When to Begin Gathering as a Church?

During this time of COVID and the guidelines being issued by the state, the natural question to ask as a church is this:  how are we to respond as we now head into our third month of closure?  The simplest answer of course is to follow what God tells us in His word, which calls us to submit to governing authorities. (I Peter 2:13; Romans 13:1)

I believe the key to unlock this call to submission is Jesus Christ Himself.  In I Peter 2:21 we read this challenge, “to this you have been called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in His steps.”   We submit because Christ submitted.    Christ walked a life of sinlessness and perfection.  And because He lived a godly submitted life, there would be no charge of sin and rebellion against Him, even if it meant suffering along the way.

In I Peter 2:20 we read this, “If when you do good and suffer for it endure this is a gracious thing in the sight of God, for to this you have been called.”   Peter is introducing something that stands against our selfish natures, putting our own interests aside that God may be glorified by our actions, our attitudes and our very lives.

For many in America, the Bible's call to submit to governing authorities is a difficult one.  Perhaps one of the reasons we struggle is because as a nation we were born out of revolution and resistance to tyranny.  And yet in places like I Peter 2:13, we are invited to submit to governing authorities.  And what makes Peter's call so challenging is that he probably wrote it during the time of the Emperor Nero, who was a tyrant and probably the one who ordered Peter's own execution. 

As we now head into our third month of this COVID crisis, how we as a church respond to God's word to submit to governing authorities becomes a great test to our faith.   What we have decided to do as a church is to begin with a series of four outdoor services in June, while maintaining CDC guidelines.  While we hope to be back in our church building in July, we are praying for God's direction and believe that right now it honors the Lord for us to comply and submit to Governor Murphy's guidelines in keeping with God's word.

So let us continue praying for one another and pray that God would give us wisdom on how we gather as God's people these next weeks.  Let us pray that God would continue to watch over all of us as we look to Him during this pandemic.  And may we discover the joy of knowing the Lord during this time and making Him known to others, who is our Peace, our comfort and the "rock of our refuge." (Ps. 94:22)