6/19/20

UPDATES:

Childcare Begins This Sunday

HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:

  • We will start with just two rooms of childcare available. We will add more as attendance increases.
  • A class for children 0 – Age 3 will be located upstairs in a converted classroom about halfway down the hallway. Please bring your child freshly changed and keep your child’s diaper bag with you.
  • Preschool and school age children will start the service with their parents in the auditorium. They will be dismissed before the sermon as usual for children’s church. They will watch a lesson video, hear a story taught, complete an activity sheet, and have play time. They will be in one of the usual classrooms downstairs.
  • Rooms and toys will be cleaned before and after class. Volunteers and parents/children should closely monitor themselves for signs of sickness. Masks can be worn in class but are not required.

We have volunteers in place for childcare this Sunday but would love to get some other people on the schedule. If you are comfortable working with children at this time, please contact Laura Sharbaugh via phone call or text at 312-4197.

Prayer Meetings Are Back at the Church This Wednesday

HERE ARE THE DETAILS: 

We are going to start meeting at church for our Wednesday night prayer meetings. If the weather allows, we will meet outdoors in the Joe’s Place shelter house. If the weather doesn’t cooperate, we will gather indoors in the auditorium. Children will be free to play on the playground or in the new upstairs nursery. This will begin this Wednesday, June 24th.

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5/13/20

PLAN TO RESUME GATHERING:

As we move forward with a plan to resume our Sunday gathering, we acknowledge from the start that not everyone will agree with this plan. We all have different vantage points from which we see this situation, and there are valid concerns that lead to contradicting responses. So, as we wade into this, know that our goal is to love the Lord and love the image-bearers he created for his sake.

There is a principle we can gather from Paul’s teaching in Romans 14: the concerns of our brothers and sisters matter more than being right. As certain as we may be that we are right, our greater concern is to show that we love our brothers and sisters. Paul’s description of love in Philippians 2:3-4 is to consider others as more important than ourselves and to be concerned about what they are concerned about. With that said, we acknowledge that not everyone will agree with our precautions, but we hope that everyone who gathers with us will agree to abide by them out of love for Christ and others. We are not asking everyone to agree on how to view this problem. We are only asking that everyone unite around our devotion to Christ and concede on matters that they may feel is a personal right but causes another person concern.

There may be concerns that you feel we have not addressed. We are more than happy to listen and learn from your perspective. We ask only that you be willing to do the same from us as you express those concerns.

We do not want anyone to feel that gathering with us is the only right response. In fact, if you are in the high-risk category due to age or health, we would recommend that you stay home. We will be providing online ways to experience what is happening as we gather. This is also an option for anyone who simply does not feel comfortable gathering with us at this time.

General Plan

  • On May 24th, we will begin to gather at 10:30am for the morning service only.
  • There will be no Sunday school, Bible study, nursery, or children’s church.
  • There will be no other church meetings in the building at this time.
  • Pews will be blocked off every other one to facilitate social distancing.
  • There will be no bulletins.
  • The offering will be taken in the back, not passed down rows.
  • We will not be participating in the Lord’s Supper at this time.
  • There will be no hymnals or pew Bibles available for use.
  • Upstairs restrooms and the mother’s room will be available.
  • Other parts of the church will be closed off to minimize cleaning.

Safety measures

  • Wear a mask while in the building.
  • Maintain a distance of 6 feet from non-household members.
  • Refrain from shaking hands, hugging, etc.
  • Wash hands and use hand sanitizer.
  • Stay home if you are symptomatic.

Overflow in gym

  • The gym will function as an overflow room when the auditorium reaches safe capacity.
  • The gym also will function as a place for a parent and children 5 years old and younger.

Online options

  • We encourage those who are at high-risk with COVID-19 to stay home.
  • There will be a livestream of the service provided through Facebook Live.
  • There will be a video recording of the service that can be accessed afterwards.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLAN:

Churches have been excluded from the orders established by the State Office. However, out of a desire to honor our leaders and with concern for others, many churches determined to cancel gathering together. With the State Government initiating a phased reopening of businesses, churches must determine when to resume our gatherings since our leaders will not be giving us an official green light or offering guidance on how to resume. The only direct mention of churches in the present orders signed by Dr. Acton on April 30th are found under section 4, “Prohibited activities,” and say, “This Section does not apply to religious facilities, entities and groups and religious gatherings.”

Health officials in both Miami and Clark counties have been contacted. Both acknowledged that we are allowed to gather again, and both were encouraged that we are attempting to follow the guidelines for businesses given by the state. Pastor Curt has contacted other pastors in Miami and Clark counties as well as other pastors within the Greater Dayton Association of Baptists. Though specific to our church, our plan is similar to many of these churches that will resume their gatherings throughout May.

