Kruger Response to COVID-19

Dear Church Family

Due to this morning’s government announcement to limit gatherings to under 100 people, we have made the unprecedented decision to cancel our Sunday services and move to an online gathering.

We worked through many ideas on how to do church, but see the importance of moving with the informed directives of our government to limit the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID 19) and decided that this is our best solution for now.

We have also suspended all other weekly ministries, with the exception of Life Groups, which we believe will be vital to the church community over these next months. We need to keep finding ways to gather for fellowship, support and encouragement, but recognise that we need to do this in smaller numbers for a while.

What will an online gathering look like? We’ve put some thought into this and we want to make our online service as homely as possible, because we want to encourage you to watch this in your homes and interact along with us. We know it’s going to be weird and different, but what hasn’t been weird and different this past month!

We’ll be posting a link that will go live on Sunday, so you can watch the service at a time that best suits you. There will be a children’s story and questions to interact with, worship and a sermon (the second in our GO! Series). There may be some teething issues! But we’re going to do our best to keep our community strong through this time.

Earlier this week we made the decision to cancel our Easter Festival, this is incredibly sad for us, however we are keen to hear ideas on how we can still spread God’s love into our community. We are connecting with school chaplains and looking for ways to engage with those in our community who might be isolated, if you or someone you know needs help, please let us know and if you have the time and availability to help, our Care team is looking for ways to maintain contact with those who are self-isolating.

We encouraged people on Sunday to make contact with neighbours and offer help or make them aware of your support. This is a great opportunity to get to know your neighbours and perhaps offer prayer and support. I’ve attached a simple form that you could add your details on, print off and use.

We believe that we need to make the very best of this opportunity, people will be afraid, however we have a God who doesn’t fail us and who is in control! So don’t forget to pray, listen and then speak! 

We trust that through this time, we will grow as a church family and there will be great opportunities for us! Keep praying, we have some exciting guest speakers coming up in the weeks ahead and we’re planning a week of prayer leading up to Easter. These challenges seem great, thankfully our God is greater and His Spirit unites us, even when we are apart.

Thanks
Matt Anstey
Pastor: Kruger Parade Baptist Church