Dear Church Family,
I am pleased to share with you some more good news about another exciting change taking place at Lanse Free Church starting this coming weekend. It’s a moment I think we’ve all been waiting for!Starting this Sunday, August 1st, we are going back to having just one worship time on Sunday mornings, beginning again at our old familiar time of 10:00am.
We’ve been kind of coming together in one-month-increments here. In May, we removed some of the spatial barriers inside our building, in June, we went from three worship times to two. In July, we were able to make masks optional for all, and we restarted the coffee fellowship time and enjoyed a meal together at the end of Family Bible Week.
Now in August, the next step for coming together as a church family is to go from having two worship times back to one worship time each Sunday starting at 10:00am.
We are not doing this because we have shrunk. In fact, I think we’ve grown over the last year as we have many new families worshiping with us regularly. We are going to one worship gathering because we are one congregation, and it’s important for us to have as consistent fellowship with the whole church family as we can. I’m looking forward not only to reunions but also to everybody getting to know one another better as the Lord leads.
I’m also looking forward to having more time in our worship gatherings to preach full messages instead of the mini-messages that I’ve been doing the last year and half and to have more time for missions spotlights, worship at work interviews, and more congregational singing. We won’t have to hurry up and finish one worship service because there is another one coming up in a half an hour. We can linger together in worship and stick around afterwards for fellowship and prayer together.
We’re also going to have, once again, a volunteer staff in one of the nursery rooms starting this Sunday at the same time as the older kids are invited to Children’s Church. The Prayer Room is also set up as an un-staffed nursery room with a speaker in it to hear the service if your little one gets fussy and you want a peaceful place to calm them down yourself.
Even though we are returning to one worship time at 10:00am, we are still going to offer options for outdoor seating–the tent when the weather is good and radio transmission at 89.5FM to your vehicle in the parking lot. On communion Sundays like this coming Sunday, make sure you not only get your outdoor bulletin but your prepackaged communion elements, as well. Indoors, we’ll have the fans running and the windows and doors open for as much ventilation as possible. Some of you may want to wear masks for another layer of protection. We want everyone to continue to feel both safe and loved and also to feel invited to participate fully in the life and ministry of the church.
As always, if you are feeling sick or have been around others who are sick, please stay home or in your vehicle and utilize the worship at home resources provided online. If you have not yet been vaccinated and are medically eligible, please prayerfully consider getting immunized as a way not only of protecting yourself but safeguarding others around you.
As Autumn approaches, our leaders are prayerfully considering when or if to restart other ministries that were put on hold. Please pray for and with our leaders as we make those plans for the Fall. We are definitely having the Good News Cruise on August 21st so that’s something else to look forward to.
In everything we do, we want to continue to live out our mission of glorifying God by bringing people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ through worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, and service.
The main thing for us is to keep the main thing the main thing. And the main thing is the good news of Jesus Christ.
I can’t wait to worship Him with you again, Lord-willing, this Sunday at 10:00am.
Church, see you at church!
-Pastor Matt
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