Dear Church Family,
As the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues, we – and indeed the entire globe - find ourselves wrestling with a health pandemic of concerning scale and impact. While only time will tell us how widespread the situation really is, what seems very clear at present is that we must prayerfully discern how to best care for and minister to our Central congregation and our community in general. As Christians, we know we need not be afraid, but it is important that we exercise both wisdom and prudence. Please know of my personal prayers for all of you in this regard.
The health and welfare of our members, staff, and neighbors are of paramount importance. Our objective is to love our community as Christ loves us – especially those among us who are most vulnerable to this disease. With this in mind, Central’s leadership has made a series of proactive decisions:
Sunday Worship
- St. Louis County has declared a state of emergency, prohibiting all gathering of 250 people or more. As a result, worship this Sunday is “ONLINE ONLY” via our Livestream
- The service will stream “live” at 8:30 a.m., and then will be available for viewing again anytime after that service concludes.
- The church will be “closed” for worship and all other activities this Sunday.
- As you set up your “Live Stream” at home, you might consider joining with a small group while practicing “social distancing.”
- You can continue to make your tithes and offerings online, via text, or via U.S. Mail. For full details, please visit our giving page.
For the week of March 16-21:
- All on-campus ministry events are suspended, including Equip Central, bible studies, and group meetings.
- Our kitchen will be closed for the week, with no food services provided.
If you need particular spiritual care during this challenging season, our congregational care team would love to hear from you. Send us an email at
and one of our pastors or shepherds will be in touch.
We anticipate that these changes are temporary, and intend to go back to our regular ministry schedules as soon as possible. To help inform any future decisions about our various ministry schedules, we have formed a Health Advisory Team with several of our Central medical professionals. That team is helping us stay on top of the situation through their expertise and access to current information. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful and generous resources among our church family.
In closing, dear friends, I pray that the Lord would draw near to each of us in a special way right now. As we talked about Romans 8 last week in worship, it is not lost on me that God can use even this to bring about his good purposes. Please join with me in prayer to that end. Let us also continue in prayer for those currently afflicted with the virus, those impacted by the many cancellations across the country, the many medical professionals serving in these difficult circumstances, and of course for the Central community and St. Louis region. May the Lord of all mercy bless and protect us. To Christ be all glory.
With great affection in Christ for each of you,
Pastor Clay
