Our pastor and deacons met Thursday evening to discuss how we can best and most responsibly fulfill God’s mission for our church during the current COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak. After prayerful consideration, the decision has been made to suspend all in-church worship services, group meetings, and special events until further notice. Our leadership will continue to assess the situation and determine when it is safe and appropriate for our church family to resume meeting together.
Though we will not physically gather in our church building for a few weeks, we are reminded that Fellowship Baptist Church is neither defined nor restricted by the walls of a building. Rather, we are a group of believers holding to a common faith, bound together by love, and united under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We will press on together, by His power and for His sake. We will be ramping up our use of technology and social media as a tool to minister to our church members and community in the days ahead, and we encourage you to engage with these efforts as much as possible. We will have opportunities to hear God’s Word together…albeit from our own homes…by tuning in to Facebook when broadcasts of Sunday morning services and Wednesday evening devotionals/Bible studies “go live.” We will also explore other ministry opportunities that will allow for engagement and spiritual growth among our small groups, youth, and children.
As always, please contact Bro. Chris or one of our deacons if you have any specific prayer needs, ministry requests, or simply need a few minutes of friendly Christian conversation. Use this time to refocus and prioritize personal prayer and Bible study, family devotions, and finding opportunities to share Christ’s love in our community. To continue tithing while our regular services are suspended, please either mail your tithe directly to the church or ask one of our leaders to pick it up at your house. Information about other ways to give (bank drafts, online) to the church may be available in a few days.
We take comfort in the words of Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Christ’s Church has persevered through two millennia of persecution and plague, and it will continue to do so until He calls His saints to be with Him in glory (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). Our decision to suspend gatherings on our church campus has not been made in fear, but rather in respect to the request of our governing authorities (Romans 13:1-2) and out of love for our vulnerable congregants and neighbors (Psalm 41:1, Matthew 7:12). And while we pray that we might gather together again as soon as possible, the necessity to move our ministries online creates the opportunity to reach more people in our community with the Gospel. Our methods may change, but our duty to win souls and make disciples remains. Let us strive to ever be faithful!
In closing, take care of yourselves and check in on each other. Be salt and light in a world full of darkness and uncertainty. Above all, pray for God’s mercy upon our land and for the strength, wisdom, and love we need to faithfully be the church He has called us to be.