COVID-19 & CULTURELink – Ministry Update

CULTURELink’s mission is to make disciples of those who make disciples of all nations. Whether the world is open or shut down, we remain focused on our mission. We want to keep you informed about the doors God has opened for us in the COVID-19 pandemic, give you a glance at how 2020 is unfolding, and update you on our finances during these uncertain times.

With anxiety levels high, CULTURELink is conducting more missionary care counseling than ever before. A good portion of our days are spent on Zoom with those serving in the toughest places on the globe. We have worked with missionary kids who are college students in the US and cannot reunite with their families in North Africa and the Middle East. We’ve helped them find places to stay during lock-down, along with other logistical matters. This has provided comfort and practical support both to them and to their parents. We’re working with individuals, couples, and families, conducting re-entry and debriefing sessions after they had to return to the States with little advance notice. Bottom line: we are caring for and healing those who care for and heal the nations.

We have another real-time opportunity in the Middle East with a group called “The Kiln People.” CULTURELink partners with Pastor S, a national worker in the Middle East (name and location not disclosed for security reasons), whose network cares for persecuted Christian families. CULTURELink sponsored Pastor S to attend a conference in Turkey this month that was inevitably canceled because of COVID-19. Before Easter, he reached out to us about 100 families who were laid off from their jobs at a village brick factory due to lock-down. On a good day, these Kiln People make $3.00 for a full day’s work. Neither the government nor Muslim relief agencies will help them unless they agree to convert to Islam. The Islamic government in his country has taken advantage of COVID-19 by sending Christian relief workers out of the country and persecuting Christian nationals there.

Pastor S asked CULTURELink for $30 to provide one family’s food for a month. His goal was to get sponsors for all 100 families. $30 covers flour, rice, cooking oil, dry milk, and other basic needs. Because the hunger of these persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ wasn’t something that could be postponed, CULTURELink immediately wired $3000 to feed all of these families for a month. An hour after the funds were sent, God faithfully brought a gift to CULTURELink that met these needs. The funds came AFTER we stepped out in faith. Faith is ALWAYS forward!

The first round of food distributions has taken place. Pastor S described how blessed the recipients were that God provided for their needs on Easter weekend. He walks a delicate path of not being able to publicly distribute the aid, which would cause more persecution. However, a few Islamic local leaders quietly expressed their gratitude for how the church cares for its own. Meeting our mission in the Middle East, CULTURELink is physically feeding those who can spiritually feed their neighbors. Our hope is to provide another month of food in May.

Another immediate need arose with our Kenyan partners. Over the last five years, we have seen many of the orphans from Royal Kids Mikindani School graduate and enter college. The universities there have gone online, as they have here in the US. However, it is challenging to be expected to take courses when you do not have the means to afford the necessary technology. CULTURELink sent funds to purchase laptops for any of the students to whom we also provide scholarships.

For now, CULTURELink remains financially stable. However, like many ministries and businesses, we are experiencing the economic impact of COVID-19. Our remaining spring seminars have been canceled, and our fall schedule is currently postponed. All curriculum sales have stopped. Some donors have had to cease or delay their contributions. From a human perspective this is disconcerting, but from a spiritual perspective it isn’t a problem. I am in ongoing contact with our Board of Directors. They are encouraging us to continue to be outrageously generous to the nations with our ongoing international commitments and with new opportunities while simultaneously monitoring our reserves. We will not stop because of fear when God tells us to move toward ministry. Instead, our prayer is to have the faith to be immediately obedient to His voice.

Because of this, with the oversight of our board, we will continue to minister in the name of Jesus. Without apology, we invite you to join our team with a one-time and/or monthly gift. Just click on the button below.

We are looking at creative ways to get more of our training resources online. The current global environment has put a halt to all trips, but it has not stopped our desire to equip those who will disciple the nations.

The day before lock-down, we conducted a one-day training seminar for The Lifeshape Foundation, the international ministry arm of Chick-fil-A. We are now investigating the opportunity to serve as Lifeshape’s training provider for their international projects.

Upcoming ministry trips to Turkey, Thailand, Lebanon, Kenya, and El Salvador are still in the works; none of these global partners want to cancel them at this time.

By remaining steadfast in following God’s plan, we will continue to move forward. We know our current funding sources from training seminars, curriculum sales, and donors is going to shift. However, we also know that God has given us a clear mission, a mission that COVID-19 cannot stop. Please pray for God’s provision for CULTURELink’s ministry and staff.