COVID 19 - March 13 Update

Dear Church,

In light of the recent outbreak of COVID-19 (coronavirus), we want to keep you informed on how we are responding as a church. We are monitoring the situation in our area and will keep you informed of the decisions we make. In light of God's word, we are seeking to respond with courage (in a time when fear abounds) and also with prudence (in light of significant concerns and uncertainty). We plan to follow CDC and local government requirements and will keep you posted about service information.

Shepherding the Flock
As elders our first concern is to give our church family pastoral encouragement:

The most important thing to remember is that, for every Christian, your life is hidden with Christ. There is no sickness or trial that can separate you from your Savior and your soul is safe with him. Even if the very worst should come to pass, you will find yourself with your Lord in glory.

Second, if this pandemic is causing you great anguish, Christ is with you right now so you can walk with him through your worries today. Now is an excellent time to pray through Psalms that remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness. We recommend Psalms 23 and 46 to start. If you need help praying the Psalms, let us suggest the little book ‘Praying the Bible’ by Donald Whitney.

Third, if you need personal prayer and encouragement, please let us know. The Lord has given you a church family for a reason. Either reach out to your community group or reply to this email to ask for one of the pastors to get in touch with you.

Fourth, we are presently identifying ways we might be able to help those in our congregation who may need meals, supplies or other care due to sickness, loss of work hours, quarantine, concerns about leaving the house, etc. We are the body of Christ and moments like this are when we can – and must – unite to care for each other. If you need practical help, or if you know someone else who does, contact a fellow church member, deacon, or elder. If you can offer practical help, let the church office know that too.

This Sunday
The elders believe that the best way to love and serve both our congregation and our community this week is to not gather for worship this Sunday. 

This Sunday there are three worship options we suggest:

• Worship with Young Children: The elders recommend that families with young children:

  • Explain that we are not gathering with our church family out of love to make sure no one gets sick. 

  • Pray for our church, for those affected by the virus, and for those helping with the response.

  • Sing a song of worship together.

  • Stream the gospel presentation The Biggest Story.
    (If you need help with the streaming cost, please reply to this email.)

• Catch Up at Shoreline: Follow along with this week’s worship music at Shoreline, catch up on a sermon from our Matthew series that you missed, and pray for your church family, our nation’s leaders, the global advancement of the gospel, and against the spread of the virus.

• Stream a Sister Church: Trinity Baptist helped Shoreline launch in 2015. They have canceled their worship service as well this week and will be streaming a live broadcast of Pastor Nick preaching a very timely message from Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
  To stream the Trinity service go to the Trinity website and follow the instructions to listen to the worship service, beginning Sunday at 10 a.m. 

In all these options you can continue to support the mission of our church by praying and giving online.

Looking Ahead
We do not know what the future holds. However, we do know Who holds it. 

Shoreline will continue in faith to serve and worship our King in confident prudence. The elders and deacons will continue to monitor recommendations from public health officials and adjust our practices accordingly. 

It is the elders’ heart to provide an opportunity for Shoreline to worship together as soon as possible, hopefully, next week. Canceling this Sundays' corporate gathering will afford some additional time to accomplish this in a wise and helpful manner. We appreciate your patience and encourage you to set aside time this Sunday morning to seek the Lord individually, as a family, or in small groups. 

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out.