Dear Church Family,
It was truly a joy to celebrate Easter together on Sunday even in the most unusual and challenging circumstances. In a time when we are not allowed to get together in person, it was beautiful to see what a community project the Easter celebration was. We are very grateful to everyone who submitted videos and to those amazing servants who made slides, edited video, tested platforms, and so much more last week.
Our hope and prayer was that it would not only be a special and uplifting experience for our church family but also an opportunity to spread the love of God and the hope of the resurrection to a wider audience. We are encouraged to report the broadcast was viewed on at least 1,221 devices with many of those representing multi-person households. And indeed we are seeing that all across our city and world God is moving in incredible ways and drawing many to faith in Jesus.
To be sure, these days represent a unique opportunity for us to BE THE CHURCH. We believe that one way for us to bear witness to the hope of Jesus in this moment is to continue offering a shared worship experience anyone can engage on Sundays.
However, being the church involves so much more than simply watching a broadcast at the same time each week. It means we are those who encounter God, grow in spiritual friendship, are formed to be more and more like Christ, serve our neighbors, city and world, and share the Gospel story as individuals and a church family.
This is not something we can do alone even though we are in isolation. It means we cannot simply become consumers even though we can’t be together in person. When you see the early church thriving even in immense difficulty in the New Testament it is with those threads of PRESENCE, FORMATION, and LOVE.
Our vision as a church has not changed even though our practices have had to in this unique moment. We have to fight not to drift into mere convenience and lose crucial aspects of our life as a church. So I want to encourage you with all my heart:
Don't Just Watch... Join In
We know you are having to spend a lot of time on screens. We are attempting to keep the elements of our shared worship experience well under an hour so we can have the time and stamina to connect in community and discussion either right after the broadcast finishes or at another time during the week. We need to know and be known, we need to pray together, we need to share our lives.
Growing Together
The next six weeks are the season known as Eastertide in the church calendar, a time when we explore the implications of Jesus’ resurrection and our share in it. We will be moving through a series called Resurrection in Place: The Church Sent, Scattered, and Staying Put.
Shared Practices
Each season we focus on two shared spiritual practices as a church, like spiritual breath, an inhale and an exhale practice. We breathe in and breathe out the love of God. The shared practices we will be seeking to grow in during Eastertide will be Sabbath and Compassion.
Groups Guide
As a companion to this series, we are developing a Groups Guide to help us organize our community times in meaningful ways. Whether you connect with a home church gathering on Sunday mornings or a life group or prayer group during the week, lean in and walk with others during this time.
Communion
We are going to begin taking communion together each week in our shared worship experience. We have been experimenting over these first few weeks with some alternative methods, but this gives us a way to share this sacred practice as corporately as possible. This will mean each of us having bread and wine or grape juice prepared ahead of time. Of course, if you don't have the elements, you can simply pray with us during that moment.
Families
Our kids worship broadcast will be taking place at 9:00am each week so you can join in as a whole family and then have a break before worship for everyone begins at 10:30am. Opportunities for our middle school and high school students are also ongoing throughout the week.
Love in Action
As the people of God, we are united in a shared mission of love to our world. In times like these, we have a precious opportunity to demonstrate the love of God to our neighbors at a time when so many are disconnected and vulnerable. As a church, we are gathering a list of ideas for being good neighbors, and of opportunities to love and serve those most deeply affected across our city.
Caring for One Another
Please know you are in our prayers during this time. We know some in our community have either been infected with this virus or had family members who have been infected. Many others have been laid off or otherwise affected financially. We want to come alongside one another as best we can in this time so please let us know if you are in need of prayer and support.
For more information on all of these important aspects of the life of our church in this season, please visit our website.
With love,
Josh and the TGC Team
