April Update | No In-Person Gatherings!
Hi church!
While we mentioned this on Monday's call and it may have been assumed by most of you by now, we wanted to officially state that The Village will not have any in-person gatherings through the month of April. Up until now, we had only officially canceled gatherings through March.
When the public safety measures were first being put in place a few weeks ago, we decided our rule of thumb would be to follow the mandates, guidelines, and best practices of federal, state, and local authorities - even if churches were exempt from any or all of those. Specifically, we're taking cues from our local city school districts and public health officials on the ground in our area.
Governor Mike DeWine and Health Director Amy Acton recently extended Ohio school closures until May 1st, 2020. Though we miss you all dearly and long for a "return to normal," there's no compelling reason for The Village to go against the grain and undercut safety measures being put in place by those in authority. While there are (and will be!) times when living as faithful citizens of God's kingdom clashes with living as loyal citizens of the state, this is not one of those times.
In the meantime…
…the family and the mission continue. The ministry moves on, albeit in a different context. Here are some things we recommend:
Form New Habits of Discipleship | Personal, family, or otherwise, you're not going to stumble into healthy habits of discipleship while the world is being turned upside-down. As far as it depends on you, take responsibility for learning from, following, and leading other people to Jesus. Discipleship is all of life; lead yourself in laying down your days to the Lord, not the disruptions (and distractions!) of the world.
//Download the eBook Habits of Grace by David Mathis for free.
-Join a Group | Being more active on social media, binging all the latest Netflix series, or consuming news 24/7 is not going to leave you with a sense of belonging. Let yourself be known, get to know others, and make Christ known to one another by joining a community group. Most (if not all!) are still meeting virtually via Zoom calls throughout the week.
//Check out groups on our website.
-Join a Team | While lots of our teams can't serve in their usual ways, some are trying to find new ways they can carry out their same purpose. If you're not part of a team yet, take a gander at the ones we have and let us know if you'd like to learn more!
//Take a look at our teams.
-Share & Meet Needs | The gospel levels the playing field in exposing our deepest needs: rescue, redemption, and restoration. In Christian community, there is no guilt, shame, or fear in making our needs known - or in having an abundance with which we can meet them. While the regular channels for making known and meeting needs are still there (groups, Realm, friendships, pastors, etc.), there are now two buttons on the homepage of the website explicitly for both of those things.
//Visit and/or share the homepage.
-Give | Pastoral staff are working as much as ever, bills for rent and utilities at The 210 still come in, and while normal operating expenses like cleaning supplies might be a little less, new expenses like paid Zoom subscriptions have now become a staple in our current ministry context. Just like your households, the financial needs of our Village household still go on in the midst of all this - albeit with some tighter belts! If you'd like to contribute to the ministry of The Village, you can do so online. We're so grateful for those of your generosity!
//Give online.
-Love Your Neighbors!!! | Like everything above, this should go without saying... but be good neighbors! Forming habits of discipleship, living in community, serving and contributing to the mission, and sharing and meeting needs ought to help remove our self-centeredness and replace it with other-centeredness. If the Lord is at the center of our universe, then we can remember that he's taking care of us - so that we might care for others! Be aware of and willing to step into ways you can care for the neighbors closest to you, serve the most vulnerable in your community, and put on display the kind of love that goes out of its way to see, hear, and know others.
//Read Learning to Lament for more on engaging the Lord (and others!) in all this.
Love you all! Grateful more than ever to be part of a community formed by the gospel and sent on mission to love, live, and move... whether we're gathered or scattered!