Hello Church Family,
I am amazed at how fast things are changing in our world. With all of the CDC recommendations and President Trump’s recommendations, I am confident of a few things…
1.
God is still sitting on His Throne!
We serve a good God and we can rest in his provision, protection, and leading.
2.
God is still looking for His people to “run the play” in the midst of the chaos in the world.
We are still called to be His witnesses in the trying times of life. (Acts 20:24) Let’s continue to be faithful in “running the play” of testifying to our friends, family, and neighbors of the hope we have in Jesus and His love for the world.
As important as it was for myself and the Elders to make sure that the COG family had a place of worship, a place of peace and calm, in the midst of a frantic world, the last 24 hours has made it so that we will need to do church differently for the next few weeks or more.
As a church, we want to care for our congregation in all respects, including the physical well-being of our church and community. For many, the uncertainty of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused fear and anxiety in our workplaces, schools, and daily lives. Scripture is clear that God has given us a spirit of love, not fear (2 Tim 1:7), and, as followers of Christ, we remain confident of God’s constant presence and careful attention to all that is happening. Jesus also tells us in John 14:27, “
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
”
We have been closely tracking the news of the Coronavirus both locally and globally, paying attention to the rapidly changing circumstances throughout our community and state. As a result of these changing circumstances, Community of Grace is making the following decisions and recommendations:
1. WEEKEND SERVICE WILL BE ONLINE ONLY.
(NO SUNDAY ACTIVITIES WILL BE HELD ONSITE)
Due to CDC and Presidential recommendations, we will
NOT
meet at the church building for worship. Instead, we will record and stream our worship service, which you can click on the following hyper-link
Sunday Service at 10:00 a.m.
or you can cut and paste this web address into your browser (
www.facebook.com/COGAurora
).
You can also access this service in our sermons section on our website the following day (https://www.cogaurora.org/media).
Pastor Joel will continue his sermon series through the Book of Acts. We encourage you to worship at home together with your family. To begin your time of worship and prior to the 10:00 start time of the sermon, you may consider going to YouTube and watch a few videos of your favorite worship songs just to start your day with praises to God. In a time that our society is filled with uncertainty and fear, we can be a light of gospel hope. What a great message to send to our neighbors and friends that our hope is in Jesus and not in our ability to outlast a virus. We, as Jesus’ people, are still on mission.
Since we are not meeting in person, we will not be taking a physical offering. You can give online at any time
(click here)
. You can also mail a check to COG or use “Bill Pay” with your local bank. Your faithful giving ensures we can readily devote resources to helping those who need it, especially in these uncertain times. We are grateful for your financial generosity.
We will continue to monitor the situation throughout the coming weeks and update you with further plans. At this point the Governor’s recommendation is to avoid gatherings for 30 days or more. This will have a direct impact on Easter. Our Staff is working on alternative plans for Easter.
2. ON CAMPUS GATHERINGS AND EVENTS
With the recommendations from the CDC and President to avoid groupings of people larger than 10, the Elders have made the decision to cancel all meetings in the COG facilities for the next month. Pastor Joel will be participating in an online meeting with other Pastors around the state on Tuesday, March 17
th
to discuss best practices and how we can provide support and resources to any who need it during this time of uncertainty. Our Staff will be taking the next week to work to develop initial plans on how we can be the best church for our community and for each other.
3. COMMUNICATION AND PRAYER
We recognize that this is a dynamic situation with constant new information and updates. If we must communicate any last-minute decisions or changes, we will provide updates on social media, via our church email, and on our website. I will also be posting during the week a word of encouragement to our COG Facebook page and our @COGAurora Instagram account.
As we look to the days and weeks ahead, please join us in prayer.
-
Ask God, in his mercy, to stem the tide of this growing pandemic, not only in our communities, but in cities around the world.
-
Pray that those who are called to address this crisis (particularly medical professionals and those in positions of authority) would be equipped to handle new cases with wisdom and compassion (Romans 13:1–4).
-
Pray that local churches would lead the way in exhibiting a spirit of trust in God and love for others (Mark 12:30-31).
-
Pray for our overseas missionaries, that they would act as God’s ambassadors, continuing to offer the hope of the gospel (Mark 16:15).
As believers, we are called to run toward tragedy and not away from it. Faithful Christians have done this throughout many generations. Let’s be faithful in this moment to be the hands and feet of Christ, caring for the sick and pointing people to ultimate hope in Him.
Serving Christ together,
Pastor Joel and Elders of Community of Grace
