Hillcrest Family:
Our church is part of a fast-moving, highly mobile community, with hundreds of folks returning this weekend from spring break travel all over the world. In light of COVID-19, and with the health and safety of our church family and our greater community in mind, our Pastor and staff have made the following decisions related to church activities for this next week.
What are we doing?
On Sunday, March 22, Hillcrest will stream live worship and a message. We invite you to join us online at 10:30 AM via Facebook or here on our website at hillcrestbc.com/live. If you are healthy you may want to consider inviting a few friends or your small group to gather in your home for a watch party. While we want to mitigate against the negative impacts of gathering a large group together, we want to encourage you to continue to gather in smaller groups offsite, guided by common sense and current health guidelines. We are closing in accordance with direction from our Dallas County officials.
Additionally, we have added a link to the top of our home page at hillcrestbc.com where we will share any updates related to COVID-19; we encourage you to check our website often in the days ahead.
Why are we going online?
This epidemic is a unique and quickly changing situation, and our pastoral staff continues to seek God’s wisdom in prayer as they also closely monitor updates from local health agencies. You may be wondering why we made the decision to move our services online when other organizations and houses of worship are choosing to continue to gather in person. We care about our Hillcrest family, and out of an abundance of care, we want to ensure that those who are most vulnerable to this virus, the elderly and children, are not put in harm’s way. We do not feel that we are in danger, but we want to be wise in our decisions in preempting the spread of this virus.
What about the church facilities during the week?
Our staff will continue to maintain regular office hours during the week.
What about midweek gatherings?
Through Saturday, March 28, we are taking a temporary hiatus from onsite gatherings on our campus. This includes student groups and gatherings, Bible studies, Care groups and more. Hillcrest Child Development Center will also extend their Spring Break by one week. If you have questions or need more information about your specific group, reach out directly to your leader or email us:
[email protected]
What can I do?
GO: As the circumstances in our world change, we are even more mindful that God has made us his ambassadors to our local community. We are currently evaluating the various ways we can be a blessing to those vulnerable groups around us who are going to be most impacted by this health crisis—you’ll hear more about that in the coming days; keep checking hillcrestbc.com for updates.
GIVE: Now more than ever, your generosity is critically important to keep the work of the church moving forward.
In particular, there are two important areas of need:
We encourage you to prayerfully consider how you can give generously and regularly to support the work of the church as we minister to our community and our world in the coming months. If you have not already, you might want to consider setting up a recurring online gift at hillcrestbc.com/give.
PRAY: Even though we live in a volatile world, we can stand confidently on the truth of Scripture, resting in the knowledge that God is good and our mission has not changed. We still love and serve God and love and serve others. May we pursue our mission in the coming days with greater faith, hope and love, and may the reputation of Jesus be increased in Cedar Hill because of the words and deeds of his people.
Gratefully,
Pastor Mike and the Hillcrest Staff.