March 22 Service Cancelled

Church Family,

In seeking to comply with the request of our governing officials and to pursue the safety of our church members and community, we have chosen again to cancel our services this Sunday, March 22. We do, however, intend to gather again on March 29, and we are considering what types of adjustments we may need to make to our services in order to make it a possibility to gather at that time. Please pray for us as we consider how to lead the church through this time and as we consider how we might come up with a way to gather our people together in worship while also keeping our people safe and honoring our governing authorities. We have spoken to a number of you, and we know that you are eager to gather together again in worship, as are we.

In the meantime, below you will find a link to a home worship guide, which we encourage you to utilize this Sunday morning. While we could work on ways to stream an online worship service, we believe that the better approach is to offer these home worship guides. Here are a few reasons why:

  1. Our worship services cannot be replicated online. Your presence and participation are what make our gatherings “corporate” and special. While online gatherings might have some of the same up-front elements (preaching, praying, singing, reading, etc.), they cannot have the same participation from those gathered. Your role in our worship services are vital as you add your “Amen” to the prayers and preaching, sing songs, hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord and to one another, and testify to the greatness of our God to all who are present. We can’t replicate online what takes place in our sanctuary on Sunday, so we are choosing not to make such an attempt. (This statement doesn’t mean that you cannot be edified by an online sermon or a song, and we do not mean to imply these things are wrong in any way to view. Many churches are utilizing this approach and we in no way feel that they are wrong to do so. We simply want to emphasize the importance of us gathering together.)

  2. While not a substitute for corporate worship, we do feel that family worship should be an important part of the life of any family and can serve as a helpful supplement in times like these where we are unable to meet. Like an online service, family worship falls short of the Scriptural mandates that we have for the church gathering, but we do feel there is much Scriptural warrant for husbands and fathers to lead their homes in family worship (or others to lead if there is not a husband or father present). If you have not already been accustomed to having family worship in your homes, this time might be used by the Lord to jumpstart this practice as a part of your family’s routine.

  3. These outlines will keep us singing and learning the same things, so you can use them as a point of reference when you talk with other church members throughout the week. As you call to check on one another, you could bring up a way that a passage, a song, or a prayer was particularly used by the Lord and your fellow church member would already have reference for what you are discussing as they will have also read, sung, or prayed the same things.

All this to say, we hope you will find these guides helpful as you gather to worship our Lord this upcoming Lord’s day!

Here is a link to the guide for this Sunday: Home Worship Guide - 3/22/2020

Please contact any of your elders for prayer or updates, and remember that we have people available to help meet physical needs of our members such as picking up groceries and prescriptions. You can alert us to these needs through our Member Assistance Request Form.

In Christ,
Your Pastors

Member Assistance Request Form

Church Family,

We realize that some of you who are at a greater risk of experiencing complications from contracting the COVID-19 virus may have difficulty getting out to purchase basic necessities at this time. Our deacons are currently working to help our members who may have such needs. One way that you can let our deacons know if you are in need of help is through filling out the following form:

Member Assistance Request Form

Please remember that this request form is only for members of Farmdale Baptist Church.

Upon filling out this form, one of our deacons will get back in touch with you to get further information about your need and to coordinate to provide you with assistance. In addition to our deacons currently working to provide necessary assistance, we also encourage you as church members to stay in continual contact with one another so that you might know how you can help one another and pray for one another.

Please also do not hesitate to contact your pastors in this time of need for prayer and spiritual aid.

In Christ,

Your Pastors

No Meetings Week of March 15

Church Family,

After much prayer and deliberation, our elders have decided to cancel our services for this Sunday, March 15, and Wednesday, March 18, along with all other church activities during the upcoming week. We have come to this decision reluctantly, as we take seriously the Scriptural call of “not neglecting to meet together” (Heb. 10:25). However, we also realize that there are times when we as elders must lead our people to suspend our gatherings in order to promote both your safety and the safety of those in our community. Churches have made such decisions in the face of natural disasters, inclement weather, and other forms of physical danger. We have determined that the current COVID-19 pandemic is such an occasion in which the wisest course of action is to promote the safety of our people and the public, to heed the advice of our governing authorities, and to follow the example of other faithful church leaders in our city and nation who have come to similar conclusions. In all of this, we must remember that “we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb. 10:39) and that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7). Thus, we make this decision not with fear of what may come but with trust in our Lord who is sovereign over all things.

This decision is for the services of the coming week only, and we will continue to evaluate the situation on a weekly basis in order to determine whether or not we will gather for future dates. In the meantime, this landing page, along with our Reach Alert system will serve as our primary means of communicating with our congregation during this time.

We urge you to worship the Lord in your home this coming Lord’s Day as our gathering is cancelled, and below you will find a link to a home worship guide that corresponds with our current sermon series in the Gospel of Mark.

 We also urge you to continue to give your offerings to the church. You can do this through the online giving link at the top of the page or through mailing a check into the church office.

May the Lord bless us as we seek his wisdom and guidance in these strange times, and may he make it possible for us to come back together quickly.

In Christ,

Your Pastors,
Colin, Dave, Drew, Nathan, Steve B., Steve C., and Will

Family Worship Guide