Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
(UPDATED MARCH 17, 2020)
Journey Church family,
The past few days have been a whirlwind as COVID-19 has gone from a concern to an epidemic to a pandemic. Things have been changing not day-by-day but hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute. In the last 48 hours or so, the CDC has recommended no gatherings of fifty people or more for eight weeks, President Trump and the federal government have recommended no groups larger than ten people meeting, and just today Governor Kim Reynolds has issued a public health emergency closing restaurants, bars, fitness centers, theaters, and banning gatherings of more than ten people until at least march 31st. None of us have lived through anything like this before and there is a lot of unknown.
While we don't want to respond in fear we do want to do everything that we can as Journey Church to follow the directives of the CDC and government agencies and to act in love and wisdom toward those among us who are most vulnerable. We don't have to panic and we don't have to live in fear. We continue to stand on Psalm 121:1-2 which says, "I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." We thank God for scientists and government officials who are tackling the COVID-19 crisis, but our gaze is higher as we trust the Lord.
As of today, here are the actions that we are taking as a church:
1. Beginning this Sunday, March 22nd, our Sunday AM services will be online services only. We will be going live at 10:00 am. each Sunday. You can access it here: https://www.journeydsm.org/live At this time we are unsure how long our Sunday morning services will be online only. The CDC is currently recommending eight weeks, but the situation has been changing quickly so we will continue to communicate with you as decisions are made.
2. From now until March 31st we will not meet in groups of more than ten people per the mandate from Governor Reynolds and the state of Iowa. That includes Journey Students, Community Groups, classes, or any other groups. As we receive more information down the road we will make decisions about groups meeting again.
3. We encourage you to continue supporting Journey financially via online giving. There may be people within our church who lose jobs or hours due to COVID-19 protocols and we want to be able to help them and serve our community. We also have the practical reality of paying our bills as a church. You can give to Journey via the Journey App or on our website.
4. We have the opportunity to BE the church in our community during this time. Some of the ways we can serve others right now might come from the church, but more importantly each of us can be servants in our neighborhoods and circles of influence. We can check on elderly neighbors to see if they need help getting groceries or medications or other tasks. We can offer to help watch someone's children for a few hours to give them a break or help with childcare while school is out. This is an opportunity for the church, which Jesus called, "the light of the world." to really shine.
Later this week, I am meeting with our church leadership team to talk about ways that we can keep being Journey Church without meeting together physically. Our mission of helping people take their next step toward Christ will look different for the next few weeks, but it's still our mission. We will continue to communicate the most up-to-date information possible to you and to help you stay connected to Journey and to each other during this time.
One last reminder as I wrap up this message - if you are struggling in any way during this time, we want to help. If you need groceries and can't get them, we want to help. If you are discouraged and need someone to encourage you and pray with you, we want to help. If you need someone to watch your kids for an appointment or because you need a break, we want to help. We will be reaching out to stay connected and to see how you are doing, please reach back. This is what the church is made for.
In Christ,
Darrick