The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic and the Challenges of the Mission of the Church as A Healing Institution: A Case Study of Tonota

Abstract

The article examines the impact of COVID-19, a pandemic that causes crisis, confusion, trauma, and consequently changing people’s lifestyles (The World Health Organisation, 2022) It also explores the impact of COVID-19 and the challenges it imposes on the mission of the church as a healing institution in a peri-urban village of Tonota in Botswana. The article particularly discusses challenges faced by the church as a healing institution and the measures it put in place in its efforts to contribute- towards the healing of those affected and infected by COVID-19 (Teti, et al, 2020). The article adopts a missiological framework that theorizes the mission of the church as a healing institution. It uses a qualitative method that adopts a phenomenological approach, as a starting point. In-depth interviews were used as a data collection tool to explore the lived experiences of the research participants selected from different churches in the village of Tonota. It must also be noted that in addition to disrupting everyday lives, the COVID-19 pandemic, as observed by Rahman and his co-researchers, affected the use of qualitative methods (Rahman et al, 2021). A thematic approach was used to analyse the qualitative data. Findings from the interviews revealed that COVID-19 had its greatest impact during lockdown, which led to the closure of churches in the village and their inability to fulfil their healing ministry to congregants and community members. Findings also reveal that members of the church were affected by COVID-19 which resulted in many deaths thus weakening the healing ministry of the church due to fear and financial inability. In conclusion, therefore, the article observes that despite these serious challenges the church encountered, different measures were put in place to help the affected congregants and the general members of the community. The article recommends that when crises like COVID-19 occur the government, the Ministry of Health and the church should work together with one purpose of healing the nation.