Online church was great on Sunday, even though we really miss seeing each other in person. I loved that teaching in James:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. — James 1:2-4
It is a trial we’re going through now, for sure. However, we can find joy in it because ultimately it will lead to perseverance and maturity. I think we’re seeing that already in a lot of ways around church.
This week we need to update you on a decision about Growth Groups. We really value meeting together physically, and so for that reason we’ve tried to preserve the option of meeting together to some extent. Even last week this was an encouragement to some members.
However, with updates from the government over the weekend, we think it’s time to cease meeting physically as Growth Groups. The key factors are:
Our groups would technically be “non-essential activities” meeting indoors and wouldn’t be able to comply with the density limitation of one person per 4m2. Even though the law doesn’t strictly apply to homes, the spirit of the law, I think, is discouraging us from this kind of meeting.
We want to play our part in slowing the spread of the virus
We want to make a clear decision for the sake of our leaders and members
So, therefore, our Growth Groups will now only meet online as virtual groups, using a platform such as Zoom, Google Meet or Skype.
We’d love you to continue to commit to your group and do your best to make this a time of growth and fellowship. Let us know if you have questions or need technical help. You can check out more ideas on my/Richard’s blog post: 9 Ways to Love Your Online Small Group.
The leaders of other similar groups around church such as Youth Midweek, Life and Connect Series will be in touch with those involved in these ministries.
It’s a challenging time, but our prayer is that, as James says, this trial will produce in our church community great perseverance and maturity. I hope your online Growth Group goes really well this week.
In Christ,
Richard / the staff team