Join the Lent Photo Challenge

By joining the Christian Reformed Church’s Lent Photo Challenge (#CRCLentPhoto), this somber season leading up to Easter has taken on a deeper meaning for Jesus Bayona and his family.

“My family and I embarked on this journey together,” said Bayona, who lives in Florida and is a member of the CRC’s Council of Delegates.

“We all thought and prayed about what we were individually going to fast from (or do) during Lent. So far, it has been a very rewarding experience.”

The photo challenge is a creative way to add some spiritual reflection to your daily routine during Lent.

Each day, participants read a Scripture passage from the Revised Common Lectionary and contemplate the theme provided. Then they take a photo representing that theme, and they post it to their favorite social media site with #CRCLentPhoto.

“I’ve seen other denominations do something similar for Lent,” said Kristen deRoo VanderBerg, director of communications and marketing for the CRCNA. “I thought it was a fun idea to try. Plus it helps meet some of our denomination-wide goals of encouraging Scripture reading and spiritual disciplines, as well as engaging people of all generations in faith formation activities.”

For Bayona and his family, the practice has been beneficial.

“We remind and encourage one another throughout the day about Lent and the photo challenge,” said Bayona.

“Some of us have failed, but we continue on — not to mention the time that we spend together in God's Word each day.”

The project has the added benefit of drawing attention to Lent on social media. On the first day of the challenge, for example, the Scripture reading was from Joel 2. The activity encouraged participants to reflect on the idea of “return.”

The Bayona family decided to work together to stage a photo that caught the eye of their friends and family on social media. In the photo, Bayona’s wife and children stand in a doorway as a loved one, wearing a backpack, “returns home.” The family has startled and emotional looks on their faces.

Forty-two of the Bayona family’s friends and relatives noticed the photo and asked questions about what was going on. It provided them an opportunity to talk about their Lenten family devotions.

“Normally our family devotions are sporadic, but they have been much more consistent since starting the challenge,” said Bayona. “We are also bonding together as we decide how best to capture the theme of the day in a picture.”

Pastors wishing to support this effort with their congregation can also make use of the Worship Series suggestions offered in Reformed Worship 134 (Dec. 2019), “The Book of Judges: Messy People, Merciful God,” for each Sunday.

It is not too late to join others across North America by participating in the #CRCLentPhoto challenge. To learn more, click here.