How do we serve the Italian church during a pandemic? Contact Pastor Bill Shannon at Grace Community Church in Southern California and ask him to do three consecutive seminars once a week for three weeks on Zoom on the topic of Hope from the Word.
ITA rejoices as it looks back to a very challenging month of April and yet by God’s grace we were enabled to overcome it with much ministry fruit.
The opening paragraph of this update is but a brief anecdote of how the Lord moved our hearts to the conviction of needing to serve churches in Italy right away at the height of the coronavirus crisis last month. It also includes the blessed help the Lord brought our way.
Never before had it been thought of from the members of the ITA team let alone attempted. In spite of this, there we all were on the first Tuesday of the first seminar held on the 14th of April 2020. The Zoom call on that first seminar had close to a hundred participants from all over Italy, north-central-south.
Joining in on the meeting was quite a sight as the many smiling faces filled the monitor’s screen and brought a burst of instant joy! All the dear saints you normally see at various moments throughout the training year, and separately at the different training locations, now all together. The lockdown made it even more of a delight. Not being able to leave your home, not being able to go to church and fellowship, and simply unaccustomed to seeing people other than the members of your own family so to speak made the online reunion ever so precious.
Pastor Shannon, for whom we are indebted to for the prompt and profoundly pastoral care when called upon, was a seasoned shepherd with God’s word. The seminars thoroughly delved into Scripture to address trials related to fear, anxiety, suffering, and depression as a result of Italy’s trying bout with the pandemic. Each of the seminars sounded out hope and the resolve to continue to focus on the Lord’s Gospel work rather than succumb to fear.
ITA is truly encouraged from the result of the seminars and the gratitude expressed by the believers that participated. The ministry has because of this service progressed perhaps a step further in acquiring the trust of the church in Italy. Believers appreciate the fact that we care… not only about training them theologically… but we care about them and their churches spiritually (personally).
Please continue to pray for us as ITA strives to pursue training with excellence for the church in Italy at such a time as this.
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