As concern about the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues, the question has come up about how should churches respond. In areas where the virus has been confirmed, some churches have cancelled service for the upcoming weeks or have gone to an online format. Some local governments have even placed restrictions on the amount of people that can gather for any event in order to help minimize the spread of the virus.
At the moment, the virus has not directly impacted our community and we are not under any such restrictions but we must we aware that can change at any moment.
Therefore, we will remain in a day-by-day, week-by-week evaluation of the situation, but for the moment we plan to continue with church services as normal. However, we do want to be sure to take precautions, not only due to the coronavirus situation but also due to other seasonal illnesses we have experienced.
We trust God. We know he is sovereign. Therefore, we avoid a sense of panic, we pray, but we also use the wisdom he has given us to take precautions and protect ourselves and those around us.
Be sure to practice good habits such as proper hand-washing and covering coughs and sneezes. We will forgo our normal greeting time during the service for at least the next few weeks. If you are sick, and especially if you have had a fever in the past 24-hours, please stay home. If you aren’t comfortable getting out in public at this time, then we also encourage you to remain home from church these next few weeks. We usually post the sermons on-line within a week after the service.
As always, if a need comes up, please contact either the pastor or one of the deacons and we will seek to assist you the best we can.
You can find out more about the COVID-19 and its symptoms at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html
First Baptist Church 