As many of you know, the reality of the Coronavirus is here, and it is evident that the virus will continue to spread over the coming weeks, and possibly even the next several months. We are praying for those who are affected and our hearts break for several in our area and the thousands in our world who have lost loved ones.

As a church leadership team we are monitoring the situation closely and paying attention to the announcements coming out from the World Health Organization and both local and national governments. Based upon the data and recent recommendations we have decided to move all of our services online for this Sunday, March 15. 

We will continue to evaluate the situation each week based upon the spread of the virus and mandates from our government. We want to do everything we can to stop the spread of the virus and help protect people in our community.

As your pastor I want to call you to several very important decisions: 

• PRAY. When we are uncertain of the future, we, as followers of Jesus, turn to God in prayer. I want to encourage you to pray more during this season than you have in the past. Take time to pray that our national and local governments have wisdom and discernment. Pray that a vaccine would be created quickly. Pray for openness in people’s hearts. Pray that God would redeem this brokenness and build His kingdom through it. Let’s be a people of prayer! 

• STAY ENGAGED ONLINE. We will be creating additional opportunities for people to connect digitally throughout the week as well as streaming our services. We will also be posting prayer updates regularly through Instagram and social media. Make sure to subscribe @echochurchlive and @pastorandywood. This weekend we will kick off a brand new series called Unlikable Christian with a perfect message for this season of our church and country. 

• SHARE HOPE WITH OTHERS THROUGH CHURCH ONLINE. I want to encourage you to invite a friend to attend with you online this weekend. Those of you who have been around for some time now know that we launched the church in the middle of the economic recession of 2008. Because of the heightened pressure people were incredibly open to the GOOD NEWS of JESUS. When the product cycle goes down and the stock market falls people are LOOKING FOR HOPE!!!! We have the answer and the solution as a church. Send someone the link to echo.church and invite them to service.  

• BE A GIVER. When we are in fear it’s easy to live with greed and selfishness. Pressure shows us our true character. I believe that followers of Jesus should be among the most generous people on the planet. Let’s look for creative ways to love and serve the community around us. Our church is going to shine in our community through this and God is going to use us to bless the city again. I also want to encourage you to be faithful in your generosity during this time. You can update your generosity and giving online through our online platform here. 

Your generous giving will allow our church to continue to be a blessing to many people during this time. Also, we plan to do something special as a result of your giving through this Sunday’s message. I will share with you more during the services online.

FINALLY, WE WILL NOT LIVE IN FEAR. Over 365 times in the Bible God tells His people to not live in fear. While there is a tremendous amount of uncertainty with the economy, people’s jobs, sicknesses, how far this will spread, etc… That is all beyond our control. I would encourage you to be wise with the news reports you watch and listen to.

Be aware of what’s going on, YES, but remember that FEAR spreads faster than the Coronavirus. We are called to LIVE by FAITH. Followers of Jesus before us have lived under far worse conditions than this. We can have certainty that God will deliver us as a people through difficulty. Sometimes we lose jobs, sometimes we lose our health, but we have confidence that our GREAT GOD has been and will be faithful.

Our attendance at our physical locations might drop for a few weeks or even months, but the KINGDOM OF GOD will advance. We are going to be doubling down on church online with more services and more opportunities for people to stay engaged with our church. I will keep pumping out messages, and if we can’t gather physically, we will stay together digitally during this time. We are going to reach many new people, and you are going to HELP with this by spreading the word digitally to people you know.

I want you to know that I love you so much as your PASTOR! I’m in this with you. Stacie and I are going to lead our church well through this season and we are going to see our GREAT GOD show up in GREAT WAYS. People are going to come to faith in Jesus, disciples will grow in faith, and much like the early church THE BRIDE OF CHRIST will shine together.

I love you!!! 

Pastor Andy