While its fashionable among the media to cite outliers who spurn the guidelines for their state, more churches by far are following the model of Calvary Chapel in both caring for their community and honoring those in authority.
In the wake of the NY Times article which was critical of churches in the ongoing pandemic, I thought it would be helpful to offer examples of churches that are going above and beyond both to minister to their people and communities and to honor the guidelines in their various states.
Many churches have stepped back from meeting even with social distancing guidelines, moving back to online-only services because of the more recent spikes in cases in their state. A prominent example below comes from the particularly thorny circumstances found in California, where cases are setting all sorts of records in the wrong direction.
Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California (CCCM) has gone to extraordinary measures to do just this. CCCM is the mother church of the entire Calvary Chapel movement that has spread the gospel through churches around the globe.
After I spoke Sunday at The Hour of Power, I headed over to Calvary Chapel to see my friend (and a student in our grad program), Brian Broderson. When I saw what they were doing, I asked if I could get some pictures and Thom Walker, from their staff, went around taking some for me.
Now, a few notes before we jump in. First, they followed all the guidelines and even went above and beyond. The guidelines changed this week and they will adjust accordingly, so this is an example from last week and it may help you plan accorordingly. Second, we will see spread through churches— as we have through stores, homes, schools, and more. However, in my view, churches need to work the hardest and plan better than anyone else to show how we love and care for our people.
The Plan
Here was their plan. Executive pastor Jordan Taylor described the church's response (see accompanying pictures). They ...
from Christianity Today Magazine https://ift.tt/2OkGzBI
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