KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY HEALTHY

With an increasing amount of discussion surrounding COVID-19 in the news, we want to take a moment to update you on how we’re monitoring the issue as a church staff and explain the precautions we’re taking to keep your family safe. As we make our own plans, we encourage you to heed the advice of the CDC and US State Departments’ travel watches, alerts, and warnings, and to take common sense precautions in daily life.

We aren’t currently aware of any verified or suspected cases in Mobile or any of the communities Downtown Church serves. Nevertheless, our Executive Team is carefully monitoring the situation, and we want to be proactive in planning to serve our community in the days ahead.

What We’re Doing

According to the CDC, the simple and practical hygiene that prevents the transmission of regular illnesses is just as effective at preventing the spread of coronavirus (which causes COVID-19).

Similar to other organizations across the nation, our staff and facilities team are implementing an extra layer of cleaning and sanitizing precautions at all of our locations. That includes increasing our cleaning schedules and procedures, disinfecting commonly touched surfaces, and applying an extra layer of detail to our kids areas and classrooms.

We’ve instructed our volunteers to change the way we greet our guests and are structuring our services and activities to cut down on interactions that would accidentally transmit germs. In simple terms, think hand waves or holy fist bumps instead of handshakes when you say hello before a service. It’s been fun to see the creative greetings our members have come up with over the past few weeks!

What It Means for You

If you’re well, come worship with us! This is an exciting season in the life of our church family, and we’re looking forward to an impactful Easter weekend as well. All weekly activities, LIFEgroups, and other gatherings are continuing as scheduled at this time.

If you’re sick or have been in close contact with someone who has been ill, our online campus is a great way to stay connected. You can worship with us live every Sunday morning at 10:30 on Cottagehill.tv and our Cottage Hill Facebook page, and continue to connect with our church family and staff through hosted live chats during every service. We want to continue to help you grow and pray with you, even if you can’t attend in person. If you’re a regular giver at Downtown Church, please continue to give either in-person, online or through our Downtown Church app. Your continued generosity is a vital resource that enables us to continue our Gospel-mission on a weekly basis.

Our Missions Team is currently monitoring missions activity. If necessary, we may need to cancel certain mission trips out of an abundance of caution. We’re also in regular contact with our missionaries in affected regions, and we’re monitoring their needs and the impact on their work.

Further efforts to adapt our worship gatherings, our events, and our programs will be made if deemed necessary.

Help Us Love Our City

One of the best ways to help us love our city during the spread of illness is simply to be a good neighbor. If you live beside or are in close contact with families who have high-risk individuals in their homes, reach out to see if they need anything. Maybe that means offering to pick up supplies on your next trip to the store or dropping off some food if they’re unable to get out. Simply look for ways that you can Love Where You Live in the coming weeks and commit to praying for our leaders and community.

Of course, a great way to help your neighbors is practicing common sense health routines yourself. Wash your hands regularly, use hand sanitizer after you touch shared surfaces, and stay home if you’re sick. Above all else, remember that we serve a sovereign God who instructs us not to live in a spirit of fear. God is good, He’s faithful, and we know that He’s still at work all around us.

Let’s continue to be the Church and walk with God together in the days ahead as we strive together to Connect People to Jesus Christ and One Another We’ll keep you updated should our schedules and plans change in the coming weeks.