First Baptist Family,
As the calendar turns to September, I wanted to take a few moments and give you all some updates on what has been going on here at the church. Over the last few months, we have been continuing to adjust to doing ministry in a world that is changing rapidly. Fulfilling Jesus’ command to make disciples has consistently been the goal, but how we go about reaching people in our community and the people of our congregation has taken much prayer and wisdom. Over the past few months, we have been prayerfully and thoughtfully bringing back the activities and ministries that both fulfill the commands of Christ and that we can do safely. These include…
-Sunday Morning Worship: We have been having socially-distanced services on Sunday morning starting at 9 am since mid-June. Online services have continued to be available on the church’s website and we have seen both our attendance at in-person services and views online continually rise over the past few months.
-Prayer Meeting: We have resumed in-person prayer meeting in the sanctuary each Wednesday at 7 pm. We are continuing to update and send out the prayer list via email each week with the desire that we would be a church that puts a high priority on prayer.
-Committee and Board Meetings: Most of our committees and Boards are meeting regularly either in-person or on zoom.
-Iron Men: Our church’s men’s group has resumed meeting here at the church on Wednesday mornings starting at 8:30. We have been blessed to see new faces who have joined us for this time of fellowship, prayer, and sharing.
It has been a great blessing to have these ministries restart and the steps that have been taken to provide a safe environment to do them have also gone exceptionally well. So, as fall approaches, I wanted to update you on a few changes and additional ministries that are being planned for the coming weeks.
-Sunday Morning Worship: Starting on September 13th we will be offering two services on Sunday morning. The 1st service will start at 9 am and the second will begin at 11 am. As I mentioned before, we have seen a steady rise in attendance since restarting in-person services and are nearing the point where a second socially-distanced service is necessary. These services will have the same music and message, and we are still going to ask that people please use the reservation system found on our website to select the service that they are planning to come to.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040544a8aa28a3fb6-sunday
-Youth Night: While we are still working on the details, we are planning to have a Sunday evening youth night each week back at the Pavilion starting in mid-September. In the past, the youth group was for 6th to 12th grade, but youth night will be reaching out to an even larger age range. I will be sending out more information in the coming weeks with times, dates, and activities.
-Bible Study: As many of you are aware, we have been doing a weekly Bible Study that has been posted on the website every Wednesday since April 1st. I have received a lot of positive feedback on these studies from people both in and outside of our congregation. While I am planning to take a few weeks off as we get some of these other ministries started, I plan to continue these studies soon.
I know that these past few months have been a great challenge for everyone, but we serve a God who is faithful and unwavering in His love for us. So, we are endeavoring to be unwavering in both our love for Him and our love for the people that He loves and has called us to reach. Thank you for your continued support and prayer as we serve to Lord together.
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor George DeVol
First Baptist Church of Cape May
856-889-5462
Georgeshandevol@msn.com