Volume 9 No. 3: March 25, 2020

COVID-19: The Short-Term Missions Game Changer

by David Nakhla,
Coordinator, OPC Short-Term Missions and Disaster Response

No doubt there are many wondering today what the coming summer holds, even though it’s just a few short months away. Will I graduate? Can I take my family vacation? Will I still be in school given all the time lost? Will I still have a job? Can I even leave my home?

And some readers of the STORM Report might be wondering, will I still be able to participate in short-term missions?

With the virus looming darkly over us, the one thing that is clear is that no one but God knows the answer to all of these questions. From our limited, human perspective, everything is up in the air and anything is possible. While some mission fields have already chosen to cancel their summer teams, for most it’s simply too early to decide. Can I encourage you in the thought that the Lord, in His divine providence, has opened up a short-term mission field to you right where you are -- right in your own neighborhood?

One of my roles is to serve as the OPC’s Disaster Response Coordinator. In that capacity, I am privileged to enter into a disaster that one of our churches might be facing, to advise them on how to prepare for the weeks, months, and possibly years ahead, and to coordinate assistance to bring them through it. With a local disaster, it's important for a local church to consider that most likely their ministry has instantly changed from what it was before the disaster. The normal lives their congregants once enjoyed have been stripped away. They all now suffer as affected persons, suffering the trauma of one of the most difficult things to have lived through, and possibly suffering additional trauma as the effects of the disaster are uncovered bit by bit.

In a similar fashion, we are now living through a disaster of sorts. COVID-19 is a special kind of disaster, and the aftermath it’s leaving in its wake looks quite different from a hurricane, and yet, it’s dramatic nonetheless. What’s so unique about this COVID-19 disaster is that it is not bound by a local or regional area. Nearly the entire world is suffering from it directly. Further, it’s a disaster that is still unfolding. We can sense that the tide is rising and that it's rising fast, but it is so hard to see or measure. This is certainly evidenced by the drastic, and even draconian, measures being taken by governments around the world. These measures are incurring unknown harm to our economies and financial systems as well as our emotional well-being, but are intended to lessen the deadly impact of this virus. It is unclear what a “post-COVID-19” world will look like, but it's likely to be different from life as we knew and enjoyed just a few months ago.

As such, most of whom we know are living with a growing level of fear: fear of the unknown, the invisible, the future--the things they love most.  Some may even fear death. This fear might be felt by our friends and neighbors.  Do they know the love and hope that we hold in Christ?

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to imply that it’s all bad. Beautiful things are happening as well. The saints are surrounding each other with love and kindness. There is contact between believers occurring in new and creative ways. The saints are finding ways to continue to worship together, using technology and other means. And no doubt there are some who are willingly endangering their own well-being in service to others. There are deacons who are actively considering which members may lose employment or income because of COVID-19; whose businesses will be scaled back or shut down. They are considering ways to minister to families who are suffering a prolonged quarantine due to exposure to, or testing positive for, COVID-19. These are awesome things for which we can praise God.

Will short-term missions occur this summer? Possibly not in the way we typically think of, but that might just be because we have our hands full with short-term missions right in our own backyard-–ministering to the saints and providing hope for those who are looking for the answer to all their fears. May God be glorified in this unique form of short-term missions that is afforded us all in these peculiar days.

OPC Disaster Response

Have you taken the time to watch the OPC Disaster Response "The Houston Story"? If you haven't, now is the time! During this time of uncertainty, we rest in the fact that God is in complete control and our purpose in this temporary home has not changed. The goal for OPC Disaster Response has been to get 300 registered volunteers by hurricane season (June). We are dealing with another "disaster" (of sorts) right now--and may be called on to help churches and neighbors around the country when "social distancing" is lifted.

Please watch the video, take the time to browse our website and register. It only takes a few minutes. Help us to be ready for when we are called to aid our neighbor. We have 185 registered to date. opcdisasterresponse.org. 

The Houston Story

We are currently at 185 volunteers registered.

Just 115 to go! Help us get ready!

Small Roofing Team in Haiti 

Ben Hopp writes: 

After almost two years in the planning, we were finally able to host a construction team to complete the Kaliko Roofing Project. Unrest in the past required this team to be canceled twice. We are thankful that the Lord provided a safe window for the team, coming mainly from Wisconsin OP churches, to complete the project. The seven team members arrived just before the Coronavirus grew serious in the US and before the US Embassy in Haiti upgraded the Haiti Travel Warning to Level 4: Do Not Travel. 

The old asbestos shingles were removed, and new ones were put on. The entire house had new aluminum soffits and fascia installed. The team worked on a blistering hot, sun-baked roof for three days. They moved safely up and down the ladders for five days and used tethers to protect them from sliding off the steep pitch on the roof. They worked sun-up to sundown. The roof project was successfully completed last week. 

We are so thankful to the team for their faithful and joyful labors, including the wife of one of the members who came to help [my wife] Heather prepare meals and fellowship with her. Our kids were able to participate in some of the many smaller jobs that make our daily life easier. We thank the Lord that so many jobs got done!

2020 Short-Term Missions Opportunities

With the uncertainty of the current COVID-19 situation, the plans for OPC Short-Term Missions trips may change. Please keep updated by going to our website,
OPCSTM.org and follow us on social media, OPCShorttermmissions and @OPCSTM.

Churches Helping Churches

Is your church planning to host (Lord willing) VBS or other outreach opportunities this summer? Could you use additional help in pulling them off from other like-minded churches and individuals?  Contact David Nakhla today to help you serve your community this summer.

The Mercy Minute

Are you an OPC deacon or do you know one who may not be receiving our diaconal ministries newsletter? Let us know! Contact David Nakhla.

Get a printable summary of this S.T.O.R.M. Report (poster and bulletin insert available):

Our Websites:

Check out our websites where you can find previous issues of our newsletters, "S.T.O.R.M. Report", and "The Mercy Minute." Sign up to be added to the OPC Disaster Response Registry and you'll receive "The Disaster Response Insider Post".

Sarah Klazinga
Administrative Assistant
Short-Term Missions and Disaster Response
Sarah.klazinga@opc.org