The airwaves and newspapers are buzzing with information and opinions about COVID19. What should your church do about coronavirus? These Bible Truths will help you know.

Viruses are scary. History is replete with examples of deadly plagues and sicknesses. No one wants to get sick. Everybody wants to protect their family.

When social distancing is promoted as our only hope, what should ministries do? Church is a social environment. Do we stop church for the foreseeable future? Should we hide in our houses in fear?

What is coronavirus? Is this a global pandemic that will kill untold millions? Or is it more like a stronger version of the common flu? With doctors and pundits on both sides of the equation, it’s hard to know what we can believe.

I don't know if #COVID19 is a bust or a harbinger of death. I do know that whatever it is God will get us through it. Share on X

To make matters worse, the media today has an agenda. The media establishment prospers financially during crises. Their age-old adage is “If it bleeds, it leads.” That’s why we live in a day of constant “breaking news” and 24 hour-a-day stories that promote fear and anxiety. After all, you pay more attention to the news when you are worried about what is going on in the world.

Further, the media is polarized politically. Many people want the Trump administration to fail so badly that they seem giddy about the possibility of sickness, death, and financial pain. That’s sick.

Should you cancel church services? Should you postpone events? Should you cancel fellowships and meals?

These Biblical principles are good for any difficult situation.

Apply them to the coronavirus situation you are currently facing.

1. Don’t Panic

Fear is the emotional dread of impending doom. Most of the things people fear never come to pass.

This acrostic for fear adequately describes it. F.E.A.R. = False Evidence Appearing Real.

Fear can cause a misinterpretation of the facts. The key is to focus on what you know not what you think might happen.

I’m not advocating you pretend like everything is ok when it’s not. Rather, I’m encouraging you to exercise faith.

Fear steals courage. Faith gives it. Fear robs strength. Faith imparts strength! Fear focuses on the unknown. Faith concentrates on God.

Satan loves fear. It is his tool to wreak havoc. Fearful people are prone to bad decisions and are easy to control.

Isaiah 41:13

“For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

Faith in God breaks fear’s grip on you. Confidence in Christ liberates you from the unknown.

I don’t know if COVID19 is a bust or a harbinger of death. I do know that whatever it is God will get us through it.

Use Common sense. Follow best practices in any disaster. Keep track of what official agencies are saying. Take everything with a grain of salt and a heaping dose of trust in God.

You can read about coronavirus on the Centers for Disease Control website HERE.

You can follow COVID19 on this live map.

General concern makes the average person aware of their own mortality. They are more open to talking about God and the Gospel. Christians must remain steadfast in the faith and point people to Jesus during times like these!

If you are panicking with the rest of the community, you lose the opportunity to win souls.

Proverbs 3:25–27

“Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. ”

“For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. ”

“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”

2. Pray

Prayer is the method God gave us to release our burdens.

Psalm 55:22

“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

1 Peter 5:7

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

One hour of prayer is worth more than a year of worry.

If you are not praying, you are responding like the unhttps://paulechapman.com/2018/03/16/how-to-be-100-sure-you-are-going-to-heaven/saved.

If you pray and are still anxious. You didn’t pray long enough. Yes! It is that simple.

Philippians 4:6–7

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ”

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

God will take your burden and replace it with peace. Your circumstances might remain the same, but you will be different. You will have the strength, stability, and wisdom to weather any storm.

3. Seek God

Isaiah 55:6

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:”

Life is bigger than you. You will face countless instances where human help will fail you. Don’t despair! See it as an opportunity to exercise unusual faith.

Seek God. He will be found of you.

Luke 12:31

“But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

4. Follow His Direction

Never allow distress or turmoil to pull you from God’s Word. Our Lord uses the Bible and the Holy Spirit to give us direction.

Many people in trouble jump out of the frying pan into the fire because they don’t respond with faith and obedience.

It is better to die in the fire of testing than to live in the hell of disobedience and rebellion.

Job 13:15–16

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. ”

“He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.”

Obey God. Let the chips fall where they may. He will prove faithful.

RELATED ARTICLE: 50 Bible Verses About Faith That Everyone Should Know

5. Don’t Be Judgmental 

With crisis situations there comes mounting peer pressure. Don’t make decisions based on the noise of the crowd.

Seek the counsel of wise people then make a faith-based decision. You have one Master. If He is happy, then all will be well.

Give others the same courtesy.

It’s amazing how some Christians become like frenzied piranha eating the carcass of the fellow believer who makes a decision with which they don’t agree.

Shameful! That’s not what God taught us to do.

Galatians 5:13–15

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. ”

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. ”

“But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.”

There is one Master to which we will all give an account. We are independent Baptists. Each pastor answers to God alone. Every assembly is a self-governing body.

Romans 14:11–13

“For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. ”

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. ”

“Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

Every church has a different situation. A church in the city may need to take different steps than a church in the country. That’s ok.

Give the brethren some love and support in adversity. Every decision you don’t agree with doesn’t make a fellow preacher a compromiser or heretic.

Even if you are right and they are wrong, a little understanding goes a long way. After all, we have all made wrong decisions and learned lessons along the way.

Thank God for mercy and grace. Give it liberally. It will come back to you in abundance.

6. Keep your eyes on Jesus 

It’s easy to get tunnel vision in calamity. Don’t get so focused on the problem that you lose sight of the Saviour.

Hebrews 12:2

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Learn to look past problems and see the God Who sustains you.

Deuteronomy 33:27

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”

7. Get Creative

We have more tools to accomplish the work of God than any generation in history. Use them!

Accept the challenge of your circumstance trusting God to give you wisdom for creative solutions.

If you must cancel church services, you can hold a “digital service.” If you can’t go soulwinning in person, you can reach out on the phone or online.

No idea will replace God’s original plan, but they can get you through a crisis.

If you are stumped, call some trusted friends for ideas. You are not alone. God is with you. The family of God will support you.

Conclusion

What should we do about coronavirus?

Don’t panic. Learn the facts. Pray. Seek God. Follow His direction. Make a decision in faith. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Get creative.

Coronavirus is not the first global pandemic and it won’t be the last. Nature is in the throes of sin crying out for redemption. Hurricanes, tornados, floods, blizzards, droughts, power outages, sickness, death, and tragedy come to every living soul.

As long as God is with you, everything will be ok. And He has promised to never leave you or forsake you.