GIVE ONLINE WATCH ONLINE KIDS CHURCH FAQS

IT’S TIME TO GATHER IN WORSHIP OF JESUS AGAIN.

The Leadership of Great Oaks Community Church has, with much prayer and discussion, decided to reopen our doors for the gathering of the church on May 31, 2020. For the foreseeable future, the Germantown Campus will have 2 services – 9:00a & 10:45a.

We realize that we have many in our church on each side of this decision – those that are for it and those that are against it – with varying degrees of passion. We have made this decision based on how God’s Word and His Spirit has led us, not to make people happy or to make a cultural/political statement. However, please understand this very important point: no one is required to come to church. It has and will always be a voluntary gathering. We advise anyone feeling sick to please stay home, but believe the best person to decide whether you should gather with the church or not is YOU.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Did you inform local authorities?

  Yes. We sent letters to local and state authorities as soon as we decided what we were doing. We also talked with local leaders and authorities on the phone one-by-one. Those included local pastors, denominational leaders, the sheriff’s department, attorneys, the fire chief, state police officers, the village president, the county board chairman, the director of the county health department, and more. All were helpful and the vast majority were in full support of us meeting in person again.

  To get the letters we sent out to governing authorities, click here & here.

• Why are we Re-gathering?

  We believe we have a Biblical mandate to gather as the church with the chief purpose of worshipping Jesus Christ and proclaiming His Gospel to the world. The Biblical and theological foundation for this belief could fill a book, but here is a summary from Pastor John Piper on why the church is to gather:

  So let me sum it up like this. The reasons Christians go to church on Sunday is because we have been rescued from our sins, united with a risen, living Christ and with each other through faith in Jesus. And because of that union with Jesus and with each other, the Bible, God’s word, calls us to regular, weekly expressions of our corporate joy and thankfulness before God in worship, not just isolated Christian individuals scattered around, but corporate gatherings praying and singing and hearing God’s word and celebrating the ordinances of Jesus.

  Source: John Piper in “Why Do Christians Worship Together on Sundays?” at https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-do-christians-worship-together-on-sundays
  For other more in-depth articles, consider these: “Biblical Theology and Corporate Worship” by Bobby Jamieson: https://www.9marks.org/article/biblical-theology-and-corporate-worship/; “Five Benefits of Corporate Worship” by David Mathis: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/five-benefits-of-corporate-worship

• How was this decision made?

  We made it together. The LT, and Senior Team (Pastors Dan, Nate, and Chase) are in full agreement about this. We had meetings, prayed, discussed, and sought counsel from police and attorneys. The Senior Team and Staff then worked together when it comes to the details, consulting other churches, the health department and other local officials, etc.

• Will church services look different?

  Yes and No…It will look different in the aspects of fellowship and programming. We will be making our Sunday morning services as socially distanced as possible. This means different capacity limits as well as removing some aspects of service where germs can be transmitted by touch. What will never be different is that the Gospel will still be preached and the Lord will be worshipped every Sunday.

• What will be different?

  • Touchless Church”: We will worship, laugh, sing, and study God’s Word together, but we will do so without touching. No handshakes, hugs, or Romans 16:16 affection for the time being. No bulletins will be handed out.
  • Masks and gloves will be available for those who want them. (Note: you should bring your own just in case supplies run out).
  • Touchpoints (chairs, counters, door handles, etc.) will be sanitized to the best of our ability between services. This is why our service times are different than what they usually are.
  • Nursery rooms will open for parents of smaller children to use at their discretion (streaming will be available inside).
  • Families (those that are already in contact with one another on a regular basis) will be asked to sit apart from other families (in groupings of chairs).
  • As always, sick people will be asked to stay home and watch online.
  • Immuno-compromised or “at-risk” people will be asked to stay home and watch online.
  • Hand sanitizer will be available.
  • Offering buckets will not be passed. You will have the opportunity to give online and by dropping your tithe into a receptacle before and/or after service.
  • We will not be taking communion together in the building for the time being.

• What about the Kiddos?

  Kids Town is Open & Ready for Birth-5th Grades (Mother’s room is available) with the following protocols in place:

  Before Service:

  • All areas of Kids Town will be cleaned and disinfected.
  • Teachers and volunteers will have temperature checks. Temperature must be below 100.0. 

