I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! As I write this article, we still find ourselves under the directive from our Governor that we limit our gatherings in our churches to 10 people. I pray God will give him wisdom concerning the “easing up” of this gathering number. This is a good reminder that we are instructed to pray for our leaders. Paul exhorts us in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
Like you, I am attempting to get accustomed to a new normal. Change is constant in our lives and as someone said, “The only one happy about change is a baby with a wet diaper.” May I add to this that they are crying about it the whole time! I am convinced there will be a time we will be on the other side of this, and we can view it through our rear view mirror.
I wish I could tell you things will return as they once were in church, but that would be amiss. I do see us easing into our gatherings when this ban is lifted instead of rushing into “business as usual.” Because of the fluidity of the situation, we will continue as is for the next two Sundays with an online service and then regroup and see where we go from here.
Thank you for your faithfulness in your giving! We are continuing to be very frugal in our spending during this time. We have seen an uptick in our online giving as well as God’s people continuing to mail or bring their tithe by the office. This has allowed us to meet fixed needs as well as staying current in our mission commitments.
Please know I miss being able to see you as I preach and am excited about us being back together when that time arrives. It gets somewhat lonely preaching to only ten people visibly. I am reminded of the following: I heard of a man that sent his picture to the Lonely Hearts Club and it was sent back with the notation, “We are lonely, but not that lonely.”
I love you and count it a joy and privilege to serve you.
Love in Jesus, Bro. Tommy