A Special Message From Pastor Draper

Glory and Honor to Christ, Peace and Blessings to You!

In great anticipation of our Homecoming Celebration on this coming Sunday, May 24^th, I am excited and look forward to the Maranatha family finally coming together again to worship in the House of God with a spirit of thanksgiving and praise. I hope you have been tremendously encouraged and blessed by our online worship celebrations over these past several weeks, and I thank you for your patience, understanding, endurance, and love as we have navigated carefully and prayerfully through these turbulent times in which we are living.

These past few months have certainly been challenging for all of us, and as the world around us begins to reopen gradually and cautiously, I have been in constant prayer, seeking the Lord’s wisdom and guidance for the safety and protection of His people as we reopen our doors for in-person worship in the wake of this global pandemic. To that end, the Lord has led me to establish the following Maranatha Congregational Homecoming Reopening Safety Guidelines:

All church leadership, staff, ministry workers and congregants should maintain physical separation of approximately six feet unless from the same household. Please avoid physical contact, to include shaking and holding hands or hugging.
Anyone who has a fever should remain at home until healed.
During church services, anyone displaying cold-like symptoms, including but not limited to coughing, excessive sneezing, or cold chills, will be asked nicely to return home to ensure the health of others.
To ensure the safety of all congregants, everyone age 5 years and older entering the doors of Maranatha is required to wear a mask. Exceptions may be made for individuals with special needs.
The nursery will be closed until further notice; therefore, children will worship with their parents.
Also, as another option, the Worship Celebration may be viewed on the screen in the Spirit Center for overflow congregants, as well as for parents with babies and young children.
Congregants are reminded to wash hands regularly and bring your own personal bottle of hand sanitizer, keep it with you, and use it as needed.
To ensure the safety of congregants, Maranatha facilities, including surface areas in the bathroom and kitchen, door handles, etc., will have been disinfected prior to congregants entering and will be on-going during the Worship Celebration.
Maranatha will have livestreaming of the Worship Celebration available through our Facebook page during each service or via YouTube shortly after the second service for individuals who are unable to attend due to illness.
If you are anxious or concerned about attending in-person worship due to being immune-compromised or having other significant underlying health conditions, use the livestreaming alternative for worship.
COVID-19 is highly contagious and is known to spread mainly from person-to-person contact. By attending Maranatha Bible Church, you agree to abide by the procedures established by the church to protect attendees. You voluntarily assume the risk that you and/or your family may be exposed to or infected by COVID-19 either at the church, in the Worship Celebration or while participating in other ministries of Maranatha. While we do not anticipate anyone becoming infected at Maranatha, you agree to assume all the risks of attendance and participation for you and your family, and you waive any liability against Maranatha and any other parties. Be mindful that 2 Tim 1:7 tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Worship Celebration times for this coming Sunday, May 24th and Sunday, May 31st are 8:00 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. There will be no Sunday School on these days. Worship Celebration times for Sunday, June 7th and subsequent Sundays, until otherwise notified, are 8:00 a.m. for the first service and 10:45 a.m. for the second service. Sunday School will resume on Sunday, June 7th at 9:30 a.m.

Youth Ministry and an extended Thanksgiving and Testimonial Prayer Gathering in the Sanctuary will resume on Wednesday, June 10th at 6:30 p.m. with social distancing measures in place, followed by Ensemble and Adult Choir Rehearsal.

In closing, we so much look forward to celebrating with you in our reopening Homecoming Celebration. We all know that we are living in extremely difficult times and the world has never needed the church more than it does now. We have the opportunity to demonstrate to hurting, unchurched, and lost people the hope of Christ who lives within us. The answer for America is not the White House, courthouse, news media, or talk shows. The answer is in the church house, and we really can’t wait to see our church family back together again! Let’s make sure that we as Christians continue to be the light in a dark world.

Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

With Great Anticipation,

Pastor Rander E. Draper, Sr.

COVID-19 is highly contagious and is known to spread from person-to-person contact. By attending Maranatha Bible Church, you agree to abide by the procedures established by the church to protect attendees and staff. You also voluntarily assume the risk that you and/or your family may be exposed to or infected by COVID-19 either at the church, in the church worship service, in the nursery or Sunday School. You agree to assume all the risks of attendance, participation for you and your family, waive liability against the church, and any other parties.