Updated 05/29/2020
Dear gracespring family,
There have been many questions regarding ‘when church will start back up’. Well, let me be clear that the church has never closed, but that this pandemic has reminded us of the importance of being the church where we live, work and play. So let’s rephrase the question: “When can we look forward to gathering again in person?”
Our gracespring leadership team has sought the Lord through this uncharted territory. We feel confident that God is calling us to phase back our weekly gathering times for those who so desire. We understand that what is shared in this letter will be received with celebration by many and concern by others. In times like this, we must always look to the Scriptures to provide us wise counsel for HOW to move forward with difficult decisions such as these.
Proverbs 22:3 says: “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” We are encouraged here to move forward with caution and not flippantly. Throughout this pandemic, there have been two very different perspectives promoted, each side finding ‘experts’ to support their premise. Because just over 100,000 families have been impacted nationwide, and there is not yet a vaccine, we must lean towards the side of caution. However, as this isolation has continued, our church leadership believes that the impact of continuing to socially isolate from ‘the family of faith’ will have its own detrimental consequences (Hebrews 10:24-25). So, we are choosing to walk through the door of FAITH over the door of FEAR because we are convinced that this is the way of staying true to our mission of ‘making disciples who make disciples’. There is an opportunity before us to live counter-culturally, showing ourselves to be ones who are being transformed to look more and more like Jesus.
Romans 12-14 are three chapters of the Scriptures that the Lord has brought me to. Let me remind us that these chapters are the behaviors expected from hearts that are being transformed by and through the grace of God (Romans 1-11). So, these behaviors don’t come from our own best efforts, but from yielding ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit. Here are some of the expectations of Jesus-followers:
- Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought. (Romans 12:3)
- Give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. (Romans 12:17)
- You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Romans 13:9)
- Let not the one who ‘wears a mask’ despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who ‘wears a mask.” (Roman 14:3 – My contemporary rendition)
These are the Scriptures which serve as the foundation for our plan moving forward.
In the month of June, we are adjusting our service times to 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., providing us time for a shorter, multi-age group aware service (Since we will be unable to do gsKids ministry in the foreseeable future), while then having time for teams to clean adequately before our next service. We will continue our online platform, continually looking for ways to improve this wonderful tool that has extended our REACH
The Sundays of June 7 and 14, we are limiting attendance to those Elders, staff and lay leader families who feel comfortable attending, with the goal to trouble-shoot and work through the kinks, assuring that we have taken the necessary steps to ensure a safe environment. We would still strongly encourage you to host Watch Parties during these weeks, inviting neighbors or co-workers for Brunch, and then enjoy the service together. June 7 will articulate what we are about as a church family which may be insightful.
Sunday, June 21 will be an outdoor Celebration Service on Father’s Day. This will NOT be a typical service (though we will have a pre-recorded service shown on the online platform to keep in line with excellence), but will highlight Worship, Sharing and Communion. If you feel more comfortable in your car, there will be a place for you to park and listen. We will have chairs spread out and would encourage any families who want to sit in the grass area to bring chairs and/or blankets. We encourage masks for those in closer interaction.
Sunday, June 28, this will be our first Sunday open for two services (9:00, 11:00). At this point in time we do not see the need to specify which service to attend, but there will be overflow venue(s) just in case. We will not exceed the CDC guidelines given for the space we have and would ask that if you feel symptomatic at all, to please stay home and enjoy the service on-line. We will be sitting every other row with 3 seats between family units on the same row. We are REQUIRING masks and ask that you bring masks from home. We will have some on hand for those who forget. This is the opportunity for us to be selfless for the benefit of others, a great exercise for us all. (Remember Romans 12-14)
Because these are ‘faith-building’ times before us, I am calling our church family to pray and fast on Wednesday, June 10 for God’s protection as we move forward, but that our impact multiply as we lift up the greatness of Christ, living for His Kingdom over ours (Matthew 6:33). We will then conclude the day with an online service at 7:00 p.m. filled with praise and prayer. Please prioritize this day for connecting with Christ so as to be conduits of His glory to others.
I miss you greatly and look forward to seeing you in person on June 21 outside. If the weather is bad that day, we will post that on social media and invite you to stay home and watch our online platform. But let’s look forward to the time we get to meet together as a family again to love on one another in selfless and life-giving ways.
In His Grip,
Pastor Bryan Tema