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Latest EBC Schedule Changes

We are currently not meeting on weekends until further notice.

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Youth Update Email – COVID-19 Edition

The New Reality of Streaming Worship and Remote Life Groups

I didn’t realize it at the time, but on Sunday, March 8, I preached to a sanctuary full of people for the last time this month, and possibly for much longer. I never imagined that seven days later we would have canceled all of our major on-site ministry gatherings, and that I would be preaching in the same auditorium with only three people in the room. What strange times we are living in!

Streaming the Worship Services
Our first attempt at streaming our service over the internet admittedly had a number of problems. Poor sound quality was the most notable difficulty, along with difficulty in finding the link and a handful of other issues. However, I am really proud of Ryan Aufenkamp and Tyler Beck who managed to pull this off with only 24 hours notice. They are both working hard so that our upcoming streaming efforts are much easier to find and will have far better sound and picture.

Please plan to tune in at 11am each Sunday morning as we worship the Lord together. We will place the link on the www.evergreenbible.com homepage. (Be sure to hit “refresh” so you see the changes.)

Remote Only Life Groups
Now, we have one more major change to announce: We are asking all of our Life Groups to not meet. I know we just said last weekend that it was especially important for Life Groups to continue meeting since our large group gatherings were put on hold. But now we are reversing course and asking our Life Groups to not meet in person for two primary reasons. First, we have greater understanding of how easily the virus spreads via people who do not know they have it. Second, our state and national leaders have asked us as citizens to refrain from gathering as much as possible to help contain this outbreak. Suspending in-person Life Group meetings reflects our desire to love one another well and to be good team players in this difficult task.

However, while we are asking Life Groups to refrain from meeting in person, we urge our groups to ramp up their efforts to minister to one another remotely. This week we will be providing Life Group leaders with ideas on how to use phone calls, email, social media, video chat and other means to encourage members and surface whatever needs they may be facing. This will provide opportunities to bring medicine or meals to those who are sick, to help find funds for those facing financial difficulties or to pray with members for the burdens they are carrying.

This contagion crisis has totally rearranged daily life for most Americans, and it has certainly shattered our usual paradigms for ministry. But while I certainly grieve the loss of our opportunities to meet in person, I am genuinely excited to let God show us new ways to be the church he has called us to be. Let us pursue it in faith together.

Pastor Toby

March 14, 2020

Quick Summary of Evergreen’s Response to COVID-19

In an effort to do our part in limiting the spread of coronavirus, the Leadership Team has agreed to suspend our major ministry activities here at the church building for several weeks.  Here are the major changes.

• No on-site weekend worship services
• Video worship services live streamed/posted at www.evergreenbible.com
• No mid-week Awana or Youth Group

The Heart and Hope Behind our Decisions

This morning our English and Spanish leadership team and spouses met, focusing primarily on the discussion of what our response should be in light of COVID-19. Our goal as a church is to glorify Jesus in all things, and that includes prayerfully considering what is the wisest course of action for the congregation, and for the community around us.

After wrestling with this important topic, we feel that it is wisest to cancel our weekend gatherings this Saturday and Sunday (March 14–15). Our team has been following the rapidly unfolding developments in the COVID-19 outbreak, and we will continue to update you on status of further weekend gatherings.

In the meantime, we will be posting a stream/recording of our service to Facebook Live on Sunday morning at 11:00 am. You will be able to find the link to the broadcast of our service on our Facebook page, along with our website. We encourage you to tune in during this time to worship with us. If you and your family are healthy, we encourage you to consider inviting another family or two over to “do church” together during this time when we cannot all gather at once.

We do not make this decision lightly. In this extraordinary time in which there is much fear and uncertainty in our world, community, and church, we desire first and foremost to seek the Lord in how we are to serve Him as effectively as we can. In light of the recommendations from our local governing health authorities, along with the research done about lessening the impact of the spread of COVID-19, we believe it wisest to respond with urgency.

As of this time, we will also be suspending our AWANA program, along with our Youth Group meetings for the time being. We feel that it is wisest to follow the state of Washington in the precautions that it has taken with our Public Schools, which are currently closed. As with our weekend services, we will continue to update you on the status of these ministries as we receive updates from our local health authorities.

We will encourage our Life Group leaders to decide amongst their groups as to whether or not they will meet together. Of course, if you are sick or at high risk of COVID-19, we would strongly discourage you from meeting together. But for the rest, we feel that Life Groups will be a vital way for our church to continue encouraging one another during this season.

Our Hope for You and Your Family

As Christians, we are called to be wise in the way that we live, especially in the ways that we are to care for one another. In times of chaos, the church is a meant to be a place of stability and support. As we recently heard in a sermon from Pastor Toby, we are called to be “Salt and Light” to the world (Matthew 5:15-16). We truly believe that in moments like this current one, God will use His church to proclaim the glorious truths of His gospel boldly. Please join us in praying that we as the church would know how to best respond to the needs that will certainly present themselves in the coming weeks within our community, along with our church family.

We also want you to know that, as church leaders, we are not simply ‘waiting this thing out’ Instead, we are seeking to lean into the Lord even harder, diligently seeking the Spirit’s leading on how to best shepherd our flock who, for the time being, will not be meeting together. As a staff, we will be meeting to talk about ways that we can be resourcing you and your families. Please be checking back on our website, on Facebook, and on your emails for the most recent updates, resources, and announcements.

We love you all, and we will miss meeting together with you this weekend, and potentially in the weekends to come. Yet, even still, God will get the glory. We can be sure of that.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.” – Psalm 103:2-4

Love, from the EBC Staff and Leadership Team