CHURCH AT HOME
*WARNING! THIS IS A LONG READ, BUT IT IS VITAL. PLEASE READ IT IN ITS ENTIRETY.*
When this COVID-19 crisis first began to affect our country, we all found ourselves scrambling to innovate unique solutions to weather it well. There have been many wins along the way. But now the question has become–
How can we continue in it?
Better yet, how can we thrive in it? Surviving for a month or two is different from learning how to live under more enduring conditions. Hunkering down while danger passes overhead is different from building a home beneath it. Success will require special discernment of the Lord’s will for us. Human wisdom, strength, and endurance will not be enough. We are reminded of the Lord’s words to the exiled believers in the days of Jeremiah.
Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
-Jeremiah 29:5-7
What a beautiful thing the Church is! How adaptable! She is a fire that cannot be snuffed out, even if the coals are thought to be extinguished beneath the ground. She who survived the Colosseum is sustained by the Spirit of the Living God.
Over these past months, we have experienced this beautiful thing: The Church reemerging in our own homes in new, unexpected ways. We are able to worship and even engage with one another through our phones, computers and televisions on Sundays. All throughout the week, we are digging deeper into the unity we share in Christ through our Small Groups and Morning Prayer.
How can we continue to steward this incredible gift and pursue sustainability and growth amidst this crisis?
We believe our next step is to organize a way to worship together in our homes that minimizes the virus’ ability to spread. We call this Church at Home. This is the first phase of a multi-pronged path toward safely gathering physically again.
How are these Church at Home gatherings going to be different from Small groups?
What an important question! We must do everything necessary to preserve the fundamental DNA which is our Small Group system. These new gatherings are never meant to meet the deeper needs that Small Groups are designed to meet. They are simply a means of gathering physically for Sunday worship during this COVID crisis. These in-home gatherings are not designed for discussion and delving deeper into the word. On the one hand, Small groups are seasonal, topical, and have the specific purpose of helping people dig deeper into their faith in a smaller, relational community. This first iteration of Church at Home is a creative, adaptive solution to the present circumstances in which we find ourselves. Though the church cannot gather in a building in large gatherings as she had become accustomed, we can still be scattered together. Church at Home is the strategy we are employing to structure a unique togetherness suited to this time.
What are the specifics?
Size: The in-home gatherings will be small, based on the guidelines laid out during the shutdowns we experienced this past summer and what has been discovered about the virus’ spread since. Church at Home gatherings will be constructed based on the following rule:
Each Church at Home “pod” will consist of EITHER:*
3 household units* (no limit on the number of people) or
≤10 people overall (regardless of the number of household units*)
* These guidelines are subject to change in compliance with future rollouts of federal/state guidelines.
* A household unit includes anyone sharing the same home/ventilation system (air)
* There can be as many household units as one chooses in this scenario, as long as the total number of people does not exceed 10 individuals.
Consistency: Once a Church at Home “pod” is created, it must remain the same. This consistency will allow us to easily track the source of any infections while preventing the potential for spread from one “pod” to another.
Meeting Frequency: The “pods" will meet 1-2x/month with a minimum time period between gatherings of 14 days. This will further limit the potential for spread while improving the trackability of symptoms, should they occur.
“Pod” Creation: There are 2 main ways Church at Home “pods” will be formed.
1.) Church at Home “pods” will often be created based on relationships. If you have already chosen to share life and “quarantine together” with certain people in our Renovation community, it only makes sense to create a “pod” along the same lines. This will limit the virus’s potential to spread, compared to other methods of “pod” formation. You can create a “pod” here: FORM A POD.
2.) You can also choose to simply be assigned to a “pod.” By filling out this form here: JOIN A POD. You will be placed along the guidelines laid out above. A meaningful benefit of this avenue is it combats a sense of exclusivity. Relationship is an important factor in building a “pod,” and construction along already-existing lines should correlate to decreased risk of infection. But, this in-and-of-itself could lead to a sense of exclusivity. If you feel called to be placed in a randomized “pod,” you are building inclusivity into the system. What a beautiful thing to be called to!
Accountability: We will check with hosts on a biweekly basis (every 14 days) to gauge symptoms and consistency of groups. If people are added without following the guidelines, it compromises the safety of the system. If people who are in the “pod” are not consistently attending, the opportunity to worship together for others is being affected.
“Pod” Multiplication: This system will need to have less multiplicability than most since the consistency of participants is fundamental to the purpose itself, which is to provide a safe, responsible way to worship together during this pandemic. Expansion of the system will happen in 2 ways.
1.) Holdout Hosts: We will encourage some hosts to “holdout” and wait for new participants before starting. What a beautiful opportunity for modeling the grace of Jesus for those we do not know! What a Christ-like action to position oneself to receive others–not on the basis of relationship–but on the basis of ensuring they are welcomed into the family of God, the Church.
2.) Multiplication: Each “pod” will be able to multiply once, with a new host and their household unit (if applicable) leaving to create a new gathering and the “slot(s)” being filled by new participants. A 14 day period will transpire before a “pod” gathers again following a multiplication. This can happen only once if we are to preserve overall consistency.
Safety First: Prior to Sunday worship together, the temperature of each participant will be taken, and symptoms will need to be reported if they are to participate. Accountability and support will be provided in the bi-weekly check-ins.
What is required to be a Church at Home host?
Church at Home hosts should have gone through the Growth Track. Hospitality is the most important gift necessary for being a host, as the purpose for this environment is simply to participate in online Sunday worship together.
In Closing,
We have heard of the Lord’s deep love for the Church. Perhaps we have seen examples of His faithfulness toward her in our own experience. This crisis has allowed us to see God’s steadfast love and constant faithfulness at work in completely new ways. If the Church were simply a system, it would not exist anymore. If its success were dependent on our preferences or familiarity, it would not exist anymore. But the Church is not just an earthly entity. She is a priesthood of believers, a fellowship of the saints. You (collective) are the church. She is in your collective heart. We pray that, as we are, you would be filled with an inexpressible joy and resonating hope during these days. We pray you would be encouraged as we continue to see just how insufficient any system or way-of-doing-things is to define or contain her. Please prayerfully take this next step with us.
With grace and love,
-The Senior Pastor Leadership Team