Dear Second Chance Family,
I've never experienced a time of uncertainty like this in my entire life as the world has been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic.
There is not one single person reading this right now that hasn't experienced the impact of this virus - whether through school, work or social activities being canceled.
II Timothy 1:7 says - "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
First of all - as followers of Christ we cannot allow fear to dominate our mindset. Even though I have personally never seen anything like this - I know God is in complete control right now and will use all of this for good.
While we do not have the spirit of fear - we do have the spirit of power...and specifically when it comes to church leadership - the power to make decisions that are best for everyone.
That being said - we ARE going to move the Gospel forward, we ARE going to continue to see lives changed and we ARE going to continue meeting...
...however, this coming Sunday at Second Chance we will be meeting through our online service...as we have made the decision not to gather together physically.
While we know we have to be responsible and practice social distancing - we do not have to be spiritually distant.
Not only the spirit of power--but the spirit of love.
Jesus said that people would know we are His followers by the way we love one another...
Yesterday I put out a post on social media about not panicking, not letting the media overhype this and drive us crazy...
...that being the case I personally wanted us to gather together physically until I was reminded that loving one another means that we > me!
This wasn't a decision that was made lightly or out of fear - but out of genuine love for all of the people who call Second Chance home.
And then finally - self discipline.
In order to advance in our walk in any area of life - we must be disciplined in our steps.
Based on the fact that the national and state of SC has declared a state of emergency - I personally believe it would be irresponsible and undisciplined for us to gather together this weekend until we can gain further clarity on this situation.
So - we ARE meeting this Sunday - online - at 8:30, 10, 11:30 and 5 (same times!) Let's work together and get this word out to as many people as possible...maybe, just maybe God will use this to reach people who would have never actually came to church - but are willing to watch online.
I will keep everyone updated as we monitor this situation - for now this will effect this Sunday only - and from there we will wait and see.
I love you all so much - and honestly, this isn't too big of a switch for us - because we actually started online and met that way for over a year!!
This pandemic is a serious issue - but - we are praying and believing for miracles, for a quick medical solution - and believing with all our hearts that the best really is yet to come.
Pastor P