Ministry in a Mask

Jan 2022

 Annie and I are just getting over having Covid and being in quarantine for most of the school winter break. I can certainly say without question I’m growing weary of the pandemic and the limitations it has placed on ministry. Over the past twenty-five years that we have been reaching students with the Gospel there have been many ups and downs, but it has never been like this…

Not being able to meet in-person has caused a huge loss in momentum and student motivation at Nichols. Seniors and Juniors who were part of the ministry before covid have graduated without being able to help bring new students into the ministry. We are truly in a rebuilding year. 

This past semester we were finally able to meet in-person with students. However with masks required at all times inside buildings, students were not super excited to hang around and attend our Bible Study or any other planned activities wearing masks. Our usual go-to strategies involving food and close proximity games and events have been stripped away from us and are currently not an option. It’s so hard to do “ministry with a mask.” 

For so long I haven’t been unable to see a students face. Unable to see them smile. Forced to use my imagination as to what someone might look like. One student in my class while adjusting his mask, momentarily pulled it down below his chin and I realized he had a mustache, something I had never imagined! Voices are muffled and hard to hear. My eyeglasses are always fogging up! How do you get to know someone when you can’t even see them? Walking across campus I don’t recognize anyone. The cafeteria still mostly in a mode of social distancing makes yet another place where I would normally connect with students taken away… and again its so hard to do “ministry with a mask.”

And then I think… Ministry has always involved masks… In fact I have seen students wearing masks for twenty-five years. Not the kind you see with your eyes, or the kind that hide mustaches and smiles… I’m talking about the many invisible masks that hide their pain, hurt, and rejection. The masks that hide stories of parents going through a bitter divorce. The masks that conceal verbal, physical and sexual abuse. The masks that cover their addictions, fears and anxieties. The masks that tell them they are not good enough. The masks of confusion, depression and crisis. The masks connected to the loss of a loved one, a broken relationship, the failing grade, the criticism attached to not meeting demands and expectations.  The masks of conflict. The masks of brokenness. And the mask… that hides their spiritual emptiness… masks that can only truly be unmasked by the power of the Gospel. Imagine faces unveiled, beholding the glory of the Lord, and being transformed !!! 

Thank you for your support and prayers as we continue to do “Ministry with a mask.” 

=== JOE ===

2 Corinthians 3:16–18 (ESV)

16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Ministry Update: 

Your support of our ministry continues to fund younger staff who are not able to effectively raise their own support. While I may be only part-time, there is now MORE ministry happening than ever before. This year we have been able to strategically sponsor, Jaylyn, Kayla, Nora and Miranda! This was critically important especially during the pandemic. As an adjunct professor, I have been able to be on campus, and this past semester Nora has been able to join me! The creativity of our younger staff and their ability to merge technology with ministry has been so important. In November we had an in-person retreat with students from MA and NY and had a virtual connection to students in OR !  Sponsoring multiple staff this way is something I see as critical and necessary for the continuation of missionary work. In my experience here’s why:

• Most new and younger staff are not able to raise support from their peers because there is no passion or understanding of Missions. 
• Many new and younger staff today are not coming from Christian homes where there is potential family and home Church support.
• Most new and younger staff have to work outside of ministry limiting their availability to be in ministry and support-raise. 
• Most new and younger staff resign due to not being able to raise their support and the support that may have been raised is lost and not reinvested back into funding future staff. As I write this Noah has already resigned and the funds from our ministry account was immediately redirected to other staff.