When Your Church Still Can’t Meet in Person — or Online

Bethany DuVal • Jun 10, 2021

Throughout the pandemic, churches have celebrated the power of online services. People who would never have set foot in a church could casually hop online for a bit of hope.

But for people in the community of Ciudad de Dios, going online for church is an impossible luxury.

Located on the outskirts of Arequipa, Peru , the neighborhood is made of people working simple jobs with meager wages. Any internet access comes in the form of cell phone data. And with schools online during COVID-19, families have had to use most of their data for their children’s educations.

Now, well into 2021, Peru is still under heavy pandemic restrictions .

So, how do you hold church in a community where people can’t go to a physical church, and online church is impossible?

If you’re the Christian Bible Church of Cuidad de Dios, you bring the church to people’s front doors.

Taking Church Door-to-Door

Like the neighborhood it sits in, Christian Bible Church (or Iglesia Biblica Cristiana ) is a modest community. Before the pandemic, they had a regular attendance of 10 adults and 30 to 40 kids.

“Adults … love to send their kids to church, whether that’d be a free babysitter or whether that be because they really want their kids to grow in the knowledge of the Bible,” says TEAM missionary Jason Sheets.

Rather than lament a lack of adults, the church chose to focus on the flock God had given them. The Peruvian staff, along with Jason and his wife, Sarah, built up their children’s program. They taught Sunday school, prepared meals and visited children’s homes.

But when COVID-19 hit, Peru went under heavy lockdown orders. Regular church ministry had to stop.

Because most people in Ciudad de Dios can’t perform their jobs online, the lockdown put them out of work entirely. Christian Bible Church quickly realized there was a vital need for food relief — and providing it would let them keep ministering to local children .

“We went every other week or so, … and we met the parents of these kids,” Jason says. “We met their older siblings. We met their entire family because everyone was stuck at home.”

Growing through Peruvian Efforts

As word spread about the church’s efforts, other churches started sending donations. Some funding came from the U.S., but local churches also saw an incredible opportunity to get involved.

With the additional funds, Christian Bible Church put together more food packets, visiting up to 200 families during each outreach. One Peruvian believer donated an oxygen tank. Another paid for a nurse to go into the community and check on patients every day.

Christian Bible Church’s parent church quickly joined the relief efforts, allowing the team to serve up to 200 families each outreach.

Christian Bible Church’s parent church quickly joined the relief efforts, allowing the team to serve up to 200 families each outreach.

The impact of Peruvians serving other Peruvians has been powerful .

“They speak the same heart language, and they understand each other at a deeper level,” Sarah says. And when wealthier Peruvians serve the marginalized, she says, “They’re crossing a huge cultural boundary that … wouldn’t have been cross without Christ.”

Like many churches, Christian Bible started holding Zoom meetings. Very few local people had the internet access they needed to attend, but most do have DVD players.

The team made DVDs of teachings from Peruvian believers and handed them out along with the food.

“People loved getting those discs, and they were like, ‘We’ve watched it like five times. Do you have another one?’” Sarah says.

Seeing God’s Provision

For some people, the church visits have felt miraculous.

One woman, Jaquelin, shared how she, her daughters and her elderly father ran out of food. Desperate, they began to pray. That same day, a Peruvian believer knocked on their door with a bag of food.

In that moment, Jaquelin says she understood that God hadn’t abandoned her — that He knows and cares for her family’s needs.

Like many recipients, Jaquelin also promised to come to church when it’s allowed to reopen. It’s impossible to know yet how many will keep that promise. Still, the church rejoices that so many have come to realize God’s love and care for them.

Trusting God for the Future

As 2020 began, Christian Bible Church had just started a five-year plan. Now, that plan has been thrown out the window.

As churches looked to streaming services to save them, Jason’s team had to find other options.

And yet, this small, humble church isn’t discouraged.

“I’ve just learned that regardless of circumstances, that God is faithful to His Church and that it doesn’t really depend on me or my strategy,” Jason says. “It really depends on Him and what He desires to do and how He desires to do it.”

Please pray with us for believers in Peru and other nations under pandemic restrictions. Pray for good health, and ask God to grant them wisdom and favor as they serve Him.

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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