To say that Covid-19 has impacted how we do ministry in the last year would be an understatement. Canada has experienced more meeting restrictions compared to the U.S. But that didn’t stop Oakbank Baptist Church, Manitoba, from being innovative in reaching out to their community with the Good News.

“We were looking for a different way to communicate theevents of Easter weekend,” comments Interim Pastor Bruce Hollins, “rather than having a traditional Good Friday service. We were also hoping to find a more interactive way to help people engage with Jesus’ sacrifice.”

 

The result? OBC set up 12 Stations of the Cross spread throughout rooms on the ground level of their facility.

Each of the 12 Stations had a reflective reading from one of the Gospels and a thought-provoking question to consider.

After leaving Station # 7 (Jesus being helped by Simon to bear the cross), each person picked up a nail to use at Station #8 to hammer into Jesus’ clothes, for which the soldiers gambled.

People had to RSVP. Groups of 1-5 started every 10 minutes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., beginning with Gethsemane (Station #1) and ending with Jesus’ tomb (Station #11).

“The last Station (#12) was Communion, where each group had the opportunity to experience a personalized time of taking the elements of the Lord’s Table,” said Pastor Bruce.

Let us remember Jesus’ sacrifice AND His victory, as we continue to look for opportunities with people around us to bear witness in innovative ways to the Good News of Jesus.

 

Randy Jaspers

Northern Plains Regional Minister