Good News Church - Coronavirus Update - 3.19.20

An update from Pastor Mitch on how our church is responding to the recommendations given by our government and the CDC regarding coronavirus.

Just a few weeks ago, I gave a message from Revelation 4 where we saw a picture of God on the throne. No matter what happens in this world, God has been, God is, and God always will be on the throne. He is in control, he is in charge, and he will forever reign.

In following President Trump’s guidelines he gave on March 16th, we are avoiding social gatherings of more than ten people for fifteen days by canceling our worship gatherings for the next two weeks (3/22 and 3/29). We will see what our government and the CDC recommend after that. But it’s important to keep in mind the picture of God on the throne. We want to love our neighbors and our nation well by being part of the solution and not the problem in stopping the spread of this disease. And we are trusting our great God who is in control while we do it.

Even though we aren’t gathering to worship as a group in person, that doesn’t mean we stop worshiping as a church. Starting this Sunday, March 22nd, I planned to begin a four week series preparing us to celebrate Easter (April 12). While we are not gathering in person, I will send out a Scripture passage and guide for you to prepare for Easter. I want to encourage you to worship each Sunday in your home as a family or as an individual. As a church, let’s continue to worship our God who is worthy of all praise, even though we are not physically together.

You may wonder: why aren’t we live-streaming a sermon or doing a video message? While I considered these options, I believe that there is something special that happens when we gather in person to worship as a church which cannot be reproduced digitally no matter how great the technology is. For that reason, our current solution is to not hold worship gatherings. This allows us to hunger and long for the real thing rather than settle for a digital substitute. If you’d still like to hear a sermon, I’d encourage you to revisit some of the sermons you may have missed that are on our website, especially from our most recent series: Pictures of Following Jesus.

Here are a few other thoughts as we head into these weeks:

1. Social distancing doesn’t mean social disconnection. Check in on WhatsApp with others. Reach out to at least one other person in our church once a week to see how they are doing. We may not be gathering in our regular way, but we don’t have to walk through this alone.
2. Use this time for solitude and refocusing. In this year’s first sermon, I talked about Jesus’ habit of being alone with the Father. We have been forced into solitude by a virus, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use it to our advantage. Use it as an opportunity to quiet your life.
3. Check in on your elderly or vulnerable neighbors. Don’t get a “bunker down” mentality where you gather up and hoard resources for yourself. This is a time to show the love and care of our good, gracious, great, and generous God. Let your light shine to those around you!
4. Don’t face financial struggles alone. If coronavirus has had an impact on your financial situation, please reach out. Let’s figure it out together as a church family.

With love,
Pastor Mitch

P.S. If you’d like to continue giving financially to the church during these weeks while we aren’t collecting on offering in person, you can mail a check to: Good News Church, PO Box 1481, Woodstock, IL 60098