A Letter from Pastor Mark - 3.17.20
Hi Bear Creek Community Church,
I hope you were able to participate in our livestreamed worship gathering last Sunday – either live on Facebook or through the church website (https://www.bccc.org/sermons/). Though I missed being able to worship with you all in person like we normally do on Sundays, I am thankful that we have the capability to worship God and drawn near to Him together even when we are in different physical places. The Latvalas were even able to worship with us from Russia! I have been praying for you, and I hope that with God’s help we can do the things we talked about on Sunday: Be faithful, be the Church, and be loving to our neighbors. Though we can’t meet in person, God fills and empowers us to live fearlessly as His people.
The staff is working hard on being creative with how we grow in our faith and continue on mission. As we do so, we would love it if you could help us with some feedback from last week’s service. Would you click on this link (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/M29VF7C) and fill out the 4-question survey? It’s super short, multiple choice, anonymous, and will only take about one minute. Please complete it by noon tomorrow.
As we are unable to connect in person for worship and small groups, it has become even more critical that all of us step up to love one another and maintain community. Find ways to reach out to others through prayer, phone calls, emails, Facetime, Skype, Zoom, or a walk in the woods. We are working with small group leaders and others to utilize some of these tools to continue to build God-honoring relationships, even while we practice physical distancing.
Maintaining those relationships is part of the way we continue to be the Church. Another way we continue in this role is by caring for one another and meeting physical needs. If you need help (or know of someone who needs help) with things like getting groceries, preparing meals, etc, please reach out to Pastor Mike as he will be coordinating these efforts (). Additionally, if you are able to be part of a team that can help meet those needs, let Mike know that as well. It would be awesome to have a list of people ready to step in and assist others with needs as they arise. It’s an honor and a privilege to serve one another.
As you know, pretty much every gathering and event at the church has been postponed, cancelled, or moved online for at least the next few weeks. We will pray for wisdom and guidance as we seek the Lord through this time, but let us not stop being who God calls us to be. Thank you for being a part of this community. Let’s shine the light of Jesus as we fly to the cross together.
Pastor Mark
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-38
A Letter from BCCC Leaders - 3.13.20
Dear Church Family,
As each day passes, we are experiencing greater and greater disruptions caused by the spread of COVID-19. Schools are closed, businesses are changing the way employees work, and all of us are asked to change the way we live in order to protect the lives of those who could most significantly be harmed by this illness. As Christians, we have the responsibility to honor God above all and to love and care for our neighbors.
Our elders, staff, and church leaders have been praying and seeking God’s guidance in how we shepherd and care for our church family, while also loving our community and respecting the decisions made by health officials and government officials. What is the loving thing to do? What is the faithful thing to do? What is the God-honoring thing to do? After seeking the Lord, it is possible that God-fearing and faith-filled Christians will arrive at different conclusions about how they will answer those questions.
After much prayer and discussion, our church leadership team has reached the very difficult decision that for the month of March, we will be moving our Sunday worship service to an “online only” experience. In lieu of meeting together in person on Sunday mornings in March, we'll invite all of you to join us at 10 a.m. each Sunday for an online, video worship service that will be live-streamed on the BCCC Facebook page, and posted as a video on our website shortly after the live-stream ends. This video will have some worship music, prayer, a few church announcements, and a sermon. You can tune in to the service live at 10 by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/BC3woodinville/. It will be posted afterwards at https://www.bccc.org/sermons/.
For the remainder of the month, large-group events like Awana and Wednesday Night Gatherings will also not be taking place. This means the Lego Grand Prix and Texas Hold ‘Em are postponed. Regarding other weekly ministries (Home Groups, Women’s Bible Study, Men’s Bible Study), we will leave it up to those groups to decide whether or how they will meet. Whatever that looks like, we hope that people find ways to connect with each other.
A big part of who we are is our life together. Though we can no longer gather for our regular programs and worship services in the manner we prefer, we will be praying that people find ways to connect with each other in real life. Social guidelines don't prohibit us from meeting in small groups for prayer, fellowship, serving, learning, and growing. We hope that people continue to connect with those they're in relationship with and continue loving one another even when we can't gather in our building.
We are a community church – and a huge part of what makes us special is the way we encourage, serve, and grow with one another. This is an opportunity for us to be the Church and to seek the Lord’s leading for new ways to love and serve each other, even if we can’t do it as much in person. Even though our Sunday worship gathering is always the highlight of our church week and a super important part of who we are, our identity as a church goes far beyond a worship service or a building.
As we keep our eyes on Jesus and go through this storm together, let’s ask the Lord to help us step up to love one another, to serve our community, and to represent Jesus. Our goal is not to hole up and hide for the next few weeks, waiting for the time we can resume being God’s people. No, we are praying that, more than ever, we will work to be people who grow in our faith, worship God, keep in step with the Holy Spirit, and represent Jesus as His hands and feet.
We, your BCCC elders and staff, will be available to meet with you and to connect with you either in person or digitally throughout the month of March. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us so that we can support and serve you whether for a physical need, a listening ear, or to join you in lifting up your prayer requests to the Lord.
We are committed to keeping you updated in the weeks ahead and we humbly ask that you join us in fervently praying for our church family, our Eastside neighbors, our government leaders, and our world. Let’s keep in step with the Spirit together as we seek to represent the love of Jesus to so many who desperately need Him.
Your BCCC elders and staff,
Kevin, Jay, Dave, Bob, Dan, Mark, Mike, Carol, Noel, Sherry, Pat, Shane, and Eugene
