Coronavirus: Weekly Guidance for NCD Churches (March 17, 2020)

Coronavirus: Weekly Guidance for NCD Churches (March 17, 2020)

by | Mar 17, 2020 | General, On Our Hearts

Dear NCD Pastors and Church Leaders,

At times like this, I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the gospel, we are saved for all eternity and able to find our daily rest in Him (even during the most difficult times). I find these things especially comforting and empowering in our present situation.

During this time of uncertainty, our district will send out weekly guidance for NCD churches every Tuesday afternoon. You can access our guidance at ncdefca.org or by registering for the NCD Zipline.

Our NCD team strongly recommends that NCD pastors and church leaders regularly monitor these primary sources of information.

Today, I  joined other district superintendents, executive ministers and bishops on a conference call with representatives of the Minnesota Department of Health. In light of this meeting and in harmony with CDC, MDH and Presidential guidelines, our district has the following recommendations for all NCD churches.

  • Local NCD churches should postpone all in-person congregational gatherings, including corporate worship services, for the next 8 weeks (based upon CDC and Minnesota Department of Health guidelines). We encourage you to “gather” instead by streaming worship services, posting sermons online, sending congregational messages through email, and providing personal encouragement through email, mail, text messages and phone calls.
  • Groups of 10 or more should not meet in-person for 15 days (based on the President’s Coronavirus guidelines). We encourage these smaller groups to “gather” through video conferencing and telephone conferencing and to stay connected by online platforms, email, mail, text messages and phone calls.

If you have any questions regarding how these guidelines relate to your local church, please reach out to anyone on our NCD team. You can find a list of NCD staff members here.

Finally, I want to encourage us all to remember that we can continue to make a gospel-shaped difference for those around us. Along these lines, our district recommends the following post on our NCD blog.

Thank you for all you are doing to minister to your church during this difficult season of ministry. May God give you grace and peace as you serve in the days ahead!

In Christ,

Brian Farone | District Superintendent| North Central District