Jesus' promises are still true!
Jesus is the same, He will never change.
Jesus is with us and will never leave us.
Jesus will provide everything we need.
Jesus has already come and given His life so we can be forgiven and live free.
Jesus is the King seated on the throne in heaven, and in my heart.
Jesus knows what we need before we even ask Him.
Jesus is our protector and came to destroy the works of the devil.
Jesus has the power and the desire to heal us - mind, body, and spirit.
Jesus brings perfect love that destroys fear.
Jesus has gifts of love to give to us, so we can love others with His love.
Jesus has dreams in His heart about how we each will walk into our destiny.
Jesus will share those dreams with us if we ask Him.
When I think about these promises and truths that I read in the Bible, I am more confident, less fearful, and I stop worrying. When I trade my anxieties for faith, my eyes shift from my own fears and concerns to loving others well. True ministry always flows out of the overflow of a heart saturated by God in the context of relationship. That’s where being a pastor (nurturer, mother, father, coach, mentor, … insert your own term here) begins.
How do we pastor people during a pandemic?
This is the question that has circulated in my heart as we have walked through these days. As a church we have worked really hard to honor the guidelines of the government and respect their requests for the last eight months. I am really thankful that those who have experienced COVID in our church have recovered.
As I have watched this virus be politicized, the reliability of news, figures, facts and even how science has been portrayed, leaves me wondering the same question Pontius Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” While Christians and those who don’t follow Jesus have walked away from relationships, my heart has been breaking over the division in our country.
During the last eight months I have seen a steady increase in fatigue, addiction, mental health issues, infighting in families, breakups, offenses being held, careless and hurtful words being spoken, suicide, and depression and anxiety growing off the charts.
We are committed as a church to move forward.
Within all of this context, the Neighborhood Church board has met for three of the last four weeks to determine, “What does it look like to love our neighbor in this season? How do we engage the hurting, the lonely, the depressed and those who have been isolated during this season?” As we deliberated, the Lord really highlighted the elderly, those who are suicidal, widows, single parents, and those without a support system.
Our last board discussion this week was three hours, after prayer, fasting and research. I am so proud of this team. There was no fear, no politics, no culture war – just the desire to make those who are most in need during this season feel safe and cared for. As a team, we felt convicted that we need to provide the Sunday space for our people to continue to meet as we host a consistent place of the peace and presence of God. In 28 years of ministry, I have never seen a more desperate need for love, care, discipleship, counseling, and prayer. When isolated, Christians get wobbly and begin to look to the world for coping strategies instead of looking to Jesus and His support network within the church. While this is part of our individual responsibility to seek others, not having a gathering place on Sundays has made these connections very difficult.
So, moving forward we will continue to have two services on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. We will continue to keep the same arrangements that we currently have: the 9:00 service will be a masked service and the 11:00 service will remain a “masked while moving” service. The widows and elderly among us must be honored and cared for, and we will wear masks to help them feel safe. Our board has chosen erring on the side of caution and taking preventative measures where possible. As we continue in the weeks to come, the board will continue to monitor our situation and make changes when necessary. We believe that with 11 feet of distance between family groups in the largest building with good ventilation, we are providing a safe place.
Something to celebrate!
In the past two weeks, we have welcomed new visitors who have walked through our doors. We also had the pleasure of greeting those who literally hadn’t left their homes since March bravely venture to church to worship. These are wins that need to be celebrated!
There are no perfect solutions in this season, and we have chosen to remain gathered (like many other churches in Chico) so that we can love and pastor the people who are the most discouraged and in most need of a touch. As we move forward, we are committed to live stream our Sunday service at 11:00 a.m. It is available online any time after that if you aren’t able to watch live. We recognize some of you will remain tuned in online for several reasons. We respect your decision and we are longing for the day where we will be regathered without masks or other restrictions.
We are truly thankful.
Please continue praying for us as we make very difficult decisions in the days ahead. Thank you for your graciousness and encouragement. I believe the Lord is challenging us all to grow in this season, and I choose to be thankful in the midst of days filled with difficulty.
I look forward to seeing all of you who choose to worship with us this Sunday at either 9:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.
You can also live stream our 11:00 a.m. service on Facebook and YouTube
If you missed last week's message from the Kingdom Series: Week 13-"Trusting the King and Worry" click here.