  During Service:

  • Children will have temperature checks before entering Kids Town. Temperature must be below 100.0. 
  • Parents will not be allowed to enter through the UpStreet doors.
  • All teachers and volunteers will wear a face mask at all times in both services.
  • When attending 1^st service, children are REQUIRED to wear a face mask at all times. Nursery is optional due to the age of the children.
  • When attending 2^nd service, children in K-5^th grade are required to wear a mask when entering and exiting Kids Town and in Large Group. They are able to remove masks in their Small Group Classroom.  Preschool is required to wear a mask at all times.  Nursery is optional due to the age of the children.
  • Kids Town will have Small Group activities which include paper handouts and games. We will not be able to maintain a 6-foot distance during this time.
  • Hygiene: Children will receive hand sanitizer when entering Kids Town, transitions from one room to another, and exiting Kids Town. Hand sanitizer will also be available when needed.

  After Service:

  • Only one adult will be allowed to pick up children from Kids Town in order to minimize the amount of people waiting in line.
  • All areas of Kids Town will be cleaned and disinfected between services.

  Updated: 2/3/2021

• What if someone gets COVID?

  We are choosing to be cautious but not fear-driven. We do not want anyone to get sick. We are all in danger every time we gather for worship – danger of getting sick, getting in a car accident, being a victim in a mass shooting, and more. We do not want anyone to get sick, but given our Biblical mandate to organize a gathering of the church, we cannot control that today any more than we have ever been able to. In addition, no one is required to come to church. It has and will always be a voluntary gathering. We advise anyone feeling sick to please stay home, but believe the best person to decide whether you should gather with the church or not is YOU. That said, we will do everything we can to keep the virus from spreading.

• What about authority?

  UPDATE: As of May 22, there is no conflict between submitting to governmental authorities and submitting to God’s authority, because our President declared church gatherings legal and “essential” in all 50 states. Thank you, Mr. President! So now it really is your choice. If your reason for not coming was that the governor’s executive order didn’t allow it, we hope to see you on Sunday!

  Ultimately we believe we should follow God’s authority over the authority of man. We also believe we should follow governing authorities here on earth. However, none of us would say the underground church in Pakistan shouldn’t meet because the government there says not to, right? We’re not in Pakistan, but we do have to draw that line somewhere even in our nation. It’s not black-and-white. By re-gathering, we are giving the decision on whether to gather or not to you (the individual). On another note, in our current situation, which governing officials should we follow? We are not going against our local authorities at all. Federal and local judges have said that the church can meet. In addition, our federal government is signaling that they will be protecting the church’s right to gather before too long. Does a governor’s authority supersede all of the above?

• What can my kids do during the service?

  We look forward to having your kids be a part of the family service. During the service your kids will have opportunities to worship and sing out and pray with you. We encourage you to bring some activities for your child to do during the sermon. Some great ideas include: coloring books, spiral notebooks, coloring and writing utensils, a small toy (ex. toy car, doll, etc.), word search or word scramble activities, and a Bible. You then simply bring these items in a small tote bag as their church activity bag. The Family Ministry team will also be sending out some sermon tools for you to print for your kids to keep them engaged or occupied during the sermon.

• What about Washington Campus?

  At this present time our Washington Campus can’t meet at Central School and there is not an available space nearby that’s conducive. Washington Campus is meeting in person Sunday mornings with the Germantown campus at 9:00 & 10:45am.  

• Should I attend in person or online?

  We love our online campus, but we know online exclusively is not what is meant when the Bible calls us to gather. We would love to see you at our live services, however it’s not mandatory. If you feel that you’re at a higher risk for this illness, then we want you to be safe and join us online.

• What if I disagree?

  Some of you reading this are in complete disagreement. If you are a part of Great Oaks, we want to give the following guidance on how to disagree:

  • Humbly. Admit that you don’t know what we should do and that many intelligent, mature believers in Jesus disagree about this.
  • Respectfully. We respect your decision to stay home. Please respect ours to gather together for worship. No name-calling or slander. Just respectful, loving disagreement. Any of our leaders would be happy to listen to your sincere questions and concerns.
  • Quietly. Our culture has a nasty habit of going straight to the megaphone when we disagree. That megaphone is usually social media. Share what you want on social media, but we recommend not sharing your disagreement too widely. When you share it on social media, you will no doubt get many gathered to your side of things, but you will fail to have honest, edifying, Christ-exalting discussion. Instead, have those discussions with your family, close friends, and pastors. You may disagree that we have a Biblical mandate to gather (or that we should do it now), but let’s agree on this: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).
  • Without ultimatums or threats. We expect many of you to respond with maturity and love (even in disagreement). However, there will probably be people who leave the church because of this. If you’ve ever wondered if Great Oaks was just about numbers, stats, or being a megachurch, this should settle that for you. If we were, we would not be making the decision to begin meeting again. Even so, we hope that you can disagree without going to extremes.

• Have other questions?

  If you have any additional thoughts or questions please email us: info@greatoaks.church