It is always gut wrenching and horrible when tragedies happen. It doesn’t have to be national or international tragedies like a school shooting or humanitarian crisis for it to negatively impact people. There are plenty of tragedies that hit the local community as well. For example, people experience tragedy with a death in the family or loss of a loved one, crippling illness or diagnosis,
As a digital missionary, there are plenty of ways you can minister and care for people, especially when tragedy happens. Here are a few of them.
Pray. I know this sounds trivial as everyone always like to say, “no more thoughts and prayers, we need action”. However, prayer is one of the things we need to do. In Colossians 4:2 ESV, Paul calls us to “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” In James 1:5 NIV it says, ” If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” In the midst of tragedy we need God’s guidance and wisdom on what to say and what to do. We also need God’s guidance and wisdom to come down on those experiencing the tragedy directly.
Text or Call. Sometimes, when tragedies happen, they hit close to home and there are people that might be triggered by it, even it if doesn’t directly impact them. If this tragedy is local and you personally know them, text them or, better yet, call them and let them know you are thinking of them and encourage them in some way. People need to know that there are others out there who care for them. You don’t have to say much, simply listening if they want to talk is great. Or just simply texting them to let them know you are praying for them and are available if they ever need anything, that is great.
Engage with others and offer support. When tragedies struck, people experience a wide range of emotions. They could be heartbroken, sad, angry, frustrated or experience all of these and more. As you get on social media, pray first and ask God to guide you to who He wants you to minister to and encourage. You could be a huge light of hope and support for those processing what is going on and why God would allow such things to happen.
Support Organizations that are boots on the ground. The reality is that you are not going to be able to be near every tragic event that happens around the world. You can’t physically be at each of them. However, there are great organizations that will be boots on the ground in that community offering great help to those who need it. Find out what those organizations are and financially support them but also share about them on social media so that others can help them too.
When a tragedy happens, Digital Missionaries can choose to support, encourage and care for those affected. See what else they can do here. Click To TweetThere are a variety of things you can do. However, here is the one thing you SHOULDN’T DO, especially in the midst of a hot topic debate. That is to NOT get involved in political debates about it. It never fails, every time a tragic event happens people will get political and start pointing figures at different groups of people. Action needs to be taken, yes. 100%. But, this is not the time to start blaming people, yelling at them and telling them how terrible they are. Choose to encourage, support, and care for others when a tragedy happens. People don’t need more judgement. They need more of God’s love and support.
Conclusion
As a Digital Missionary, you will have lots of opportunities to minister and serve those online. Unfortunately, some of those opportunities will be in the midst of a tragedy. Local, national and international tragedies happen far too often and when they do there is always lots of chatter online and on social media. It is during these times that Digital Missionaries can be the light of hope and love to others. During those times pray that God reveals to you what you can do to serve those online and minister to them. These are just four fo the many things you can do. But, rest assured, as horrible as the tragedies may be, God can and will use all situations for good and to draw people to the hope and freedom there is in Him. Be open to His leading and see how He uses to you minister to people during this time.
What do you think? How can you, as a digital missionary, minister to others when a tragedy happens? Share your ideas below or on social media.
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