Our date of May 24th was selected in view of the specific reopening of retail businesses on May 12th. Waiting over a week after this reopening will give us time to see how the reopening process is going for the state of Ohio and for our specific region of Ohio.

General Plan

Though there is a concern for remaining spread out, we determined to meet for one service rather than two to minimize division in our congregation. We do not want to create any unnecessary fractures in our body, and we believe that we can provide enough space in the auditorium and the gym to facilitate appropriate social distancing.

Due to the need to sanitize everything very carefully after use, we think it is best to restrict our gathering to the one worship service, rather than also having Bible studies and children’s ministries. Children will need to remain with parents at all times.

We are reducing personal contact by removing certain regular activities and objects. We will not provide bulletins during this time, but we will continue to email regularly and make announcements through One Call. We will not take an offering during the service by passing plates down our rows. Instead, we will have a place at the back where you can give as you leave. We will not be participating in the Lord’s Supper until we can determine how to do so appropriately given present constraints. We will also remove the hymnals and pew Bibles to reduce the potential for spreading the virus. Upstairs restrooms and the mother’s room are necessary for use in addition to the auditorium and the gym, but other parts of the church will be closed off so that we can reduce what we need to sanitize after the service.

Safety measures

Out of concern for others and based on present medical opinions, we are asking everyone to take the following safety measures. The medical community is finding that a large percentage of people infected with COVID-19 are asymptomatic. They have directed people to put certain safety measures into practice because they believe they will reduce the risk of passing the Coronavirus unknowingly on to others. To facilitate social distancing, we are directing everyone to remain 6 feet away from non-household members. We are roping off pews and encouraging a 6-foot distance between households in each row. Those living in the same households are encouraged to sit close together. We are directing everyone to wear a mask when in the building. Wearing a mask is primarily done in the hope that it will keep the person wearing the mask from infecting someone else, so wearing a mask communicates that we care about the people around us. If you are unable to obtain a mask, we will provide one for you upon entry. It is equally important that we do not shake hands or hug each other. We are also encouraging you to wash hands and use hand sanitizer, which will be available, to reduce the risk of indirect contact transmission. Lastly, please stay home if you have a fever or other symptoms of illness.

Overflow in gym

We will provide an overflow room for when our capacity with social distancing is reached. We will livestream the service in the gym and have chairs set up at reasonable distances. We will also provide this area for any parent with a small child (5 years old or younger). We are not requiring parents to go to this area, but we are providing it for any who think it would be helpful. Parents will hopefully feel more comfortable as they work with their children, encouraging those who will remain seated to do so and keeping those who will not close by. We are asking for everyone in the overflow area to participate as they would normally during the service in the auditorium.

Online options

With all the precautions we are taking, we realize that we are still unable to reduce the risk for some people. The Director’s Stay Safe Orders state under section 6, “According to CDC, those at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19 include people who are sixty-five years or older and people of all ages with underlying medical conditions…” The orders go on to list some of those underlying medical conditions. We would encourage those who are at high-risk for severe illness to remain home. We would also encourage anyone who does not feel comfortable gathering at this time to stay home.

We will be providing multiple ways to view the service for those who are unable to come or feel uncomfortable coming. There will be an option to watch the service while it is taking place by means of Facebook Live. There will also be a recording that can be posted and emailed after the service. We know this is not the same as actually gathering with us, but we hope that it can still be an encouragement while we wait for better days.

Concluding thoughts

We will continue to monitor the situation and think through any changes that need to be made to this plan. Please let us know if you have any concerns; we want to hear them. Nothing is set in stone. This is an ever-evolving situation, and we will be praying for positive changes in the near future. In the meantime, our attitude should be as Paul commands us in 1 Corinthians 16:14: “Let all that you do be done in love” (ESV). I am confident that we can come together as a church family and demonstrate the love of Christ to a watching world. I have seen our church family show this kind of love so many times since I arrived at First Baptist, and I look forward to seeing us shine this love brightly in this dark time.

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3/19/2020

Dear Church Family,

The regular gathering of the church is a vital part of the Christian life, but there are times when we’re unable to attend, like when we’re sick. In those cases, we’re not “neglecting to meet together” as Hebrews 10:24-25 instructs us. Hebrews is describing a situation where a person is able to gather with the rest of the church family but chooses not to. This kind of neglect happens today when people regularly prioritize something over the Sunday morning service. There are also times when we would like to meet with our church family but cannot. This is the situation our church finds ourselves in today.

Based on the directions of our state and federal governments, we believe it is best to cancel the last two services for the month of March. We understand that our government officials are doing what they think is best to address the Coronavirus, which in recent days has overwhelmed European nations like Italy and France. We also understand that this sickness would have only a minor impact on the vast majority, but there is a minority for which it is lethal. So out of a desire to respect our governing officials and to love our neighbor, we are canceling for at least the next two weeks.

