May 21st, 2020:
Hello CrossView Church!
I want to share with you the direction CrossView will be going in the weeks to come. Please know that we have been prayerfully working through these months together as a board team, a staff team, and with our conference office and denominational oversight. We have an incredible group of leaders working hard to seek God and make the best decisions we can for the sake of CrossView and the Kingdom of God.
People are asking, "when can we physically gather again?" As we see things in our state begin to re-open many feel the longing to physically gather again as a church family. As I’ve said to many of you in phone calls, emails, or text messages, I too am eager to meet together as well; for me, it will be for the first time! Yet, the truth is, it will most likely be a while before we can meet again at the church building for services. Yet, when that day comes our team is committed to providing safe and healthy gathering spaces for everyone.
The Plan:
What is our plan? I’ll start by saying what follows is how we anticipate moving forward. Please remember this plan could change at any time. We are currently in phase 1 of 4 as we follow the state guidelines laid out by the Governor. In phase 1, our staff is working from home, and all our services and church meetings are online. Only essential bookkeeping and maintenance are happening onsite in an extremely limited capacity. We are abiding by the guidelines set by our local government, health department, and denominational oversight.
When we move into phase 2, our church staff will begin to work limited hours from the church office, and we will start to have limited in-person one-on-one meetings for pastoral counseling and the like. We will limit those to 5 meetings per week and follow social distancing and sanitation guidelines. We will begin to transition from recording our services from our homes to again using the church facilities on a limited basis for recording elements of our weekend service. All weekly services, small groups, prayer meetings, youth group, children’s ministry, etc will continue to be online only throughout the duration of phase 2.
Once we get to phase 3, when groups of up to fifty people can meet, we will resume regular weekly office hours for staff and in-person appointments. We will also begin to encourage people to gather in homes on Sunday Mornings to watch our services together, in what we are calling “Home Groups” (super creative name, I know!). At-risk individuals, at that point, will still be encouraged to continue to participate from their own home online. We will continue to update you on how these groups will work and what you will need to do to be ready when that time comes.
A short word of encouragement here: Please remember that Christianity began and thrived as small groups of people meeting in homes. Not only that, but our DNA as Free Methodists includes small group gatherings in homes. We are good at this type of gathering! I anticipate these Home Groups to be meaningful for us during phase 3.
As we approach Phase 4, our leadership team will prayerfully discern at what point it is wise for us to begin physically gathering for services again. Even as we begin gathering on Sundays at the church for services, our meetings will likely be limited in some capacity, and services will look and feel different as we do our best to continue to create an environment that is safe and healthy for all. We will still need to consider social distancing guidelines, sanitation requirements, possibly requiring some personal protection equipment, etc. As was mentioned in the paragraph above, we will communicate often and walk step by step together as we near phase 4. We will do our best to make sure that expectations are clear and that all of us are ready for what’s ahead!
During all the phases, we will follow the guidelines set forth by our local government, health department, and denominational oversight. As we know, the guidelines and conditions may change. So, this is our plan as of today. What I do know is that it will take some time for us to get back to normal, and some things may never be what they once were. We will have to adjust to some new things even as we return to what seems familiar.
The Heart:
You’re probably reading this section thinking, “Okay, Pastor Kyle, this is long enough. You don’t need to write a book!” I agree. While there is much to be said about the reasoning behind our plan above we will do our best to communicate those reasons in the weeks to come.
In the meantime, I’d like to draw your attention to a document included in this email titled “PNWC Biblical & Theological Considerations in Response to COVID-19 (you can also access this document on our website at www.mycrossview.com under “COVID-19 Updates.).” This document comes to us from our denominational office and states very clearly the theological heart behind our taking the approach laid out above. I encourage you to read it, it is very helpful! However, I’d like to quote just a few paragraphs as I conclude this letter:
Love drives our actions:
“God’s love should define us and our actions in this historic moment. Our love for each other and for those in the world around us will cause us to stand out in this time and it will point others to Jesus.”
Our faith tradition informs us:
“Our Wesleyan theology leads us to use a holistic approach in all we do. We determine our actions based on Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience. Our response to COVID-19 is shaped by data, research, and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control. All of this is bathed in prayer, compelled by love, and grounded in God’s Word.”
We seek the welfare of our community, pointing to Jesus:
“God calls his people to bless, serve, and cultivate the earth. We use all of our power, privilege, and resources to benefit the community and city we find ourselves in. We direct our actions in favor of the wellbeing (shalom) of the community. The temporary measures established by our current government are intended to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the greater community. These intentions are aligned with the best teachings given to God’s people. God promises healing and restoration.”
Really Important Last Point - Keep Reading!
Let me reassure you that the Gospel of Jesus is advancing even with the limitations we face. We have seen 13 first-time decisions for Jesus since shelter at home began. 13!! The word of God is being preached around the world in ways that have never happened before in history. God is at work.
As I said in a sermon a few weeks ago, let’s try not to focus on what we lack, that is often a scheme of the enemy to keep God’s people distracted and ineffective. Instead, let’s focus on what we have in Jesus, taking full advantage of every opportunity we have in this new reality to spread the good news of the Gospel and become better disciples of Jesus.
There will soon be a time when we all can gather again at the church. What a fantastic day that will be! Until then, please keep engaging online, join in on ZOOM, keep inviting your friends and family to our online services. Keep reaching out and connecting with neighbors, fellow CrossView church members, and others.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we move forward during these uncertain times. Keep praying for your leaders! If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me at kyle@mycrossview.com or Pastor Holly at holly@mycrossview.com.
We love you all and are waiting eagerly to meet again.
Blessings,
Pastor Kyle