Coronavirus Update
Tim and Jaron share some encouragement and updates about our plans for meetings and communication over the next few weeks.
Friends, we are in a season of uncertainty and upheaval. In times like these, it’s important to remind one another that the most important things remain the same. God is still God. He is still sovereign. He does’t change. He’s never surprised or worried. Although we may feel increased stress, we know that our future is secure. The truths we love and the values we share as a community haven’t gone away. And we can count on God to enable us to live those out in every circumstance.
Here’s some information regarding questions you might have about the days ahead…
What’s happening this Sunday?
Christ’s Church won’t be holding our regular meetings this Sunday. Some people are sick, others are out of town for Spring Break, and many are self-quarantining. The volunteer teams who normally serve our Sunday meetings, like children’s ministry workers, greeters, and the worship team, won’t be at full capacity this week. Additionally, the city of Joplin has banned gatherings larger than 50 people for the next 30 days. For a variety of reasons, we can’t do what we would normally do on a Sunday.
What’s happening after that?
The situation in front of us changes daily, sometimes multiple times per day. We don’t want to lock ourselves into a long-term plan that might not serve the congregation well in the coming weeks. As the specifics come together regarding Sunday meetings in the future, we’ll communicate with the church via email (you can subscribe to our mailing list here), our Facebook page, and our website.
Pastoral team members will also be in the office throughout the week and available by appointment if you would like to meet with someone individually. These are tense and uncertain times, and the pastors here want to make ourselves available to serve you.
How will we stay connected?
Small Groups
Over the coming weeks, it will be especially important to stay connected to our small group. Several groups had already planned to take a break this week for Spring Break, but most will resume next week. We know there are many who won’t be able to attend small group, either to protect their own health, the health of a loved one, or because their job requires them to limit contact. No one should feel any obligation to attend small group meetings if it seems unwise or unsafe to do so. For those who are able to gather, we believe doing so will strengthen you and strengthen your group.
If you’re not able to attend group for the foreseeable future, please let your small group leaders know, so they can check on you by phone. Whether you are able to attend or not, we want to make sure you are well taken care of. And if you’re not in a group, we can get you in one pretty quickly! Call (417.623.6268) or email (office@ccoj.us) the church office, and we’ll let you know which groups have openings and when they meet.
Video Sermons
While we’re not able to meet on Sundays, we’ll be recording and sharing short video sermons each week. If you’re able to view them with other believers, we would encourage you to do so. Links to these videos will be posted on social media and sent out by email each week before Sunday morning. You can also follow us on Vimeo to receive updates automatically when new videos are uploaded.
Personal Contact and Prayer
Lastly, we want to strongly encourage you to stay in touch with each other, to pray for one another, and to pray for our nation and community. We plan to share regular encouragements to keep trusting God and ways we can be praying together.
The church isn’t shut down. We just reconfigured.