We will not be live streaming a service for you to watch at home. This is a subject that not everyone agrees on, but I have come to the conclusion that this is what is best. We gather and meet together to encourage each other toward Christlikeness, and this does not merely happen by our own experience of singing and listening to a message. Our physical presence is vital to our gathering together and cannot be replaced. We meet with our church family to glorify the Father through the good news of his Son in the fellowship of his Spirit. Physically gathering together is how we encourage each other to love and good deeds as the passage in Hebrews describes. And as Paul directed us in Colossians 3:16, we are collectively teaching and admonishing each other as we sing together. Our presence together as a church family is vital to our Sunday gathering, and while singing along to worship music and listening to a sermon are good things to do, they are not the equivalent of gathering with the rest of the body for our morning service.

This is the decision I’ve come to after prayerful consideration, and I acknowledge that others that I respect have come to different conclusions. I am also quite aware that I could be wrong, but I cannot proceed with an online version of our gathering in good conscience. In today’s culture where some are choosing to offer an online church as a regular way to gather as a church, I don’t want in any way to communicate that something online can replace what we do on Sunday. We will definitely miss being together, but that feeling is good. It means we value what God wants for us, and I would not want to take away our longing to meet again by offering a substitute that could distract us from that value.

So what should we do on Sunday while we’re apart? Meditate on God’s Word and devote yourselves to prayer. Fill your weeks with good music and with Scripture, listening to good playlists and podcasts. Then on Sunday, in order to get the most out of this time when we have to forgo meeting together and to accentuate our longing to come back together, carefully meditate on the Scriptures and pray fervently.

I will be emailing regularly in order to encourage everyone while we’re apart. I’ll include recommendations for prayer as well as for music that stimulates greater devotion to Christ. I’ll also pass along devotional thoughts as well as links to encouraging messages. If you attend our church and would like to receive these emails but currently are not, please contact us.

I will also be coordinating ways to meet needs that arise from our church family. While I hope to contact you directly soon, please don’t hesitate to call us and let us know you have a need. We already have people who have offered help with things like shopping, so please reach out and remember you’re not alone. If you are unable to reach anyone at the church, leave a voicemail, and we will respond.

The situation is constantly changing, and we are doing our best to respond with love and humility to the directions handed down from government officials. We will continue to pay attention to developments as they happen, and we will adjust our plans accordingly and inform everyone at that time.

Pastor Curt

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3/13/2020

Dear Church Family,

We are monitoring the current state of affairs regarding Coronavirus. Though we have not experienced this before, it is not the first time our country has faced a pandemic. In 1918, the Spanish flu impacted the globe in ways analogous to what is happening today. The cities that responded as Governor DeWine has were able to greatly curtail the spread of the virus. We can be thankful for the care and concern from our government officials, and we should pray for their wisdom.

Churches fall outside of Dr. Acton’s ban, announced by the governor, but we can still consider her instructions as we lawfully proceed with meeting this Sunday. Order #10 states “…all persons are urged to maintain social distancing (approximately six feet away from other people) whenever possible and to continue to wash hands, utilize hand sanitizer and practice proper respiratory etiquette (coughing into elbow, etc.).” In view of these instructions, we will encourage everyone to spread out in our auditorium and will forgo contact as much as possible (no handshakes, etc.). We would also encourage older members or anyone with immune deficiencies to consider the personal risk and feel free to stay home. We love you and do not want to put you in jeopardy. Also, if you are sick, please stay home.

Though we plan to proceed with the morning service on Sunday, we will NOT have morning Bible studies or Sunday school classes at 9:15am. We will NOT have children’s church during the service, and we will NOT be having AWANA or youth group in the evening.

As those who believe that there is a God who is sovereignly at work in our world and that nothing can happen to us outside of his plans, we can have confidence that we are not at the mercy of the chaotic effects of a virus. We are in God’s hands, and we should entrust ourselves to him, knowing that, whatever he should choose to do, it will be for our good and his glory as he conforms us into the image of his Son by the power of his Spirit. Having said that, we should also follow in the footsteps of our Lord, who, when tempted by Satan, recognized the error of tempting his heavenly Father by putting himself at risk. We want to walk in wisdom, and tread carefully through this crisis. So please do not feel that you are letting God down or letting your church family down if you feel it is best to stay home. We would encourage you to be wise.

We do not want anyone to feel isolated at this time. If you find yourself in need of supplies, transportation, prayer, etc., please let us know. Though our face to face encounters may decrease in the coming days, we will still be communicating prayer concerns via One Call and are available if you need us.