North Church Update - Week 2 (March 23-29)

Hey friends,
 
During this time of COVID-19 restrictions, we want to keep you up-to-date with what is going on throughout the church. You can expect an email every Monday with updates, the plan for the coming week, and any information that might be helpful for you as you navigate church life.

I know things are changing quickly with federal, state, and city officials passing down mandates. As these instructions affect different realities within our church life, we’ll try to communicate quickly through our social media channels on Facebook and Instagram.

Services – The elders agreed yesterday that we will plan to hold services online next week March 29th as we have done over the last two weeks. I know there were issues with the servers of the platforms we use breaking down under the weight of almost every church in the nation using them. The developers of these platforms have told us that they have fixed the issues for this coming week so we’ll plan to use them again this week. Here is the plan for watching the service including where to go if the platforms do fail again:
 
Plan A – northchurch.online.church
Plan B – northchurchabq.com/sermons
Plan C - Our You Tube channel
Plan D – Check Facebook for a Facebook live stream
 
Thanks for “rolling with the punches” with us as we navigate the ups and downs of remote services.

Speaking of rolling with the punches, we have made budget cuts in anticipation of a downturn in giving to steward your giving as well as we can.
 
Budget Changes – We have made cuts in spending in every area we can without disrupting essential operations and in anticipation of increased budget spending in the area of benevolence to serve our church and our community during this time. This budget reset brings us to right around $69k per month, cutting about $3k per month out of expenses.
 
Please continue to give to North Church as you are able, mail a check to the church (4700 San Mateo Blvd Ne, Albuquerque, NM, 87109) or give online at northchurchabq.com/give
 
Resources -- This week we will post daily devotionals by Pastor Nathan Stimson, Monday through Friday. Check the blog (northchurchabq.com/blog) and social media for the devotional resources and video stories to accompany the devotions.

Pastor Jay and his wife Jess will post some tips, tricks, and resources for family devotionals on Tuesday and Thursday as you lead your families in worship at home.

Mercy and Benevolence -- Thank you to all who replied to our form about helping out during this time. Please stay ready as needs develop.

We are currently working through our Shine partnership to provide food for our city’s children and families during this unprecedented time.

There are two package types being put together – one is a Snack Pack and the other is a Food Box. You can donate any or all of the individual items from this link: feednmkids.com/snackpack/ for the Snack Pack or Click here for the list of items for Food Boxes. Please do not include items without a shelf life of at least 3 days.

Donations can be dropped off Monday and Tuesday, from 8am - 4pm at:
Eastern Hills Baptist Church
Address: 3100 Morris St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111
Phone: (505) 298-8455

If you would like to volunteer to help with the packaging or distribution process, you can sign up HERE.

Distribution will take place on Thursday March 26th from 10AM-1PM at:
Kennedy Middle School
721 Tomasita St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123

North Church has volunteered to serve as a hub for drop-off and packaging as future needs arise, stay tuned.

North has an existing benevolence policy that is primarily for our covenant members and those who call North home. If you need help form the church you can request help via this LINK.

Spain Team (From Jacobo Hernandez - Spain Team Lead) -- We are doing well here in Burgos! Recently the entire team went through a bout of illness which may or may not have been COVID-19 (none of us were able to get tested) but we are all well on the path to health.

As for Spain, the entire country has been in a state of emergency since March 14th which is meant to last until at least April 11th. This means that all those within the borders of Spain are under a confinement order which only allows us to leave our homes for a short list of purposes. Practically, for us this is either to buy groceries or for the Riveras to let their dog, Emma, out.

As a city, Burgos has an abundant elderly population and with that it seems that most people here know or are related to someone that has been hospitalized or died due to COVID-19. Our priorities right now are to follow the Lord’s leading during this time in a way that looks much different than the cultural and language immersion we were planning on, and to maintain language learning momentum for both kids and adults.

Pray for us as we seek to love the people of this city now and when we are more free to interact with them.
 
Prayer – Please gather virtually with other brothers and sisters in Christ to pray. I’d encourage you to pray through a psalm or just cry out to the Lord to bring a harvest of many souls during this time and to miraculously bring about an end to this season of sickness, social distancing, and uncertainty.
 
In Christ,
Pastor Ryan