You’ve probably heard it said a million times already: we live in unprecedented times. It would have been nice to have received a handbook called How to Deal with the COVID-19 Crisis on January 1, 2020. I am sure none of us had a clue what was coming our way. Take courage in the fact that what may have surprised us, did not surprise God.

Many of us have experienced events and shifts in culture we never dreamed we’d see. All this uncertainty and isolation can cause a crippling anxiety and fear in the minds of many people, especially now in our community when the virus has hit home for so many of us. If I can encourage you in any way, please know that you’re not alone. Reach out to a friend and share your thoughts, chances are they will also have similar feelings. I also want to encourage you to open your Bible and read. The scriptures are filled with encouragement and peace. Read passages like: Joshua 1:9, Proverbs 30:5, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 6:18, and Romans 15:4-5. Read and reflect on what the Lord has given us in His holy Word. Spend time praying these passages over yourself, your family, and community.

When Esther became the queen of Persia she did not know in that moment how God would use her. It wasn’t until later when her uncle Mordecai found out Haman’s plot to kill the Jews, the purpose that God had put her in the position of queen. Mordecai said to her, “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14 ESV). Church, don’t keep silent. You are here for such a time as this. The Commission has NOT been canceled. What Christ did on the cross, has NOT been canceled. I encourage you to share this hope with those around you.

As of right now, we are planning to go back to Phase 3 style worship gatherings on Sunday, August 16, which will consist of classic services (sanctuary & gym) at 9:00a and contemporary services (sanctuary & gym) at 11:00a.

The following steps will be in place to help us make it a safe environment for you and your family:

• Reservations will be needed to adequately prepare a space for you.

• A “masked section” separated from the unmasked section will be available in all services.

• Masks are not required, but highly recommended.   

• We will be taking temperatures when you walk into the door. If you register a fever you will

  be asked to go home and contact your doctor.

Please remember that the COVID-19 crisis can and will change on a week to week basis. Please stay in contact with us on social media and our website for any updates and changes. We will let you know immediately through our online formats and our all-call system if anything changes.

Hoping that August will be a turn-around month! Hang in there and I look forward to seeing you again as soon as possible! If you need us, please don’t hesitate to call!

A university student was seen with a large “K” printed on his T-shirt. When someone asked him what the “K” stood for, he said, “Confused.” “But,” the questioner replied, “you don’t spell ‘confused’ with a ‘K.’” The student answered, “You don’t know how confused I am.” We probably all feel like we’re wearing a “K” during these difficult days.

We are working our way through the strangest times in which we have ever lived! When we shut down “regular church” on March 31^st due to COVID-19 and started live-streaming our worship services and posting other ministry videos, we all hoped that the crisis would be over quickly.    As we began to plan a comeback, we initiated PHASE TWO as “Drive-in Services” from May 31^st through June 14^th.   

Finally, on Father’s Day, June 21^st, we got back inside our church facilities in a PHASE THREE “Soft Re-opening.”  The CLASSIC SERVICE is at 9:00a in both the Sanctuary and the gym, with Greg and his team leading music in the sanctuary and the Thrive young adult worship team in the gym. The CONTEMPORARY SERVICE is at 11:00a in both the Sanctuary and the gym, with the different worship teams in each location. My sermon and prayer is live-streamed into the gym at 9:00 and 11:00. Reservations for seating are needed for all services and can be made through our website or by calling the church office. Social distancing requirements will also continue to be observed.

Now, here’s some more good news! PHASE FOUR, the final phase of our comeback, in which we will resume on location all of the services, studies and activities that were a part of our church life before COVID-19, is scheduled to begin on Sunday, August 2^nd. The public schools in Lamar County are presently planning to open on July 31^st. On August 2^nd, we are planning on having a full Sunday morning schedule of services plus Sunday School for all ages. Of course, these plans are subject to change if there is a significant spike in the number of Corona Virus cases in our area.

The COVID-19 shut down has changed life-long Sunday morning habits for most of us. Some churches will have a hard time getting their congregations to come back to church! If you have grown comfortable in your Sunday morning pajamas, let me share with you Hebrews 10:24-25 which says, “let us consider how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together as some have gotten in the  habit of doing, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day of Christ’s return approaching.”

We look forward to our MISSION TRIP to Cowley, Wyoming, scheduled for July 18^th – 24^th with Pastor Johannes Slabbert and Water of Life Church. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL is also scheduled to happen virtually that same week of July 19^th-23^rd. Parents are asked to stop by our Christian Family Life Center under the west-side portico on Sunday, July 19^th, from 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. to pick up their child’s “tool box” for the week. Please make sure to register online each child in your family so that we will have enough tool boxes for all of our participants.

Thank you for continuing to give most generously to both our budget and to our Generations Following Student/Young Adult Building Campaign. We have now passed the $1,050,000 mark needed to break ground in our fund-raising campaign! Presently, we have received over $1,070,000!

July will be a month of PHASE THREE SERVICES! You can look forward to a return “toward” normality on August 2^nd!