Greetings!
Community. We are made for it.
We were not created to live our lives in isolation. We see this truth on display in Genesis 2:18 as God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” We feel the longing for community in many ways now more than ever. Sunday was an incredible day! I cherished the moments visiting with you at the Drive-Thru Fellowship. Rachel had to keep reminding me to keep it short because people were waiting. Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by and visit! If you were unable to attend and would like to pick up your Bible study books, give us a call in the office. We can arrange a time for you to pick it up or have it delivered.
As your pastor, I know how important our church community is in your life, as it is equally important in mine. I desperately want to resume on-campus activities and re-establish our unique traditions and activities. However, the church staff and leadership teams do not take this decision lightly. Your health and well-being is definitely of utmost importance during this season of life. We are monitoring updates daily, taking into account the number of cases in Central Arkansas and across the state.
If we were to resume indoor worship services at this time, there would be many adjustments and alterations made to follow the health guidelines. Here are just a few questions that we have to consider:
- Would families remain separate and not interact with others?
- Can we maintain an adequate supply of cleaning agents to keep the building clean (disinfectants, hand sanitizer, etc.)?
- Would everyone correctly wear masks throughout their time inside the building and remain at least six feet apart from others?
- Would parents be able to supervise their children throughout the service and still be able to participate in worship? (No children or youth activities will take plan at this point)
- How would singing impact the spread of germs inside the building?
- How could we keep restrooms clean throughout the worship time?
- Could we successfully stagger entrance and exit points within the building?
- Could we effectively complete a registration process on each person entering the building in order to provide documentation to the health department in case of a positive COVID-19 test within 14 days of a worship service?
- How do we manage guests?
- Are we prepared to respond to an incident in which someone attends worship and then tests positive for COVID-19? (Response would include working with the health department to shut down the building for a designated period of quarantine as well as handing over the registration list for attendees to self isolate and/or quarantine for 14 days.)
- How do we respond when attendees refuse to follow guidelines?
In many ways, answering these questions effectively could create a culture of worship to which we are not accustomed and would make our members uncomfortable. Again, I desperately want to gather together for worship and Bible study. I am confident that we will do that soon. I plead with you to be patient with us as we begin the reopening process. Pray for wisdom for our leadership. Please place your trust in us through this unique process. We deeply care for you and your spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical health.
The Drive-Thru Fellowship was our first in a series of events that will begin our re-opening process. We hope that you will join us for the Picnic on the Grounds on Saturday. Engage with us online. Make plans for your small group to meet together soon. We have already begun scheduling times for you to meet on campus for Bible study. We are working hard to hopefully begin offering on-campus worship in the month of June. Remember, we still have not transitioned into Phase 2 so be careful, if not for yourself, then for those who are at-risk.
