It’s been said that “missions is your ecclesiology armed with a passport.”[1] The difference between what we pastors do in Genoa, Italy and what pastors do in the United States is geographical, not philosophical. Therefore, I want to share with you some truths we in Italy have leaned into in recent days of the COVID-19 epidemic.
COVID-19 CAN’T STOP THE GREAT COMMISSION
It would be easy to see COVID-19 as a hindrance to the progress of the Great Commission in Genoa. If you had asked me three weeks ago how ministry was going, my response would have likely included something about being encouraged by “momentum in ministry”—from evangelistic Bible studies to one-on-one discipleship; from counseling to the preparation of candidates for membership.
Yet our region, Liguria, was one of the first outside of the “red zone” to adopt containment measures. At first it seemed we would only be asked to forego our traditional Italian greeting (kissing on the cheek), but it quickly became apparent that everything I once called “momentum” would have to be put on hold.
Therefore, the arrival of COVID-19 in Italy has become an opportunity to renew our minds as to just how the Great Commission marches
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