To Our Church Family,

We want to let you know that first and foremost we are not ignoring the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and are taking every precaution necessary to safeguard at this time. This is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation and as more developments occur we will act accordingly. 

We want to provide you all with information on how to be safe going to church with the coronavirus in mind. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. It is spread person-to-person, so we need to keep this in mind as a church family where we engage in close physical contact with one another on Sundays. The CDC recommends everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses like coronavirus/COVID-19, such as staying home when sick, washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, following proper respiratory cough etiquette, avoiding close contact with people who are sick and avoiding touching eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. We want to continue to communicate these recommendations to our community.

If you are feeling sick we want to encourage you to please stay home. You can still participate in the Shepherd’s Grove and Hour of Power community by watching the live stream of our services on Sunday at sgp.church/live, watching Hour of Power on television, or watching previous church services on our YouTube. Staying home if you are feeling unwell is especially important for older adults and people with severe underlying chronic medical conditions. You can find out more by going to the CDC website.

We want to offer comfort rather than fear during this time. We do not want you to panic, but rather trust in the Lord’s providence. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” We know that we will come out of this just fine and that the Lord will help us through it. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us “not to be anxious about anything,” but to pray about everything. This is so powerful and reminds us that we can bring all our anxieties to the Lord; we have no reason to be anxious. We are told not to just pray about the things that pose a threat to us, but instead, we should pray about other things going on in our lives, perhaps good things happening in our lives and thanking God for that.

In Him,

Pastor Chad Blake

For additional resources, we have constructed a list of Bible verses on comfort and healing and tips on dealing with anxiety.