one example of a church community that had to adapt and adjust through the complexities of this pandemic. It is an example that although the church is not classified as "essential, it has essential tasks and responsibilities.

In what ways can you partner with your ministry or local churches to ensure the essential needs of the community and youth are met? What innovative and creative ideas do you have to still engage the spirituality of the community and youth?

These are just some ways that The Temple of Praise has navigated this pandemic, but I am certain that the church has the answer to discipleship and survival during a crisis.