Social Distancing, Self Isolation and the Church

Covid-19 Update for March 19, 2020

This week a public health emergency was declared in Alberta, gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited and so it follows that NEXT Christian Community will not be able to meet together in-person for the foreseeable future.

Starting March 22, NEXT’s Sunday service is moving online.

What can you expect? Our worship teams will continue to lead us in musical worship.  Pastor Wendy will continue to teach. You can expect that her sermons will be 20 minutes or less since listening online is very different from experiencing teaching live.  We will also be asking different people from our community to share what they are learning during these interesting times. We know that you will all benefit from hearing the things that are working in each other’s lives, and equally as important the things that are challenging, as we are all experiencing the new normal. 

We cannot tell you how long we will be meeting online, but we anticipate it will be a minimum of a month. We will reconvene meeting face-to-face as soon as the Chief Medical Officer gives parameters that allow us to reconvene.

Things to Remember During These Difficult Times

Amidst the concerns around the rapidly changing environment of COVID-19 and the seemingly endless media reports, we need to stop and remember that God is with us and not caught by surprise. There is a long history of God doing his best work in the most difficult circumstances. He also uses His followers and His Church in this season.

Prayer – You and your family are being prayed for. You can expect that we will be reaching out in the days ahead. If you want prayer for something specific, please let us know by contacting Wendy via her cell phone at 403-554-3110 (call or text) or via email at wendy@nextchristiancommunity.ca.

Compassion – If you need assistance in this challenging time, please let us know.

Offerings – We encourage you to continue to support the ministry of our church by using our online giving platform HERE. Alternatively you can also download the NEXT Christian Community app and give on the go.

Serving – We would encourage you to look for opportunities to help your neighbours and co-workers. We will look at setting up an “I can help” sign up system on the website in the next week. We want to be able to assist healthy people to serve in our broader community.

The days are unpredictable, things seem strange, feeling a little disoriented is normal, and with all these things it is normal to feel some stress. Let’s remember to pray for each other as people pop into our minds. Call them, text them and let them know you are praying for them.

As I have been chatting with many of you, you have talked about ways you have seen God at work in your lives.

– Pastor Wendy –

Psalm 27:13-14 I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.