Tired of Live-streamed services? Missing your Sunday School class? Great! This is the last week of “Phase One” in our Pandemic Reentry plan. With that said, next week (Sunday, June 21, 2020) we are moving to “Phase Two” of our Pandemic Reentry plan. This means that activities such as Sunday School, summer youth programs, recovery ministry, along with our men’s and women’s fellowship groups can resume meeting as of June 21st. It also means that our seating capacity in the sanctuary will increase to 50% with overflow seating available in the “Old Fellowship Hall” if needed.

As you know Kentucky began reopening nearly a month ago on May 11th. While there has continued to be confirmed cases of the Coronavirus in Kentucky it is encouraging to note that there has not been a sudden surge in the spread of the virus as some warned would happen upon reopening the commonwealth. A surge that one would expect to see by now given the fourteen day incubation period of the virus. Obviously, this does not mean that the virus has gone away. Rather it means that news cycles are now dominated by other breaking news stories such as protests and other types of political upheavals. Nevertheless, each person must reasonably respond to the risk of the virus based on the status of their health and the threat it poses on their physical well being. Therefore, if you feel that you are at risk then please remember to stay home until you feel comfortable returning to church. Also, if you are sick or symptomatic please stay home until you are fully recovered and feeling well. In the meantime, we will all continue to pray for one another.

With that said, I continue to be humbled by your generosity. As you know we were blessed to pay off our “New Building” in December of 2019. In an effort to pay it off by 2020 we had been using every available dollar to pay towards that debt. As such, we started 2020 with basically a months worth of finances in reserve. Then we were suddenly met with an unexpected Pandemic that shut down our nations economy and hindered us from being able to physically gather for worship. At that moment pastors like myself who had little to no experience with live-streaming worship services were suddenly tasked with moving services all online. In addition, they were concerned over what the state of their church’s finances would be like when the ban on mass gatherings would finally be lifted. Since that time I have heard from many pastors who have celebrated the faith and faithfulness of their congregations in giving during this time. They are not alone in that experience as I too have witnessed your faith and faithfulness as well. Some of you resorted to mailing in your tithes and offerings while some of you chose to use our online giving platform instead. Regardless of the method you chose you were and are “essential” to the cause!

Therefore, let me say thank you on behalf of the three staff members that your gifts support as a result of salaries they receive each month. Also, let me say thank you on behalf of the missionaries serving with the International Mission Board and the North American Mission Board. Furthermore, let me say thank on behalf of the orphans that are being cared for by Sunrise Children’s Services, the students at Oneida Baptist Institute, and the future church leaders who are being trained by Clear Creek Baptist Bible College and the six seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention. Let me say thank you on behalf of church planters that we support in Uganda and South Sudan. In addition, let me say thank you on behalf of the ministry of First Priority, Emmanuel Bible Camp, and Laurel Lake Baptist Camp all of which labor tirelessly engaging students with the gospel. I could go on but I think you get the point. Thank you for your commitment to Christ, His church, and the great commission!

In His Service,

Pastor Josh