Word From The Pastor
Church's Position on Reopening as of May 23, 2020
Mount Olive, we hope the Lord is blessing and keeping everyone during this time of unusual challenge. Because of the uncertainty, it has been a period of fervent prayer and meditation for me. Thus, after thoughtful reflection and consultation with our leadership team, we felt it is imperative I share as clearly and concisely as possible where the church is and where we are going while dealing with this pandemic.
First of all, nobody misses the love and fellowship of our worshiping together more than me. However, our mission is not temporal but eternal. When we review the mission of Mount Olive (Exalt the loving Savior, Expound the living scriptures, Evangelize the lost sinner and Edify the learning saint), I am reminded that as Pastor, my responsibility is to assure the care of the congregation.
Primarily, that responsibility focuses on spiritual matters to mature our souls in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we also are responsible for looking out for our safety. For example, we have made considerable improvements to our security infrastructure to help create a more secure and family safe environment. We are much better prepared to handle any unexpected disruption that may happen.
Unfortunately, we have had a huge disruption with this pandemic and we are still responsible for looking out for your safety and security. Thankfully, the Lord has allowed us to put the technology in place to forge ahead in His ministry under these adverse conditions with minimal interruption.
Accordingly, we are going to continue His ministry using live-streaming and cyberspace to stay engaged and in touch with each other as a family. We will not have “normal” or “new normal” gatherings until this pandemic is under control. The last thing we want to do at Mount Olive is bring harm to those we love. The pandemic spreads quickly in close person-to-person contact. Singing, shouting and hugging as we love to do could be disastrous. Therefore, call each other, have spiritual Zoom parties and pray for one another as He uses us to build His kingdom during these unprecedented times. Remember, we are encouraged that “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We have been given the unique opportunity to show the limitless reach of God under any circumstances. Remain fervently in prayer that the Lord gets us smoothly through this as we manifest the mission of our Master.
Finally, we will open the church only after the Lord has made it clear we can come back safely, securely and lovingly. Thus, we each need to pray the Lord gives precise direction to me and the leadership team. God bless you and we are praying for you while looking forward to seeing you.
James P. Thompson Jr.
Pastor