Hey Church Family,

It’s memorial day weekend. I hope you and your family are enjoying things so far. We’ve got our Saturday night service scheduled for 5:00 tonight and then our Sunday morning worship at 9:45. We are now several weeks into our “in-person” gatherings and so things are starting to get into some sort of rhythm. That said, I don’t really imagine them to stay that way because in these days of COVID-19 nothing stays normal for very long. hahaha You can use the link below to register now.

Register Now

The reason we’re asking you to register is so that we can know how many people to expect and ensure we are keeping to our social distancing guidelines. We’ve set up our sanctuary so that family units will be six feet apart. We are also encouraging the use of masks for those times when we cannot ensure social distancing (such as entering and existing the building, mulling around and conversating after services, etc) If you don’t have a mask there are some available for you to use and keep.

Each new day we learn more information about this virus. There are several good things happening and I’m hopeful that we will soon be able to gather without these social distancing guidelines and get back to the way things used to be (at least in terms of how many people we can seat at a time). For now, however, this is what we’re doing. It’s an effort to honor our governing authorities and to love our neighbor well. 

This week I met with with Tiffany and Ora to discuss reopening our kids and preschool wings. It was a productive conversation and we are hopeful that we can restart programming soon. We have a two-phase plan as it relates to bringing kiddos back on campus.

On June 7th we will have a new venue on Sunday morning called “The Family Room.”

This room will livestream the service but you’ll be on campus in the Education Building along with other families with children. This room isn’t mandatory for those who have kids (they are more than welcome to join us in the Sanctuary). But, if you feel like your children aren’t ready for that kind of setting then you can accompany them in the “Family Room.” The service will start at 9:15 with a broadcast of the Kid’s Service. Then the 9:45 Contemporary Service will livestream afterwards.

The family room will be set up with resources that keep kids engaged and give them something to do while the parents watch and engage in the service. You’ll be worshipping alongside of other adults who brought their kids to the Family Room. Tiffany and/or Ora will also be present during that hour and can serve as a resource for you. We want to try and make your time of worship in the Family Room as meaningful as possible.

Kids who go to the family room must be accompanied by at least ONE parent. One parent may go to the Sanctuary while the other worships in the family room, or both parents may go to the family room, or your whole family may go to the Sanctuary but kids cannot be left unaccompanied in the Family Room. We will try this for about a month and see how it goes.

To register you, your spouse or your children for the family room be sure during registration to choose the ticket option “Family Room.” You can watch this video of me registering my family for the family room to see how the process works. You can register as an attendee (Sanctuary seating) a volunteer (Sanctuary seating) or the Family Room. We have limits of 75 people for attendees, 25 people for volunteers and 35 people for the family room. If you are a musician, part of the hospitality team, or would like to help in opening up/cleaning up before and after service then register as a volunteer.

Register Now (June 7th)

Starting July 12th we are going to attempt a relaunch of our kids and preschool ministry programming.

This will be Sunday only. Wednesday night programming is cancelled indefinitely for now. When we get past the summer and hear about what local schools are planning, we will have a better idea what our mid-week programming in the Fall/Winter will look like.

I know that that the absence of kids ministry makes it very difficult for some families to join us for weekend worship services so we are trying to address that problem as soon as we possibly can. If you have any feedback on what you think might be a good solution please reply to this email and let us know.

Also, if you’d be willing to SERVE in our preschool or kids wing when it opens in July please let Mrs. Tiffany (email) or Mrs. Ora (email) know about it ASAP.

We understand that many of our volunteers simply aren’t ready to come back yet. Some may not come back for a while. That’s why we are trying to build a new roster of volunteers who will be free to serve in this transition period. Any help you’re able to give would be so appreciated.

Those of you who are interested in serving as a volunteer in other areas can also reply to this message and let me know. We are probably looking at rebuilding most of our ministry teams as we rebound from COVID and so any help you’re able to give will be welcome.

Small Groups

In addition to these new initiatives with our preschool and kids ministries we are also trying to get some new small groups up off the ground. God has been gracious to continue GROWING our church during this season of COVID-19 and we are wanting to be good stewards of the new people he has brought to our church. Several of these new folks are young adults and we are starting a new “Young Couples Small Group” in the coming weeks.

Our worship pastor Taylor Miller will be leading this new small group. They will meet at 6:30 on Wednesday evenings. They will be meeting at his house which is directly west (across the street) from our church parking lot. You can contact Taylor for more information if you’re interested in this group. The make-up of the group is young couples without children. 

I also happen to know that a few other small groups are meeting “on campus.” We have a Thursday night Bible Study that is meeting on campus. They meet Thursdays at 6:30. You can call Jerry at (325) 668-1253‬ if you’re interested in joining. This is a group of middle-aged adults. Co-ed.

We have a new Celebrate Recovery small group that is studying the series “Life’s Healing Choices” by Rick Warren. This group meets on Tuesdays at 6:45. It’s a video Bible study with small group discussion afterwards. It’s on campus in our Education Building. If you’re interested you can contact Jeff Wilkins at (325) 370-3594‬ or via email here.

Again, if you’re interested in serving during this time and you’d like to help start a NEW small group (even if it’s temporary until things are 100% for on-campus gatherings) then please let me know. It’d be great if we could have at least a handful of Sunday Morning Small Groups meeting before or after our 9:45 worship gathering. The same is true for our 5:00 Saturday night traditional service. 

I want to say THANK YOU to those of you who’ve continued to keep your existing small groups together by calling on a weekly basis or having zoom calls to check in on everybody. I know that digital community isn’t the same as person-to-person contact but it’s better than nothing. These digital gatherings have slowed as summer nears but I’m sure they’ll continue to be a big part of our discipleship strategy moving forward as we together adjust to a new normal.

A close friend of mine said “everybody is going to have to learn how to think like a church planter” in these COVID-19 days. I don’t know how right he is but I do get the sense that there will be much to rebuild as we move forward. It’s going to take all hands on deck. I’m so thankful to be part of a church that does “whatever it takes.” And I’m confident that our best days are ahead of us.

By the way – I’m not just “saying that.” Broadview has proven herself to be a church that overcomes the odds and perseveres through trying times. If you don’t believe me, talk to the people of this church who’ve been here longer than I’ve been alive. They’ll tell you. The stories are unbelievable. God is faithful and he’s not done with us yet. Again, our best days are still ahead of us! 

I hope I see many of yall tonight or tomorrow morning!

if not, I’ll catch you on the interwebs!

With love,

Pastor Wes

PS. Since you made it this far, I became aware this past week that many of you received emails from me asking for E-bay gift cards or other forms of scammy requests. Please know I will NEVER email you about such matters. I will never ask you for personal favors related to finances. Our email list was either stolen, snew or hacked and members of our church are receiving these kinds of messages in their inbox. We are investigating. Please delete the messages. You can also forward them to me and I’ll turn them in to the proper authorities. Blessings! – WT