03/17/2020
FBC COVID-19 / CORONA VIRUS CANCELATION UPDATE
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and cowardice,
but a spirit of power, love and sound judgment.
1 Timothy 1:7 (para)
You need not be afraid of sudden disaster …
for the LORD is your security. He will keep
your foot from being caught in a trap.
Proverbs 3:25-26 (NLT)
Dear FBC Family & Friends,
In light of the most recent restrictions and recommendations announced by our President, Vice President, and Governor, your Pastors and Deacons met last evening in a 2 hour long special session to discuss and decide how we might respond to these restrictions and recommendations in a God pleasing and believer edifying way. I was blessed as these 12 men went to the Scriptures for guidance and then - as thoroughly as possible under the fluid circumstances of this crisis - made some unanimous decisions as to how we should proceed. I am writing to share their decisions with you. The bullet points are:
Beginning immediately and continuing through and including Sunday, April 5th (Palm Sunday) ALL Sunday Worship Services and Wednesday Family Nite activates are CANCELLED. We will do special online Sunday worship broadcasts each Sunday at 10:15AM on our website, www.fbcgoshen.org. We encourage you to consider inviting other FBC family members and friends in to your home for fellowship, encouragement, and to join in the singing and sermon as we worship our Lord TOGETHER over the internet. Please keep in mind the recommendation by our President to limit your gathering to no more than 10 people. We will not be doing any Wednesday broadcasts, but Beth Polsean will distribute a pdf version of the Mid-Week FBC Family Connections Prayer Reminder each week via email. You may email the office at [email protected] or call 533-3139 to leave prayer requests or updates for the Connections Reminder.
All activities scheduled to take place on church property that involve, or could potentially involve more than 50 people are being cancelled or postponed until at least April 6th. If you are involved in one of these activities please contact the person in charge of the activity for alternate and/or rescheduling information.
It is strongly recommended that any activity scheduled to take place on church property involving more than 10 people be cancelled or postponed until at least April 6th. If you have scheduled an activity please contact the office to discuss your options.
Growth Groups meeting in homes may make their own meeting decisions. Contact your Growth Group Leaders for more information regarding meeting. The FBC Growth Group is being cancelled until further notice.
At this time the Church Office will remain open Monday thru Friday from 9AM-Noon & 1-5PM.
Please don't forget to stay faithful at giving your tithes and offerings to the Church and VISION Project. We still have ongoing obligations, mission support and expenses that need to be met whether or not we hold services. Please send in your faithful giving through one of the following means:
• Postal Mail to: First Baptist Church, 1011 S. Indiana Ave. Goshen, IN 46526
• Online by clicking on the Giving Button on our website homepage at: www.fbcgoshen.org.
• Online direct at: easytithe.com/App/Giving/fbcgoshen.
• Drop off your giving at the Church Office Monday thru Friday, 9AM-Noon & 1-5PM.
If you are in need of assistance with basic home or living needs (groceries, etc.), or transportation to Doctor's appointments, (etc.), please contact the Church Office or a Deacon for assistance.
Office / Beth Polsean: 533-3139 Dave Juday
Allan Toledo John Polsean
Mike Grey Bruce Whirledge
Casey Miller Brent Cramer
Dan Nichols Glenn Homes
If you are available to help with this ministry to our church family, please contact the office to volunteer.
We will appreciate any offers to help maintain the disinfection of our facilities and upkeep of our grounds. Our custodial staff is working diligently at keeping our facilities clean, but we would invite you to volunteer to occasionally help them by wiping church door k***s, switches and handles, (etc.) with sanitizing wipes. Often this will take less than ½ hour of your time, and we will keep a supply of sanitizing wipes on hand. Please do not just show up. Instead, contact Beth Polsean in the office so she can coordinate your service with other volunteers and arrange for your entry into the building. As the weather improves there will also be some outdoor projects that could be undertaken to help spruce up our grounds from the effects of winter. If you are willing to help with this please contact Beth and Chuck Hochstetler, Trustee Chair, so they can coordinate your assistance.
The Pastors and Deacons will continue to closely monitor the Coronavirus situation and meet as needed to evaluate the situation and determine how to proceed. We will communicate any adjustments or changes via FBC Email, Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, and the Website.
This Sunday for our first totally online worship service, I am planning to share how God wants His followers to think about and respond to crisis like the one we are currently enduring. The title of my message is 'Corona: Comfort in Chaos'. I hope you'll join TOGETHER with your Pastors, the FBC Worship Team, and others online, for an hour of encouraging music and an edifying message from God's Word. See you (virtually) on Sunday!
Blessings!
Your Pastors and Deacons
Pastor Lanzen, Lead Pastor (& author of this notice)
& Dave Juday, Deacon Chair
