Information pertaining to the upcoming Easter Drive-in Celebration at Faith Evangelical Church, Crystal Springs, NoDak

Drive-In Service safety and health protocol –

We want to welcome everyone to our upcoming Easter Drive-in service, this Sunday, April 12, 2020, at Faith Evangelical Church in Crystal Springs, NoDak, at 10:30am. We are excited about the opportunity that we have to see everyone and to join together to worship the Risen Lord Jesus. Because of the circumstances surrounding the need for this kind of service, we have put in place a number of rules to help us keep from compromising our ‘social distances’ restrictions. Please help us by following them as rigidly as possible and remember that they are in place for the safety of everyone involved.

1. You must stay in your vehicle. There will be a few people who will be moving around in order to perform essential functions such as passing out bulletins, leading in music, and preaching. They will have the proper gloves and masks on for their protection and yours. Please be assured that these individuals will be acting with everyone’s best interest in mind.
2. You must try to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet from any church member you are not in direct contact with on a daily basis. This will not be difficult for most of us as we will be remaining in our vehicles for the entire service. As the ushers pass out the bulletins and the offering plates, there will be a chance that we will get too close. Please try to refrain from any physical contact. Please take the bulletins but have your offering ready to simply drop into the plate as it is brought to your window.
3. You must stay home if you or a direct family member are sick. This is to include any cough, nasal congestion, fever, body aches, or fatigue. Even if you think it may be the common head cold or another illness please do not attend.
4. Please use the rest room prior to coming. The length of the service will be between 35-45 minutes. Entering the church will be off limits at this time, except in the instance of emergency needs or those who are conducting the service.
5. Please use caution as you maneuver your vehicles around the parking lot. If only have our normal congregation, we shouldn’t have any problems with traffic, but there is a chance that we could have a number of guests who want to get out and celebrate Easter with us. If this is the case, we need to be extra careful and considerate of them. There will be men who will be directing the parking. Please follow their instructions and be patient!
6. For those who are participating in the activities of the service (music, ushers, and so on), wipe down any surfaces that you may need to touch in the church after use; for example, keyboard, microphone.

Of course, if you are concerned about attending this event please use your best judgement. Although we would love to have you join us, we do not want to put your health at risk. Those in high risk groups should consider not attending. High risk groups include: people over the age of 60, those immune-compromised, and those with underlying medical conditions.

The idea of having a drive-in church came out of a deep desire to be able to return to some semblance of normalcy. That being the case, we will be doing everything we can to make this celebration as meaningful as possible. We want to be able to see each other. One of the biggest problems that I can see is parking. I am going to ask everyone to be as gracious and cautious as you can when you arrive on Sunday morning. Our service will begin as close to 10:30am as possible. That being the case, I would like for you to begin to arrive around 10:00am so that we can get everyone situated.

When you arrive, we will be handing out bulletins which will have the FM frequency that you will need to tune your radios to in order to participate in the service. We are planning on having the keyboard and the pulpit outside so that everyone can see what is going on from inside our cars. The problem is that the weather forecast will most likely be very North Dakota! It looks like we can expect temperatures in the high 20’s (which, to me, is just ridiculous for the middle of April!) so come prepared. Also, as we have been preparing and practicing we have found that winds tend to make the radio transmission very scratchy. If this is the case on Sunday then we will be transmitting the music from inside the church (which means we won’t be able to see the singers). It also means that I will not be able to preach outside if the wind is blowing. If that happens I will most likely preach from the driver’s seat in my car or van (whichever seems to work best at the time). Whatever happens, come with hearts ready to worship and ready to go with the flow! The reality is that Jesus is no longer dead! He is alive!

As I have been praying for this weekend, one thing has continued to come to mind: this is a great opportunity to share the Gospel with our community! We have plenty of room for our entire county… make an effort to invite as many people as you possibly can!

In Christ, my Rock!
Pastor Steve

** In order to prepare bulletins and lyric sheets, please let me know how many people you think might come! **