Greetings fellow members of Crossroads Bible Church. What a week it has been! It seems that each day we wake up to a whole new set of circumstances swirling about us. I know this is quite unsettling and can even lead to fear and anxiety apart from the confidence we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Elders have been studying the situation and meeting together to make decisions about the appropriate course of action for Crossroads.

Decision Summary

  • We have decided to suspend our corporate worship service for the next three Sundays (March 22, 29 and April 5) and all other regularly scheduled meetings and gatherings up through April 10, 2020. These dates are in concert with the most recent Executive Order from Governor Lujan-Grisham, (March 19, 2020).
  • We believe that most of our current Small Group meetings fall outside the scope of what we are being asked to do to limit the potential spread of COVID-19. In view of this assessment, we are suggesting that as we roll out guidance for staying engaged with fellow CBC members you consider VERY small, “organic” groupings that you can form to care for each other and share in each other’s lives.

Our Rationale

  • We take VERY seriously the priority of us gathering regularly as a body of believers, which makes any decision to suspend these meetings exceedingly difficult. Our decision to take this step was based on three factors.
  • First, as we learned in Romans 13, we believe we are to live under the authority of our civil leaders to the extent their directives don’t cause us to violate our conscience before God. Governor Lujan-Grisham has just issued a new Executive Order that further limits the social interactions in our state. While we may technically be exempted from this Order, we believe the Governor is issuing it with the health of all of us in mind.
  • Second, the technical information we have read seems to paint a compelling (albeit incomplete) picture of the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also seen in vivid pictures how the virus has touched the lives of those in China, South Korea, and Italy, among others.
  • Third, we believe that as one of the larger churches in Los Alamos we have a responsibility to our community neighbors to do what we can to limit the spread of this disease. We also always want to honor Christ in the way we represent Him to those around us.

Next Steps

Because of the decision to suspend our corporate worship services, we will not be offering any sort of online streaming option, as several have inquired about.  We encourage you to use this time on Sunday morning to gather for family worship.  Where reasonable, and in compliance with CDC guidelines, we encourage you to gather with a neighboring family or a few of those from your small group for worship on Sunday morning.  There will be a follow-on communication on Friday with suggestions/guidance for this Sunday, March 22.

If this closure extends beyond three weeks, which is very likely, we will evaluate and modify our plans as needed.  We will continue to communicate our plans and suggested activities during this period.  We plan to provide a weekly pastor’s podcast of some kind that addresses the whole congregation.  Though this will not be a traditional sermon, we believe it is still important to speak God’s Word to the church during this unprecedented season.

For now, the church offices will remain open.  The pastoral staff is available to help and assist you.  We will continue to personally meet with people as appropriate and needed, following the social distancing and other protocols established by the CDC.

Guidance for this Period

We trust that in God’s wise and strange providence He has appointed this period of abstinence from meeting together to refine and ultimately strengthen His church.  We encourage you during this unusual time to focus on the following:

  • The privilege and priority of assembling together as the church.  There is simply no substitute for it.  May this time of abstinence renew our sense of its importance and increase our longing for it.  How good it will be to once again meet together!
  • Meeting the needs of others in our body.  Be intentional about caring and praying for one another.  Check-in with those you know and those who are more isolated or at higher risk.  If you are isolated, use this opportunity to pray earnestly for the body.
  • Leading and shepherding those under your care and in your sphere of influence.  Husbands and fathers, we need now more than ever to step up to this role of shepherding our families.  Small group leaders, find creative ways to connect with your group.
  • In the spirit of 1 Corinthians 14:26, use Sunday morning to actively participate in this form of worship with your family; not merely a passive spectator, but an active contributor.
  • Allow the Lord to expose areas of misplaced trust (e.g. health, job, family, government, savings and retirement) and a wrong love for this world, and to replace these with an increased dependence on Him.

Please let us know if you have any needs, or if you know of others who are in need.  May we excel in our love for one another during this time of separation. We are praying for you, and look forward to the time when can again assemble together.  “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Mark, for the Elders