How have you adjusted to COVID-19? For Anne Marie and me, the changes came in our personal lives for the most part. We haven’t seen Michael, our son, or my dad in more than a year. This week, our daughter, Bethany, celebrated her birthday with several online parties.
Our work moved home, but our jobs changed little. Anne Marie canceled a trip. We both miss being with our teams in person. But our writing, editing and planning goes on.
But for Cru staff members who don’t work in offices, everything changed. In the current issue of Cru Storylines, my coworker Mike Chapman reports about a ministry in New York City that had to adjust. The ministry, called Street2Street, brings together Wall Street professionals with teens in the city who want to play basketball. Here’s a bit of the story:
Woody [Woodfin, a Cru staff member] set up a Zoom account, trained his staff and moved Street2Street online. All through the spring, they provided online academic help, chapel and even physical workouts.
Discovering that after Street2Street’s activities, all the kids were staying online to play networked video games, Woody wanted in. His staff members started playing video games with the kids and hosting virtual tournaments. When the pandemic hit, New York City closed down more than 100 neighborhood parks. “Kids want to stay in their own neighborhood,” Woody says, “so they’re gonna be looking for stuff to do, probably online. If they do, they’ll find us playing video games.”
As of the end of 2020, hundreds of kids are involved with Street2Street online. The ministry has accomplished its goal of reaching 20,000 kids, and their 20th “neighborhood” was virtual. “Because the post-COVID world is going to be scared,” Woody says, “we’re going to continue virtual events and activities.” They’re also establishing a Street2Street community center with athletic training, academic support and spiritual enrichment.
You can read the rest at Cru.org/Storylines under the title “New Nets Bring New Life.” Mike used the phone to interview people for the story, but how could we show the story?
Our photo team wasn’t able to travel. After planning with our editorial team, one of our photographers, Guy Gerrard, developed a plan. He went to a local Orland basketball court and photographed players. Since these weren’t the Street2Street players from New York, we didn’t want to simply show the photos. Guy turned several photos, like the one above, into illustrations.
This month, as you think of us, would you pray that both of our teams will continue to successfully do our work in the midst of COVID-19, and for our Cru staff members around the world to continue finding ways to proclaim the gospel?