Whether you live in a community that has managed to slow the spread of COVID-19 or one that remains significantly affected by outbreaks, chances are your friends and neighbors could benefit from talking through the pandemic’s effects on their lives.
SEND International’s COVID response team created a set of questions and passages from scripture to help launch these important conversations. Feel free to use this guide with your friends, family, neighbors, small group, Sunday School class—anyone who needs to process this experience. Click here to download the full COVID conversation guide.
On SEND’s fields, hundreds of conversations have taken place around the questions in this guide—a significant number of them with people who do not yet know the Lord. Our missionaries report that these conversations:
- Built understanding and empathy through common experience and shared stories. “It helped me see beyond my own personal experience. Debriefing opened new doors to hearing others’ perspectives, which were all so different!”
- Normalized difficult feelings, like anger, and acknowledged the emotional toll of this time. “It’s reassuring to know our shared experiences and ways we process this pandemic are not atypical.”
- Strengthened awareness that God is in control. “It gave me opportunity to share my hope in the Lord, my confidence in God’s sovereignty, and the experiential peace of God.”
- Helped people learn from one another. “The discussions allowed me to pivot to better safety practices from group learning.”
- Led to less isolation and loneliness. “It is not often that EVERY person you encounter has been through a similar situation. So, realizing that everyone has a COVID-19 experience is helpful.”
The discussion questions are:
- What has been particularly difficult or what losses have you experienced during COVID-19?
- What has provided hope or a step forward for you during this season?
- What name or phrase would you give to your experience during this pandemic?
- How has this crisis impacted your emotional life? Physical life? Spiritual life? Social life?
- How do you picture God in all of this? How have you related to God through the COVID-19 crisis? Has anything changed about your picture of God?
- How will you move forward from here? Do you need to forgive someone, make changes, manage your stress? Whom do you need to help you move forward?
It’s important that these conversations include active listening, empathizing, and giving space to share and grieve losses or to take hope in growth and change.
Click here to download the full COVID conversation guide, a free resource from SEND International. We hope it helps your community grow in faith during these challenging times.
SEND teams serve in more than 20 countries around the world. Explore our ministry guides to learn about the cultures and people groups we serve.
• Our total commitment to Jesus Christ fuels all that we do. Read SEND’s statement of faith.
• Learn about SEND International's mission, focus, and values.
