“In the NHS you plan for all sorts of contingencies, from the President of the United States visiting and what would happen if he got shot to terrorism and major accident pile-ups,” says Olivia Amartey.
Before becoming Elim’s Executive Director, Olivia was a senior manager in the NHS. Faced with the challenge of ensuring that Elim churches comply with new laws around Covid-19, she attributes success achieved to her experience of emergency planning there.
“The past year has been a rollercoaster, but all that training just kicked into play,” she says. Olivia and Elim’s International Office team leapt into action and formed an emergency response group as the severity of the pandemic became evident.
“We realised we would have to amend the way we do things pretty sharply. The team were absolutely amazing,” she says.
Initially, Olivia says other churches’ responses were instrumental in inspiring Elim’s.
“We recognised that the Methodists and the Church of England were onto it and we thought we could do something just as good, if not better for our ministers. We have been on it 24/7. As soon as news came out, we produced guidance.”
But it’s one thing to publish advice. It’s quite another to persuade 550 churches to follow it.
“The hardest thing was getting everyone to do a risk assessment. Some people just felt it was nonsense.”
The team pressed on, keeping guidance updated and running seminars showing how to do risk assessments.
Olivia was pleased that non-Elim churches were able to benefit from this too.
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Denne historien er fra Christmas 2020-utgaven av Direction Magazine.
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‘Imagine Everyone On This Planet Is Your Equal'
David Beasley, Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning UN World Food Programme, reveals the words his work is founded on
God Sets The Example Of Adoption...
Many people have ruled themselves out for fostering or adoption when the system would rule them in, explains Krish Kandiah
The Work Of Missionaries In Lockdown
When lockdown brought Ian and Katie Moore’s mission work in Macedonia to a halt, they used the time to seek a refined vision for reaching their local area. They told Chris Rolfe their story
How Nurse Helped Acid Attack Model Find Faith
Katie Piper explains how a life-changing incident changed her life in more ways than she expected as she recovered in hospital
Big Challenges Issued At Online Conference
Elim’s first online theological conference examines how our understanding of the ‘End Times’ shapes our view of mission
Lockdown in London deepened my faith
Living alone in London may not have been what he dreamed about, but Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic says it has driven him closer to God
The Really Good News about new initiative!
Elim’s new online mission programme could be the biggest evangelistic outreach we’ve ever done, says national evangelist Mark Greenwood. As we gear up for Easter, he gives the lowdown on the campaign
It's the gospel of liberation, not renovation
When Jesus was 30 he went to the prison of sin, and knocked on the door. Satan opened that little window and said, “What do you want?” Jesus told him: “I have come to set the captives free!” A sermon by the late Reinhard Bonnke
The mystery of Skull Hill
Skull Hill is a rocky hill rising just outside the north wall of Jerusa-lem, not far from the Damascus Gate. It was given that name because of the striking resemblance to a human skull appearing on the weather-beaten formation of its southern face.
A decade of mission
With an Easter evangelism programme, the Elim Leaders Summit and a renewed call to mission, General Superintendent Chris Cartwright outlines Elim’s plans for 2021 and beyond