But how else can we talk about the unfamiliar experience of living through a global pandemic? Most of us have never before faced a time with so much handwashing, so little physical contact and the fear of an illness extending across the earth. We’re church onlining, homeschooling, shopping in supermarkets with (unnecessarily) empty shelves and keeping our physical distance. Many of us are losing work and income and facing the fear of real financial insecurity.

This is our commitment to you; we will tell the whole truth

For most of us, there really is is no precedent we can follow. These times are unprecedented indeed.

So what is the place for a Christian news service in a time of coronavirus? What can we offer our readers and why is it valuable?

We believe that Eternity‘s mission to bring the seriously good news of what God is doing is needed now, more than ever.

Now, more than ever, we need to be able to open our social media feeds and find a story of resilience, hope and faith that can inspire us to be hopeful, stand firm and put our faith in God.

Now, more than ever, we need to read about how churches are rising to the challenge, finding new ways to do its work of gathering the saints and equipping them for the work of ministering to others.

Now, more than ever, we need to be reminded of the truth of God’s word and hear the testimonies of those who have endured life’s storms and discovered the faithfulness of God personally.

So this is our commitment to you, Eternity readers.

When you open our website, email newsletter, Facebook page, Instagram profile or Twitter during this “unprecedented time” of COVID-19, you will find seriously good news. Stories of faith, hope and the goodness of God.

That doesn’t mean we will avoid the tragic and heartbreaking realities of our world, because denial only invalidates suffering and misinforms.

But it does mean that we will tell the whole truth. The truth that, even in the midst of chaos, pain and uncertainty, God is doing seriously good things. That even when we are like the “city under siege” described in the Psalms, there will be moments of beauty and grace. The truth that sometimes suffering and flourishing are so deeply intertwined they are indistinguishable.

For example, every third day, at 7am, we will be posting a short “faith story” that is designed to inspire your hope. These are the stories of everyday Christians who have discovered God’s love to be real, despite life circumstances which are often difficult.

Collected and edited by accomplished writer and storyteller Naomi Reed, we believe these bite-sized faith stories will inspire hope and faith in you as your day gets under way.

Together, we will share the seriously good news of our seriously good God

Another example: every Wednesday, we’ll release an episode of Salt, the latest edition to the Eternity Podcast Network.

“The people who I interview aren’t famous,” host Jenny Salt recently explained to Eternity.

“They haven’t written books. They haven’t done anything extraordinary, but all you have to do is just scratch the surface of their lives and there is this story – this amazing grace of God in these people’s lives, in sometimes really hard circumstances.

“There is this beautiful testimony of God’s goodness in every single story, even the painful ones.”

Our Podcasts will become even more important as we shelter in place. Obviously the print Eternity which is mostly distributed through churches is on hold during this crisis.

Eternity will continue to bring you the news – keeping you informed of conferences which have moved online, ministries facing challenge and churches adapting to new ways of caring for their congregations. As always, we’ll offer you stories and podcasts which challenge your thinking, expand your understanding and introduce you to fellow travellers on the journey of faith.

And together, we will share the seriously good news of our seriously good God – even in this most “unprecedented” of times.