​I feel it necessary to make this response to the COVID-19 coronavirus concerns in our world. I am going to attempt to do that with three succinct points.
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1. I still believe that God is greater than ANYTHING that can or will come against us.

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”

2. I still believe that God would not have us to live in fear of anything because He is greater than anything that can or will come against us.

Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

3. I still believe that God gave us wisdom to utilize common sense at all times, but especially during times of trouble.

Proverbs 28:26 “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”

So with those three things firmly fixed in my mind, I wanted to inform our church family and anyone desiring to come to the church of what we are intending to do as long as we can. The church will continue to host worship services until we are told that we cannot do so in our usual way. I am already working together with the board members and the leadership of the church to be able to minister in various ways if we are forced to suspend meeting at the church building. We will continue to minister and look out for the flock in the best way that we can as we move through this season.

Every person who currently attends our church has been put in a “Care Group” with a Director over that group. I have encouraged each of them to reach out to those families in their group on a regular basis, so we can assure that each family is being ministered to in whatever way is needed. With all this being said, I do want to strongly encourage our elder saints and anyone with a compromised immune system to consider eliminating as much contact with others as possible. That includes coming to church or even to small home groups (if we eventually are restricted in our gatherings). We will have every service at the church recorded, so if you have to miss and you have a CD player, just let us know and we will get it to you as soon as we can. This is not an easy decision for me to make because I understand the strength that each of us receive from being in the house of God and worshiping together. I am not an infectious disease expert, so at this time common sense says we must adhere to those who are and follow
what they have to say.

I know this has been lengthy, but please let me say one last thing. With all the isolation and "social distancing" that is being encouraged and mandated, please don’t allow yourself to be withdrawn from your church body. Pick up the phone and call someone. Send someone an encouraging and uplifting text. Share a great message that you found on a streaming service. Write a letter or card and send it to someone. This is not a time for the church to shrink or hide, but to shine as the light that God made us, into the darkness of uncertainty that is all around us.

Please continue to pray for God to help, heal, and minister,
Pastor Hoffman

Darkness, heights, snakes, clowns, enclosed spaces, spiders, and even running out of ice cream. All of us are afraid of something! What frightens you may not frighten me and what frightens me may not frighten you. However, we are all afraid of something. At the time of writing this article the world is starting to show fear about the spread of the Corona virus. Surely, this is something we should be informed about, but we cannot let it incapacitate us to the place that we hide away in fear. It can be a great motivator. Fear can get you to do positive things you wouldn’t normally do, but fear also gets us to do negative things we wouldn’t normally do. Fear is said to be the most powerful emotion known to humankind, even more powerful than love. Our very survival depends on it, as fear is triggered in the most primitive part of our brain responsible for alerting & protecting us from danger. It helps to keep us safe and it helps to keep us alive.

Fear is a powerful motivator, but the devil uses it as a negative one. The devil loves to motivate by fear. His whole tactic and technique relies on fear. Satan gets you and I to fear in so many ways:

• We fear that we’re going to fail in living for God
• We fear that we’re never doing enough to please God
• We fear being isolated and alone as we serve God
• Some even fear they will never be able to be saved
• The devil’s whole tactic and technique relies on fear.

Fear is not of God:
2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Every time you feel fear in your life, it's a manifestation of the kingdom of darkness. It's the spirit Satan uses to try to rule people and keep them from coming under the leadership of Jesus Christ. The Lord prefers to motivate someone by eliminating doubt because God knows doubt destroys motivation. We cannot be incapacitated by fear. We cannot let hell get the upper hand by fear. We cannot be controlled through fear. It is not in God’s repertoire to motivate you with fear. God doesn’t even want you to serve Him out of fear. Everything God does is to eliminate fear, doubt and confusion in our lives. God’s not interested in showing you how things could go in the worst sense, but He wants you to see how things are going to go in the best sense. God only wants to bless you and uplift you. That’s what God has for you, the best.

Some don’t know how to feel about God wanting the best for them:

• Hell has beat you down with fear
• Satan has ruled over your life with fear
• Fear has become an unwanted permanent house guest in your life

The Lord wants to break that chain of fear in your life. The Lord wants you to be free from the spirit of fear and His desire is to get you out of that fearful and unbelieving hole you’ve been in too long. It’s time to evict fear from your life before it destroys you.

1 John 4: 18 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment."

Jesus has always loved you. Jesus loves you right now. Jesus will always love you. Don’t try to understand God’s love with a fleshly understanding. God’s love is perfect, full, and unconditional. We’ve probably never experienced that kind of love in any other place. Perfect love casteth out fear. God’s love is perfect and His love can cast out that fear. Fear exists in darkness and shadows, but when the love of God is shed abroad in our lives, it drives fear away. Let the light of God’s love into your life today.

It’s time to trade your fear for peace, in Jesus Christ.
Pastor Hoffman