The Latvian government declared a state of emergency on Thursday, March 12, limiting public gatherings to no more than 200 people. However, on Saturday afternoon, March 14, all public events, including worship services, were forbidden. Churches across the country had less than 24 hours to figure out how to transition to an online ministry.
Since our church is relatively small, we were able to use Zoom for our worship services. The first week was a little rough as we figured things out, but eventually we found a rhythm. We often did live worship music and used the screen share feature to show the lyrics. We would have a 15-20 minute sermon which often also used the screen share feature to show Keynote and PowerPoint slides. We also had time to share prayer requests and then would pray for one another during each service. We made the best of what we had, but we were very grateful when we were allowed to meet together in small groups of 25 at the end of May.
Getting ready to lead worship 
Finally able to meet together again! 
A screen shot of one of Luke’s sermons
During the winter, we continued our Children’s Bible Club on Saturday mornings twice a month. However, due once COVID restrictions were put in place, we could no longer meet. Patty worked hard to transition the club to an online, interactive meeting. We heard that many children felt isolated and unable to interact with their friends, so we offered the online club every Saturday for several months. Patty did an excellent job of leading the children through exercises, interactive games, crafts, and, of course, the Bible story each week.
Because of the dramatic changes to churches, the Latvian Baptist Union organized two online conferences. One conference focused on how churches could adapt in the midst of the state of emergency. It included discussions about challenges and opportunities for the church during this time, how to prepare a sermon for an online environment, what sort of technology is available, how to continue making disciples, and other relevant issues. Patty was asked to share about our Children’s Bible Club and how churches could offer interactive opportunities for their children. This led to her being invited to share in another conference that focused on online children and youth ministries. While several churches were producing videos and materials for children during the pandemic situation, none were creating interactive opportunities for the children. It was a little nerve-wracking to share with ministry leaders from across the country, but Patty did a great job.
One of Luke’s major ministry focuses during these months was writing daily devotionals. The pandemic created a lot of confusion, fear, and listlessness in people’s hearts and lives. We saw this as an opportunity to help people create healthy spiritual rhythms, like daily Bible reading, while also reminding them of the truths from God’s Word. What started as some short daily devotionals on Facebook and Instagram eventually turned into daily devotions that went verse-by-verse through Philippians and James. We were also very grateful for the help of a Christian sister in our church who edited Luke’s devotions for clarity and grammar.
At the beginning of the emergency situation, we thought our lives would be quiet and dull for these few months, but we were completely wrong. God found ways to keep us quiet busy during this time as we strove to continue sharing the hope of God in new ways.
