In this week's video update to our church family, Chad tackles some safety protocols that make a big difference in our time together on Sundays, highlights our decision to adopt McElwain Baptist Church, and tells us about an exciting new staff change. Take a look!
Hello Church Family!
This past Sunday was another great day of Sunday School and Worship and life coming back to our campus! More and more of you are showing up in-person and we love it. Resuming regular Sunday programming for all age groups has been the priority throughout the pandemic. Thanks to hard work and planning by our staff AND thanks to your willingness to cooperate with safety guidelines, we are getting there! As more folks return to campus, it’s more important than ever to continue protecting one another by following a few simple guidelines that make a BIG difference:
Top on the list—wear your mask! When you’re here for worship and Sunday School or Bible study, please wear your face covering the entire time you’re on campus.
Next, keep your distance—sitting in classrooms on or pews, walking through the concourse, or riding in an elevator, please maintain a social distance of several feet between family groups.
Third, find creative ways to greet one another. It’s so tempting to go in for the hug or the handshake, but for now it’s best to settle for a friendly wave.
You guys are great! Keep up the good work and let’s keep being safe and considerate and moving forward in gathering—we really are better together!
It’s official—we are proceeding with the plan to adopt McElwain Baptist Church! Sunday night at the church-wide business meeting, we had a really fruitful discussion about this exciting opportunity and you voted YES to moving ahead with entering a relationship with McElwain. If you didn’t get to participate in the meeting or haven’t had a chance to read over the FAQ doc, check it out—the link is in this week’s email and it’s worth the read. It touches on most every aspect of this arrangement from timelines to finances to staffing. Danny and the staff are looking forward to the people of Shades pouring into this church and being part of what God has in store for that community. Throughout the process, we will regularly share information with you, so stay tuned!
I’m also excited to share with you some exciting transitions that are happening with our student ministry staff. Since June, Jeremy Horton, our College Minister, has served as interim Minister to Students. During that time, he and the rest of the team—Kelly, Isaac, and Mindy—have done an amazing job of connecting with our students and finding meaningful, creative ways of facilitating fellowship and shepherding them toward Jesus. After prayerfully looking to fill the vacant Student Minister position, it became clear that the better option was some restructuring of our current set up to allow us to better accomplish our mission and capitalize on the talent we already have here. Moving forward, Jeremy Horton will serve as Minister to Students and oversee a team committed to students from middle school through college. Isaac Cabrera will serve as Associate Minister to High School, Kelly McCollum will serve as Associate Minister to Students focusing on girls in grades 7-12. Mindy Barton will continue her role of providing administrative support to the team! In the next few months we hope to fill two additional positions … Associate Minister to Middle School and Associate Minister to College. Shades is a church that believes in students and their potential for impacting the world for Jesus! We can’t wait to see the fruit of the new structure!
Folks, the Lord is at work here at Shades, in our city, and around the world. It’s a privilege to serve alongside you in furthering the good news of Jesus! Have a great week and I will see you Sunday—in person or online.