COVID-19 Update – April 4

Dear Temple Family,

I want you to know that I miss you, am praying for you, and am praying for this crisis to come to an end. We trust that the old song is true, that God has the whole world in His hands. If you are in need of anything, please reach out to us and we would love to help any way we can.

We have also developed a list of resources such as RightNow Media where you have access to so many online bible studies that can help you during this time. We also have your weekly Sunday school material available for kids, students, and adults. I hope that they you are making good use of these resources.

I want to provide you an update of where things currently stand . As you know, things continue to change quickly during this time. As of now, all activities at the church are cancelled until further notice. Our church office is not open and our staff is working from home. The church phone number has been forwarded to our secretary’s cell phone that she can answer it from home. We are continuing to meet and pray as a staff over video conferencing.

Announcements
1 – Hymn Sing Postponed
The first is that we will be postponing our hymn sing that we wanted to do this Sunday night. The weather forecast is not cooperating and we are continuing to pray through the wisdom of such an event as we seek council from our local officials.

2 – Easter Egg Opportunity
Secondly, we have an opportunity to bless our community. In preparation for our Easter egg hunt that, in God’s providence we will not be able to have, we purchased 10,000 pre-filled easter eggs. As a staff, we were praying about what we should do with them, and then God opened a door for us to be able to give them out at Edison Elementary School as students come by to get meals. We will be giving them out on Thursday, April 9. We will also have a time for church families to come by and get a bag as well. (Stay tuned for more details about that).

3 – Livestream
I also want to encourage you to join in our livestream this Sunday at 10:45 AM. There are a few ways you can watch it. First, you can go to our website at tbcgainesville.org and it will be on the front of the site. Secondly, you can watch it on our Facebook page. Last week we had a little trouble with Facebook but I think that should be fixed. Thirdly, you can watch it on our YouTube channel on your smart TV. Open the Youtube App and search for “tbcgainesville” and it will pop up. Let us know if you have any questions.

3 Options for Livestream

Pastoral Exhortation
I want to say thank you. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support, and your willingness to serve one another and our community.

I have heard numerous stories of phone calls, grocery store trips, zoom Sunday school classes and small groups, and much more of how our church is modeling the “one another ministry” pattern of the New Testament. Thank you Temple Baptist Church for being the “church” during this season. I saw a picture in the last few days that simply said, “The church is not empty, it is merely deployed.” That is definitely true of Temple.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

For His Glory,

Brady Martin
Senior Pastor
Temple Baptist Church