Corona Virus Response & Updates
This Post Will Be Updated As Updates Come Available. Please also follow Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for regular updates.
Check our Pray. Support. Serve. page for prayer and serving opportunities.
—
Latest Update: March 17th, 4:30pm
Pastor Brandon has posted another video to let you know what we are planning over the next 15 days.
We know that so much is happening in a very short window of time and many of us are trying to navigate all the changes in our way of life, our relationships, and our workplace. Please watch the video above to get a full understanding of what and why but here are the bullet points…
We are pausing all public gatherings but will be going online in several ways...
Our All-In night scheduled for tomorrow will now be an online prayer gathering from 7-8pm. Links will be posted soon.
Sunday Services will be online only. We will have more information on that soon.
Next week’s Dinner Parties will be virtual. We will also have creative ways for you to help your neighbors and local businesses.
We love you church and are continuously praying for you. Please send us any prayer needs you have. We will do our best to help and are creating teams and resources to do just that.
—
Latest Update: March 14th, 2:37pm
Watch a video from Pastor Brandon regarding tomorrow's service and the heartbeat behind our decision.
We are gathering tomorrow! But here are a couple of quick notes and changes:
No kids service tomorrow. Kids are welcome but we will not be providing kids ministry.
We are taking all necessary and mandated precautions. Extra soap. Propping open doors. Wiping down handles and seats. Bottled water only. No handshakes or hugs. Spreading out in the room.
We will focus on prayer. On being a place for people to gather and be reminded that God is with them. We will have worship, a short message, and a time of prayer.
Please take all needed measures on your end. Feeling sick or someone in your family? High risk or have underlying health issues? Stay home and join us live on Instagram and/or Facebook. We love you and we will be reaching out.
Continue to give as a church. We have already begun to plan for how we can help through local non-profits and within our community. Let’s stay generous.
Be reminded that we are the church always. Canceling or altering Sunday service does not equal canceling church. Let’s look for opportunities and ways to show people Jesus on our streets.
Please message us with any questions or concerns. We’re in this together!
—
Written March 13th, 11:00am
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
— John 16:33
"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
— Philippians 4:6-7
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment."
— 2 Timothy 1:7
In light of the recent concerns around our community about the COVID-19 virus, we wanted to share how we are preparing for this weekend and beyond. We are not reacting in fear but planning with faith and wisdom.
First and foremost, now more than ever our city, country and the world needs the Church to lead and love sacrificially and supernaturally. As our routines are disrupted, continue to establish patterns of Jesus that adjust the posture of our hearts and the impact the way we inhabit places—home, work, schools, grocery stores, etc.
Having said that, here are steps and precautions we are taking to do our part in keeping our community healthy.
We plan to continue our Sunday Gatherings and Dinner Parties but are monitoring the situation and following recommendations from state and local government agencies.
While we realize no public environment is 100% safe, we will take extra precautions and safety measures to create a safe space for our families. This includes Botanic who is doing extra cleaning before we get there.
In place of handshakes and hugs, we will wave and say hello. We will not pass offering buckets. We will wipe down doors and common points of contact regularly.
Also, if you or your children are ill, please stay home and we will be in touch with creative ways to join in community.
Those who are high-risk or have underlying health issues, please use discretion when attending any large gatherings.
We will continue to keep you informed as more information comes available! We appreciate and deeply value the efforts of our government leaders to do the best they can to lead with wisdom. The leadership of these groups benefit all of us and we want to cooperate with their efforts.
We also realize that our current space at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens is a city-run and operated venue. This means, if they make the decision to close or limit the availability of their venue we will have to coordinate other plans for our gatherings.
Please understand that this is a rapidly developing situation and we will have to remain flexible and connected as things progress. We will do our best to communicate often and clearly.
In this time, we encourage you to engage our city as a non-anxious presence, lead out of faith in the midsts of fear, pray for our community, city, nation and the world, and practice radical generosity in the midst of uncertainty. We know there is a possibility of those in our church community and city being financially and/or socially affected so we want to be prepared to help.
As we all walk this out together, remember this: what we do does something to us. We should not spend all of our time watching the news or scrolling social media. We should spend time in prayer, listening to worship, and encouraging our friendships.
As Andy Crouch says, "We need to start and end each day as children of our heavenly Father, friends of Jesus, and grateful recipients of the Holy Spirit. We need to pray for genuine spiritual authority, rooted in the love that casts out fear, to guard and govern our lives as we lead, and trust that God will make up what is lacking in our own frail hearts, minds, and bodies."
In the weeks ahead, may we follow the way of love as we seek to be a non-anxious presence in the midst of an anxious world, and to love and care for those in our community.
Love you Church,
Brandon & Meredith Cole
—
Sites to reference for regular updates and FAQs: