April 22, 2020

Grace Family,

Happy Tuesday! Here is an update about all the things going on at Grace.

COVID-19 Update

Yesterday (April 20, 2020), Governor Mike DeWine announced that the remainder of the school year will be online. To many, this does not come as a surprise, but we recognize that this does mean that many families have to face the loss of spring sport seasons, special events, and the normalcy of life that being in school brings.

We grieve with seniors (and their parents) who are facing the loss of many "lasts."

We grieve with many parents who have to figure out how to work and help their kids do online school.

We grieve with students who have hard home lives and no longer have a consistent way to be removed from that environment.

We grieve with teachers / school staff that have lost the opportunity to teach and love their students.

To those who are affected by this new announcement, please know that we are praying for you. We pray that the thoughts and emotions that you are facing, and will face, do not keep you from seeing that all things are bowing down to God's Gospel purposes in your life.

It is good to grieve. It is good to lament. In the midst of it all, remember that God is with you and that He is for you.

Update from Pastor Craig

Pastor Craig shared another update on Monday!

https://youtu.be/-hU1dg8gvNs

For more updates from Pastor Craig, sign up for Pastor Craig's Friday Update.

For past COVID-19 updates, visit the COVID-19 Updates Archive.

Financial Update

As Pastor Craig shared in his update, because of your faithful giving, we are doing well financially. With expenses being down because of quarantine and a steady income, we are in a healthy place! Praise the Lord!

We plan on giving a more in-depth financial presentation at the end of April, so stay tuned! In the meantime, please continue to give faithfully for there is much more ministry to be done!

Sharing and Meeting Needs

Help us care for our family! We encourage you to email, to call, to text, to reach out in any way to those around you. We are trying to keep up with all of our members, but we would love for you to join us in this effort! If you connect with someone and they have a need (physical, financial, etc.), please email Kenton Durham (Pastoral Team Administrator) who is working with the staff, deacons, and elders to care for our people.

If you are willing to help meet various needs, please sign up to serve.

If you are in need of help, please share them with us!

If you are interested in helping Jessica Pollock make masks (sewing, donating supplies, or cutting fabric), please email Jessica Pollock.

God Is Still Working Testimonies

We sent this out on Friday, but just a reminder: we would love to hear about some of the ways that you have seen God working during quarantine!

If you would like to participate, please do the following:

You may see it featured during Sunday morning service, on Grace social media pages, or in other communications!

Grace Missions

Watch the video update from Jonathan & Noella Kleis, missionaries serving in Italy (one of the countries most affected by COVID-19), about how we can be praying for them in this time!

Church Office

As of now, the church offices (and building) are closed. The church staff can be reached by email (please indicate who you would like to contact) or by calling the church office at 937-766-1777 during regular business hours (M–Th: 8–5; F: 8–4). NOTE: this is a different number than our regular office number, so that we can answer calls while away from the office.

We will continue to stream our services through the Grace Facebook page and website. Each week, one of our pastors will host the Facebook chat during the service!

All church activities and ministries will be cancelled until further notice.

If you have any questions, please email our staff.

Other Resources

Final Remarks

Some staff were talking about how it feels like God is simultaneously pruning and refining all His people during quarantine. We know of many who are walking through hard seasons as idols and sin are revealed. Take heart, dear ones, for Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Remember that this is a clear sign of God's love for us (Hebrew 12:3-11). Hard is hard, but it is not bad (Mark Vroegop, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy). Press on, beloved!

Blessings,
Grace Leadership