Phase 1

Today, the Governor announced that churches will soon be

allowed to re-open. I can’t wait to see you!

We’ve had eight weeks of online only services. I want to thank

the online team – particularly Pastor Parker, JT Espejo and

Jordan Dollar. They worked incredible hours in order to make

online church engaging, exciting and smooth.

And, I want to thank you. You’ve been faithful to attend, invite

and to give. Our church family has remained strong, outward-

focused and caring. I’m proud of you for fighting off selfishness,

frustration and fear.

We’ve learned a lot through this. I pray we never again take

meeting together for granted. For many of you, this has been an

opportunity to re-calibrate priorities and schedules. “His Kingdom

First” must be our life approach. The lessons of this season will

be lasting.

Now, we move into Phase 1 of the re-opening process. This

phase is going to require a lot of patience, flexibility and a

willingness to sacrifice for others.

On the front page of our website, our church Facebook page,

Instagram and other platforms, there is a link to all the details

necessary for us to re-open safely. There’s no way I can share

them all in one video, but I want to highlight several of them.

Our sanctuary has been re-set to allow for social distancing.

We’ve measured and are observing the federal standards – six

feet between family units. As you might imagine, that means our

capacity has been greatly reduced! We are able to accommodate

approximately 400 people in each service.

During phase one, we will have main services only. There will

be no kids ministry activities, nursery or childcare. Connection

classes, Wednesday night activities and small groups will not

meet. We fully anticipate all these being restored in phase two of

the re-opening.

Practically, that means your kids are sitting with you in service.

Don’t stress. I understand there will be more noise and activity.

We’ll be OK. However, if your child throws a fit or starts

screaming, please consider taking them to the lobby or chapel

until they calm down.

We are starting with six services a week:

 Tuesday afternoons at 4:00.

 Family Service at 11:00 on Saturday morning. You and your

children can attend service together. The format will be

similar to the weekly SLAM service – with characters,

puppets, active songs and all the fun. The focus will be on

the same promise we are studying in the other services.

 5:00 Saturday night.

 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 on Sunday morning.

To help ensure that you have a place to sit, we have instituted an

online sign up for services. Please register for the service you

wish to attend at firstnlr.com/ Enter the number of family

members who will be attending with you. When a service is full,

we will no longer accept registrations for that service. If we need

to add more services, we will.

When you arrive, you will be directed to a parking lot. You will

need to wait in your car until approximately fifteen minutes before

service. When the sanctuary has been cleared and disinfected,

you will be invited to enter.

When you enter the building, you will be directed to a seating area

for your family. We will seat people from the front of the room to

the back of the room. After service, we will dismiss people to

ensure a quick, safe exit. I know – you have a place where you

always sit! This is going to be a good opportunity to practice

flexibility! And - you might enjoy experiencing service from a

different point of view!

We have a number of safety measures that will be in place per

our agreement with the State of Arkansas. Please know – these

are not done as the result of fear! Instead, we are doing

everything we know to do to protect the most vulnerable among

us and prevent transmission of the Covid-19 virus. Our

motivation is not fear, but love for others in our church family. I

want to share with you eight of these steps.

1. To help prevent the spread of infection, we are asking

everyone to wear a face mask. If you forget, one will be provided

for you. Infants and toddlers will not be required to wear a mask.

If you have a health condition that makes it impossible for you to

wear a mask, we understand.

2. Common areas and gathering spaces of the building will be

closed. That includes the coffee bar and any place where people

might congregate.

3. Before every service, the sanctuary, seating and all high-touch

services will be disinfected. We will only allow people in the room

after that procedure is complete.

4. Hand sanitizing stations are set up throughout the building.

We encourage their frequent use.

5. If you need to sneeze or cough, please cover your mouth and

nose or sneeze into your elbow.

6. We will be continually wiping down surfaces in the rest rooms

and other high touch areas.

7. We will not distribute any bulletins or printed materials.

Offering envelopes will be placed on the chairs. Extras will be

removed and destroyed between services.

8. Greeters will be wearing masks and gloves. We will not share

hands, hug or high five. Instead, we will air hug, wave and smile.

Finally and perhaps most importantly – if you are high risk

because of age or underlying health conditions, I encourage you

to stay home and continue watching online during Phase one.

While I would love to see you in person, I love you – and want

you to stay healthy!

There is a lot of tension in our country – some want to open,

others passionately believe everything should stay closed. Here’s

how we are going to approach it. We will respect the thoughts

and preferences of others and not make anyone feel lesser or

non-spiritual because they have a different approach.

Listen to me – attending in person is not a sign that you are more

mature, more godly, or more committed than the person who

chooses to stay at home.

Staying at home does not make you smarter of more caring than

the person who attends in person.

You’ve done a beautiful job of loving and caring for others the last

eight weeks. Let’s keep that same attitude of love and concern as

we transition into another new way of doing church.

We are not going to be the social distancing police. We will post

the guidelines, communicate them often and encourage you to

follow them. However, we are not going to walk around with a

giant ruler to make sure you are six feet away from others. I am

asking you to follow the guidelines out of love for each other.

Like you, I can’t wait for life and church to be back to “normal” –

whatever that new normal will be. Many of these things feel like a

hassle and extra work – because they are! But, this is just one

phase. It is going to get better!

I look forward to worshipping with you soon. In the meantime, I

love you and I miss you.