When COVID-19 burst upon the world’s stage, it took the clergy and laity hostage. Churches around the world shut their doors and sent their members home. Our world leaders told us that our first course of action was to “flatten the curve.” What should have been a lockdown for three months turned into six months; then soon it became a year.
As one variant after another threatened, the curve appeared that it would never flatten. We watched as a “new norm” began to emerge. The new norm was most difficult for faithful churchgoers. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . .” was advice that was not, and in some countries could not be, followed.
Fort Lauderdale Adventist Church in the U.S. state of Florida faced the same predicament. Its membership, comprised of many elderly and infirm, resorted to using a fully online platform for Sabbath services. It was during this period of ongoing lockdown that Heather, the Family Life Department director, and her husband, Ludlow, brainstormed to see how the church members could safely reunite, enjoy the benefits derived from the eight laws of health, and also “taste and see that the Lord is good.” The idea that emerged was God-inspired, as evidenced by the attendance at the very first ever “Trail Trekkers.”
The post-COVID-19 “norm” requires creativity in witnessing and leading others to the Lord.
Every quarter, church members would meet at a different park immediately after the conclusion of the church service. The members brought their own lunch and ate while sitting on blankets in family groupings. After the meal, group leaders would then guide the group on a trek of the trail(s) in that park.
The first park visited was Long Key park in Davie, Florida. Thirty-four people attended. There were picnic tables along the canal bank, where families sat to eat their Sabbath lunch. After lunch they took a leisurely stroll along the water’s edge, locating the various items on scavenger hunt sheets that were given out.
While the leaders initially thought the people came out because it was a novelty, over the course of a year the turnout at each event increased by word of mouth. Attendees promoted it to friends, family, members, and nonmembers alike.
Seeing such a large group of people walking along the various trails was often enough to draw the attention of onlookers. Some people stopped what they were doing to ask who they were and what the event was about. Others who saw the “Happy Sabbath” T-shirts the leaders wore loudly yelled “Happy Sabbath” in return.
On one trek at another park in Davie, Florida, the group activity involved reading or reciting as many texts as could be found in the Bible about honey. The leaders purchased a honeycomb and packs of multiflavored honey sticks for demonstration purposes. The honeycomb provided a wow factor, while the sticks were a big hit with the children and youth. There were leftover honey sticks, and the group leaders asked other park visitors if they wanted to try some. Everyone who was asked graciously accepted and could be seen walking off into the distance, enjoying their honey.
Jeffrey Thompson, lead pastor for the church, recognized early the value the event offered. With a mindset toward evangelism, he requested that the leaders have a trek every other month, rather than quarterly.
Members have willingly traveled distances spanning as far as a 50-km (30-mile) radius from the church to attend a trek. Each event ends with a biblical lesson where a food item found in the Bible is discussed and then presented for tasting, in line with the injunction given to us in Psalm 34:8: “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
The post-COVID-19 “norm” requires creativity in witnessing and leading others to the Lord. What does your congregation do to reach out to others in a nontraditional way?
