Redemption Church’s Plan for In-Person Gatherings

The church has never been closed.

Jesus builds his church, and nothing — not COVID-19, nor the gates of hell — will prevail against it. We have always been, are now, and will always be gloriously open. 

Open to love one another, preach the gospel, pray with passion, serve the poor, grow in faith, and invite sinners to experience the unparalleled beauty and forgiveness of Jesus.

Since March 15, we have been unable to gather in-person as Redemption Church. In the coming days, as the state of Arizona “reopens,” Redemption Church will remain open, with a mixture of online and in-person experiences.

Out of concern for those who are vulnerable and appropriately cautious, we will continue to create meaningful online experiences of Sunday worship, community, and equipping.

After Governor Ducey lifts the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy, Stay Connected” Executive Order, some of our congregations will be creating the opportunity for meaningful in-person experiences for those who want to participate in them. These in-person experiences will happen in accordance with the guidelines provided by federal health officials.

Because of the diversity in context, size, and situation of Redemption congregations, each congregation’s leaders will have to use wisdom in determining the best way to approach in-person experiences, within the parameters described below (click image to enlarge).

WHEN WILL IN-PERSON GATHERINGS RESUME?

As soon as is reasonable and wise. While we expect our phased approach to open to line up with the phases that have been laid out by the government, everything hinges on the health of our community and the CDC’s recommendations. We want to be more cautious about how we reopen due to the size of our gatherings.

We will only advance through these phases as Arizona meets the Governor’s benchmarks to continue reopening.

WILL REGULAR ACTIVITIES LOOK DIFFERENT?

While we expect our in-person gatherings to feel more “normal” when we reach Phase Three, like the rest of society, we expect that the way we interact with each other may look at little different for a while. We’re going to continue to modify the parts of our services that required physical contact before (such as passing communion or greeting each other with handshakes), and we’re doing everything we can to keep our facilities clean and safe.

Even if you see more face masks (and a lot more hand sanitizer), when we gather together again in-person, we hope it will feel like coming home.

HOW CAN WE EXPERIENCE REDEMPTION CHURCH RIGHT NOW?

In-person gatherings may be on-hold for a little while longer, but each Redemption Congregation has great ways to be encouraged and “gather” digitally on a weekly basis.

Originally posted here