COVID-19 Update - 4/23
On April 23, 2021 Pastor Mark received notification that a church member has tested positive for COVID-19. As per church protocol, to make sure no one else could be exposed, we will pause our church services this Sunday (4/25) and Wednesday evening (4/28). We will resume activities with the Ladies' May Day Tea event on May1st. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Pastor Mark using the "Contact Pastor Mark" link above.
Even with this recent news, we still believe that the Bible has all the answers - even now, even to this. Hebrews 10:19-25 says:
"Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus...and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." [NIV]
We are not "giving up meeting together". After May 1, our church will re-open for all services at the regular times - Sundays at 10 am for Sunday School, 11 am for our Worship Service, Wednesday evenings at 5:30 pm for Fellowship, 6:30 pm for Prayer Meeting and 6:30 pm for Kid's Club. During the interim, we will take the time to deep clean our facilities to ensure the safety of all who come to worship here. We encourage our visitors to wear masks, we provide hand sanitizer at various stations around our building, and we are constantly looking for ways to ensure our congregation's safety through social distancing measures and other considerations like making an offering station instead of passing offering baskets around.
Our faith is essential. In Hebrews 11:1 it says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for...". Not only that, it is the conduit for salvation ("For it is by grace, through faith..." Ephesians 2:8). And, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" according to James 2:17. In light of these things, we are obeying what Scripture says in Hebrews 10: 19-25. We are not pretending the virus does not exist or has no effect, but we refuse to let it stop us from obeying God's Word in faith.
So be safe and God bless - we'll see you next week.
We preach Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and coming again.
Open Door's pastor, Rev. Mark Walker, is committed to preaching the gospel like Jesus did - with grace and truth.
Open Door is a Bible-believing Baptist church. We preach from the Bible, we sing the old hymns, and we fellowship together (most of the time with good food). We're not striving for perfection, but we are trying to be more like Jesus - both in how we follow God and in how we love the people around us.