When Covid-19 first struck everyone, many people were nervous that Churches would lose their meaning and not be able to continue providing believers with the fresh word and message, but I had a different experience. I attend a Church by the name of Liquid that seeks to “liquify the culture and immerse it in Christianity through acceptance and community.” When my family starting attending online Church, however, I felt very discouraged that I wasn’t going to get the same experience or feel the same love for Christ as I had previously when going to Church in person, but that all changed very soon. About the 4th week into the the online Church, I had a very profound sense of anxiety that things weren’t going to get better and that the end was near, but while watching Online Church, that specific Sunday, I looked down at the bottom right corner and saw something very comforting. It was a live prayer line where you could chat with a Church member who would pray with you right there and assist your needs. This women had prayed with me and gave me a relief that all of this was in God’s hands, I needed to let go, and He was working this for good. From that point o, I had a very different outlook on the Pandemic and let God take control over my stress, anxiety, and worries.
With a lot of other Churches, I find that they are simply just putting out the message, worship, and getting the point across, but with Liquid, I feel like they are really finding innovative ways to reach out to the community and fulfill their spiritual needs. On top of providing a live prayer room during the service, Liquid also provides weekly Church meetings dedicated to Praying for the country, families in need, and many other things that may be of importance. Finally, Liquid seemingly provides a profound sense of community by even having “Christian Happy Hour” where members of the Church can come together every week day and spend time listening to each other, helping one another, and showing the love of Christ. Even though Covid-19 has provided various challenges and attempted to stop the busy lives of individuals, Liquid will never stop creating and innovating ways to bring the word to the followers of Christ.
Here is the Link to the Church to learn more:
Wow this is so encouraging! I have not heard of a church utilizing a prayer chat feature like this with their online services, but it sounds like a really good idea that positively impacted you and probably many others. I am glad to hear that your church took the liberty to get creative with their response to the pandemic. I hope that whether or not we face pandemics in the future, we never stop thinking about new ways we can serve and connect with people better for the sake of the gospel. Thanks for sharing!
When everything went virtual, church community was a major concern of mine as well. How would we be able to support and share burdens with one another if we don’t know what is going on in their lives? As time has gone on, I feel like a lot of churches are starting to adapt but could still use more innovation. My church has had the same prayer chat function which is good but still lacks that member to member connection. I haven’t heard of many churches doing prayer video chats or hang out times but I think more should start doing them because it helps bring the community nature back to churches