Church Activities and COVID-19 virus

As the Dutch government has announced new measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 this also impacts us as ICF-Delft. As the council of ICF-Delft, we prayed and agreed to act proactively. Though meetings with less than 100 persons are not strictly forbidden, the advice is to avoid social contact if not necessary. We strongly recommend taking this advice very seriously. We inform you about decisions made by the council. Please note we are aware we must act fast, which means we make decisions now and see how they work out, what new developments are possible, and how we can improve our decisions in the coming weeks. So please be involved with your advice, suggestions, wisdom and prayer.

SUNDAY’S SERVICE

The church services, starting on March 15th, until March 31st, will become fully internet-based. This means the church will be closed and the service will be broadcasted: Kerkomroep.nl. Coming Sunday 12.30 we will have a call to prayer service led by pastor Hans-Jan Roosenbrand and elder Henk Polinder. As interaction and community in the church are important, we request all LifeGroup leaders to form groups of 3 people (WhatsApp, Telegram), that jointly follow the Sunday service and through WhatsApp connect to each other, to interact on the points provided by the pastor. Below you find the announcement and points for this Sunday.

ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE WORD OF GOD: DON’T WORRY

Read Matthew 6,24-34. Jesus says to us: don’t worry. The call not to worry is central to Jesus’ teaching. The word used in Matthew 6 here for “worrying” also occurs in the story of Martha and Mary. Martha is concerned about the wrong things. Maria chooses the best part. Jesus asks his followers for one major concern: to pray for the coming of the kingdom of God and have concern for God’s righteousness. If we do that, all other things will be given to us as well, says Jesus (verse 33).

Points of attention and questions:

• Read the text carefully. What do you find encouraging, or difficult (perhaps even impossible)?
• What concerns do you have at the moment?
• Bring your concerns, together, to Jesus in prayer.
• Is it possible to turn your worries into a prayer for the coming of the kingdom of God?
• ‘God’s kingdom and his righteousness’ (verse 33) become visible where people take care of each other. How can we help one another (for example, when some of us might have to go in isolation)?

GET CONNECTED

If you are not yet involved into a LifeGroup, we invite you to send an e-mail to info@icfdelft.nl so that we can try to connect you to a new 3-person WhatsApp group.

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ANDREAS COURSE

The Andreas Course will not meet physically Monday and coming weeks. At this moment we are busy trying to organise an online-meeting.

LIFE GROUPS

We propose Life Groups no longer to meet physically and together with us investigate having Skype / WhatsApp based meetings. We realise that right now, as Christians, we long for contact and encouragement. However, let us not underestimate the danger of the COVID-19 virus and avoid unnecessary physical social contact; it might be better to have contact by phone now.

HELP AND ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER

The current situation is a challenge for us as Christians. What if you get COVID-19? What if someone from your family or LG gets it, or people in your neighbourhood have it? Of course, we encourage you to pray for each other, to offer help and to care for each other. We must find a way to mitigate the spread of the disease without abandoning Jesus’ command to love and serve each other. If you are in a situation where you need help, please let us know by sending an e-mail to info@icfdelft.nl.

Feel free to let us know, whether the help you need is practical (because of home-isolation) or more mental/spiritual: that you feel lonely or frightened. We would also like to hear from members who are ready to offer help. When you are available, please let us know by sending an e-mail to: info@icfdelft.nl. When you feel healthy, you might use the opportunity to let people around you know that you are available to offer help, to do groceries, or to talk. This is a practical way to show the love of Christ in these extraordinary times.