New Life in the Pandemic

Covid-19 has severely affected Peru, which has registered one of the world’s worst death rates – and the true figure will be much higher. Yet as Anthony Green and Ronny Tipismana writes, the Lord has shown great mercy as he continues saving sinners.

Anthony Green

Early in 2020, with short notice, Pastor Carlos told the church that he would be taking up a new ministry in Paramonga, a town north of Lima. The church here asked me to lead them through the transition, the first step being to organise an anniversary and farewell service for March. But just two weeks before that the shutdown and state of emergency was suddenly announced, changing all our plans for the year.

The children´s ministry and adult meetings in Villa Magisterial came to an abrupt halt. We initially started an audio ministry on the church´s WhatsApp group; then a church Facebook page, and then on to an interactive Bible study on Zoom. It was a steep learning curve regarding online ministry, coming alongside the increased responsibilities to care for all the families in the church. But through it all I’ve felt like a surfer on the waves – the Spirit leading and bearing me above, free from all care and burden. It has been the joy of my life to minister to families and to feel the love and care of the fellowship towards us as a family.

The state of emergency immediately ended the employment of most of our members. Only a couple of them remained working in essential services: one in a local hospital and another in policing. Many who had no savings or income were left in a precarious situation, which was a real concern to us. As GBM Peru is a registered charity here, I got permission from the national police to travel and begin visiting many families with food aid. This also provided the opportunity to reach a number of unsaved families near our church.

We have a good group of committed young people, and one of them, Anderson, began a ministry during lockdown reaching youth from outside our church. He has a good network of personal contacts, including people from his artistic group, his work in photography and for the district mayor. This ministry involves cycling, running and other exercise, then finishing with a Bible study by the river Chili.

A young man called Jonathan recently confessed faith. His father was tragically killed through an accident at work, and with his widowed mother they were both in real need of support during the months of the state of emergency.

We have been able to reach many with the gospel in Arequipa through Facebook. We are excited to see how the Holy Spirit will guide us to follow them up, as we seek to reach these people who have regularly listened to the gospel over many months.

In November the health department issued guidelines for churches to open, so on 15 November we held out first ‘in-person’ service since March. Thirty-two people came and more watched live on Facebook. It was a joy to be together before the Lord after so long, and there was a really good spirit. It will be some months before the situation is normalised in the country.

Pray with us that the Lord will add others to his church through salvation, and as we work towards being an independent fellowship within the next couple of years. Please also pray for us as we plan to construct a safer and larger meeting place – from drywall to concrete! The city of Arequipa is in a seismic area and is located within the Pacific ‘ring of fire’, with a few volcanoes thrown in!

Ronny Tipismana

We have a married couple called Karina and Cesar who have attended our church for some time. This year we have seen new life in them as they left their religion to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. They left their jobs on Sundays to dedicate themselves to worship the Lord, and they are always present at the prayer meetings and Bible studies – even with their children. We have finished the baptism course with them and they want to take this important step in their lives. God willing this will take place very soon.

The same thing happened with Angelica. For many years she has been attending our church and this year the Lord pierced her heart. She has also finished her baptism course, and has asked if she can be baptised in a river at her hometown. She wants her family and neighbours to see that Christ now lives in her. She is always sharing what the Lord is doing in her life.

Lucía has also attended our church for a long time, and the Lord has used this difficult year to call her and save her. She will be baptised in January.

We do not have strategies; we only have Bible studies where we teach the Word of God and encourage the brothers to invite their friends and family. We want to evangelise more as a church all together, with worship services that are as simple as possible, seeking the help of the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin.

Through the pandemic we thank God that we have stood together. We have seen many believers who were cold for years returning, and the Lord has opened doors for us to share the gospel with new people.

On Mondays I am in church to help couples who have problems, and we are receiving more people from our community who have an interest in the gospel. Every morning we share devotionals and hymns with the whole church to encourage one other. We also meet through Zoom on Wednesdays for Bible study and prayer, and on Thursdays we teach discipleship and baptism classes. On Saturdays we meet with the youth, and on Sundays we worship our Saviour with all the families together.