Don't Waste Your Quarantine!

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"Be devoted to one another in love."
Romans 12:10 (NIV)

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Don't Waste Your Quarantine
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This is a Time to Grow as a Congregation​
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Staying home from church is a bummer.  Missing out on our face to face fellowship, the Lord's Table, and (most of all!) church potlucks are no small things.

Nevertheless, there's an upside to this.  By God we can grow as a congregation and come out on the other side stronger and more vitally connected.

We live in a time of unprecedented means of communication.  In previous generations people were left to themselves in isolation.  Today we have devices which allow us to call one another, send texts, and video conference.  We can all but physically beam ourselves into another person's home.

In sum, we have the ability to further our bonds of love and fellowship unlike any other group of Christians in history.  We can build into one another while at home by being intentional with calls, texts, emails, etc.

In our time of social distancing, I want to encourage social nearness.  There would be nothing better than seeing Hopewell developing the "one anothers" of Scripture by a written note or a quick text.  It's a way of saying, "Though you may be somewhat out of sight, you are not out of mind."

We may be missing out on that beautiful time on Sunday morning where we can touch base with one another, but we do not have to miss it completely.  As a matter of fact, we can create a deeper fellowship if we set a few goals and purposefully connect during the "off season."

There's no doubt in my mind that many of you are doing this already to some degree.  There are good friends in our fellowship who naturally interact.  That is truly wonderful and we are blessed to have such wonderful relationships in our congregation.

I want to encourage us to take it to the next level.  You can call it the #hopewellchallenge, if you want.  Make it a personal aim to make at least three contacts a week during our time apart. 

How you want to do it is up to you: Vary your contacts, adopt a particular person, try to touch base with someone new, hit each family by the end of the month, or make it a group connection (use our church's video service if you want). 

Touch base with that Hopewell newbie or send a quick text to one of our young men telling them you are in prayer for them.  You may do a special favor to our extroverts by checking in with them and seeing if they are okay.

The manner of communication is up to you.  There are many fun and meaningful ways to let the people in our congregation know that you care.

Let the kids be involved too.  Set up times where they can video chat with one another and be a blessing.  They also need the union and communion with one another, even if it is just making silly faces at each other.

No, you don't have to be overly spiritual.  You can make it a prayer meeting or send a Bible verse.  Or you can merely check in on what projects they have going and ask about the kids.  If you're really at a loss just say, "I'm just doing #hopewellchallenge.  How are you doing?"

The bottom line is that a quarantine is a terrible thing to waste.  The Lord has brought this providence into the world for our good and growth as a congregation.  Those who live in darkness will be shaken, but those who are a part of the kingdom of light can benefit greatly.

As a church this can be just another opportunity where we thrive together, bond together, and build one another up.

Via Video / Phone Conferencing
What a joy to have so many joining with us on Sunday mornings for our video conferences!  We're blessed to have these opportunities to worship together and we want to invite you to log in with us this Sunday at 10:30 am.  Contact us about getting access to join!

CONTact us

Hopewell On the Air (Pt 2 & 3)
Recently our teaching elder, Matt Timmons, was able to sit down with a couple pastors from the area and talk about COVID-19 and what the Scripture has to say about disease and contagions.  You can listen on your device by clicking below.

Listen now (Part II)

listen now (part III)