A Letter To Trinity

Dear Trinity,

While I don’t write a lot of church-wide letters, I felt the desire to do so today. It was so good to see many of you at our outdoor service this past Sunday. Maybe that is why I am writing to you today…. My heart is full, I LOVE the people of Trinity Community Church and what a joy it was to see you at our outdoor service this past Sunday!    

This Sunday we will resume our 2 service schedule. 

9:00 1st Service (Please consider wearing a mask) 

10:15 – 10:40 Prayer Meeting

10:45 2nd Service (With Children’s Ministry up to Kindergarten) 

A Few Thoughts I would like to pass along to you. 

1. I want to continually encourage us to not be in a… wait it out mode. Meaning, the church is still called to gather and still called to engage with the world in these Covid days. In so many ways, nothing has changed. I am amazed as I recently re-read Acts and the NT letters and freshly saw all the persecution and suffering they did for the sake of Christ’s name. I don’t believe the church is called to be on hold or waiting around for everything to return to normal. While there are reasonable precautions that each of us might need to take, let us continue with the very purpose that Trinity Community Church exists: Treasure Christ, Grow in Christ, and Proclaim Christ!  
2. While the two service schedule is not my personal preference… it is my preference to serve people. That is the driving motive behind going to two services. Certainly, there are many differing opinions on how to navigate Covid safely but let us agree that it’s a great time to serve each other! Let’s make serving others rather than serving ourselves our preference! (Philippians 2:1-11)
3. If you are planning to attend the first service, we would like to ask you to be more cautious by wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. This is how we can serve those who are elderly, immunocompromised, or living with and/or working around the elderly or immunocompromised! What an easy and tangible way to care for and serve others in our body! 
4. We assume that the first service will be smaller with plenty of space to spread out. Please consider joining us for the first service. I have been hearing from some of you that you are tired of the livestream and you are wanting to be together with your brothers and sisters in the Lord. We invite you to return to the building and let’s worship God together again! As we have mentioned during this year, the livestream is a blessing and a curse. What a blessing to have the technology in place to serve those who are not able to gather, but what a curse in how it feeds our flesh and moves us to settle for something less than the gathered people of God. As an elder team, we exhort us all to not forsake the gathering and to continue to pursue the vast array of “one another” imperatives throughout Scripture.  
5. While we don’t know how long we will keep this two service schedule, let’s make the best of it, thanking God for the opportunity to regularly gather on Sundays to worship the Lord in singing, giving, preaching, listening, and fellowshiping with His people.  
6. It continues to be a great day for salvation! Let’s be vigilant in prayer for lost people to come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior! 
7. We certainly know that there are some whose health is compromised and though you desire to return, you are unable to do so at this time. Please know that the elder team fully understands and is committed to continue to pray for you!

Much love and grace to you church, 

Tim