Good afternoon, Church!

We are all looking forward to this weekend! Josh is excited to kick off our brand new series, Messengers. We hope you'll join us at 9:00 or 10:30am, or catch us on the livestream on Youtube at either time.

Coronavirus is on all of our minds these days, in one way or another. We don't get to choose the times we live in, nor the circumstances, but we do get to choose how we respond to them. Some are very worried, and others are taking this in stride. Wherever you are on this issue, please know that we as a church are taking this issue very seriously. We want to offer you a few encouragements and fill you in on the details of what we as a church are doing, going ahead.

Throughout these times in our nations' history, the church has been a lighthouse of hope to people. We want to be that lighthouse of hope to those in our community who may be fearful, and we will be ready to introduce them to our God of hope. So, we will respond with faith and with wisdom. 

Just this week, the virus reached Collin County, but to our knowledge, through what is being reported, it is very limited in scope in our area and appears to be under control here in North Texas so far. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and other authorities, the risk of exposure to COVID-19 is currently low for people in the U.S.

First , let's focus on this verse as we look for peace in this time of what could so easily become panic. Philippians 4:6-7 says,  “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Secondly, we're encouraging everyone at Lifeway to stay up to date with current advice regarding COVID-19 by checking the  CDC  website.

As a church, it's important to note that we are taking every precaution necessary to limit the potential spread of this virus, and to be as responsible as we can concerning how we respond to this situation. Our building is cleaned, disinfected, and/or washed on a regular basis to make sure we are doing our part to provide clean and safe areas for everyone - especially our children. Our staff will be washing their hands, sanitizing, and cleaning on a regular basis as well. 

We aren’t scared. We want to respond with faith over fear, but we also want to use wisdom and sound judgement in our preparedness in this situation. With that said, here are a few things you can do to help us and everyone who attends Lifeway:
Beginning  immediately , we are asking that
we all take the following precautions:

  • If you feel sick, have traveled abroad, been on a cruise ship, have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for this virus, please stay home until you are cleared. Let us know how we can pray for you.

  • Please wash your hands on a regular basis, use sanitizer on a regular basis, and use common sense. We will have hand sanitizer stations throughout the church, but remember, the CDC has advised that the best course of action is to keep your hands away from your face and to wash your hands regularly, rubbing them together for at least 20 seconds and rinsing with warm water.

  • Let's try to refrain from shaking hands, but how about for the time being we do a fist bump or elbow bumps to greet one another? We have communicated to ALL our serving teams to do the same. So, if they smile but don’t shake, don’t be offended. They still love you!

  • If you are an at risk individual (elderly, with underlying health conditions) and you choose to stay home, remember you can always watch, pray, worship, and give online at www.lifewaycelina.com or go to Lifeway’s Youtube channel or our Facebook page to stay connected.
One other thing we will do for a while is for communion. We will have people come to the front and take the elements from stations as usual, but the elements will be pre-packaged and double-stacked (a cracker in a cup below a cup of juice) to prevent people from having to touch a tray of crackers. 

Our motto during this season is prepared and prayerful! We will do both, and we are active in meeting with local officials and are awaiting any instructions they may provide, should anything change about the situation. We will do whatever we need to keep our community safe. 

That’s all for now. God bless and see you Sunday,

The Elders of Lifeway Church