Hello my friends, with the new Regional Stay at Home order issued by the state, and recently impacting our area, I wanted to take a minute to clarify how this affects our church worship services. First, we join in prayer for our world, nation, state, and area as we do our part in the fight against COVID-19. We are praying for our government officials and the hard choices they have to make, we are praying for the economic and emotional toll these decisions make, and we are praying for the faith of our people.
Church services will CONTINUE, outdoor and online. Last week, our teams put in a lot of work, sweat, and hours to get both of our services (9:00 and 11:00am) outside, and we are now livestreaming outdoors. If you are livestreaming, I hope you got a peek at the experience we are having while we gather outside. We are one church, and we are doing everything we can to experience worship services together (while apart). I want to thank everyone who has done so much work to keep worship services happening. Worship is absolutely vital for our spiritual health. And…if you haven’t realized this yet…our spiritual health changes everything.
Worship services are not only biblically commanded (see Psa 95:6; Luke 4:8; Heb 10:25), morally and historically defensible, they are also legally permitted under this new order. I have included the link from the California Department of Public Health below. This letter specifically states, on page two, section 2c, that worship is “permitted outdoors.” Just as the letter states (section 2g) that outdoor facilities may operate “to promote and protect the physical and mental well-being of people in California,” so worship services must continue for the spiritual health and well-being of our state.
Our church hasn’t missed a single Sunday. We are doing everything we can to serve you, so that together we may serve the Lord in worship. Our spiritual health is vital! Make worship a part of your life, every week. You can join us online or outdoors. Our outdoor services are cold but this is a powerful experience–one that you will remember for the rest of your life. We also have our Big Tent arriving soon, and we are planning on doing a “Tent Raising” on Dec 19, 10:00am. This event is like a “worship service” setup, allowing us to continue outdoor worship for months to come. We also have our Christmas Eve services: one on Dec 23 at 7:00pm and one on Dec 24 at 4:00pm. Make sure you make one of these.
God never stops working (John 5:17); He is growing deeper roots and character in us through these hard times. Stronger steel is forged in the fiercest fire. God has not stopped working, and neither has your church. Keep praying for us, keep connecting with us (it helps), and keep participating as much as you can. Online or outside–I hope you will be there on Sunday!
