Assessment of Covid 19 Pandemic and its Effect on the Foreign Mission Work of the Nigerian Baptist Convention

Abstract:

COVID-19 pandemic that began initially like a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, later resulted in unprecedented global disruption. This pandemic has affected every facet of human life including religious life. Christian missions, which was experiencing a major shift in missionary sending direction from the global West and North to the reversed global South and East, was also not spared by this pandemic. This study examined the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the mission work of the Nigerian Baptist Convention in the United Kingdom. The study adopted a descriptive survey design method and purposive random sampling technique to select the respondents. The information and data were gathered through structured questionnaires and interview guides, using electronic means, from members and leaders of the Nigerian Baptist Convention in the United Kingdom. Interviews were conducted among the selected leaders and policy makers in the United Kingdom and Nigeria. The findings revealed that COVID-19 brought about disruptions of conventional missionary and worship methods in the United Kingdom. The study recommends that the Nigerian Baptist Convention does a rework of strategic mission agenda and approaches that can adapt well to the new normal brought by COVID-19 pandemic across the world.