After the outbreak of the epidemic which has profoundly changed the world, including the churches and believers, online services emerge to nurture Christians, though having some limitations and deficiencies, which exist in the online communion, for example.
Believer G(pseudonym)’s Church launched a family worship campaign recently, of which the congregation were very supportive, as they know the importance of the family worship which is not easy to carry out. G’s family had carried out a certain number of family services before, however, they did not last very long.
This time, with the participation of several other families of the church, the situation became completely different. For at least 40 days, no matter how busy G’s family was and no matter what happened, the family worship would start either earlier or later, due to the circumstances at that time. Between family members, it’s bound to happen.
His two children were not very cooperative at first due to their young age. One day, at 9:00 pm, they were noisy when the family worship service was about to start, so G was very unhappy, his face downcast. But in the process of reading the Bible, G’s mood had been imperceptibly changing with a gentle heart, as well as his children, who gradually became quieter. At that time, G thought of the story of Peter preaching to Cornelius after God worked in both of them simultaneously, as God moved the hearts of G and his children at the same time that night.
The family worship was held during the period of the strictest lockdown in Shanghai in April or May when many people were full of stress, anxiety, and hopelessness. Not only had G and his wife been affected a lot, but even their two children had become irritable and restless because they could not go out of the house. But when they insisted on conducting the family worship, God let them go through the most difficult time since the outbreak of COVID-19, giving them peace, joy, and hope.
Due to the epidemic and other factors, G believes that believers should realize the importance and urgency of family worship and start to engage in it, just like Joseph, prime minister in Egypt, began to store up food against the next seven years of famine.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
