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Update - Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Dear River Hills Church family,
We would like to begin by thanking all of you who have been praying for the elders over these past few days. As we indicated in our previous email, on Monday, November 16th Rock County Health Department updated its guidance and increased COVID restrictions for our county. The elders met on Monday and Tuesday evenings for prayer and discussion as to how we believe our church should respond. This is not an issue that the elders have taken lightly – especially in light of the fact that we have heard from many within our congregation who have expressed a number of different and sometimes opposing viewpoints.
After much prayer and discussion, the elders voted to require mask-wearing as recommended by the Rock County Health Department for those using the River Hills Community Church building until further notice.
We realize that this decision will disappoint some within our church, and so we want to offer you an explanation as to what went into our decision. If you have further questions or concerns after reading this letter, we would greatly appreciate you reaching out to us.
First, we place a high value on corporate worship, and we believe that, although the live stream is a helpful tool, it is not a true substitute for meeting together as a church family (Heb. 10:24-25). As elders, we take seriously the fact that we will have to give an account for how we shepherd the entire congregation and not just a portion (Heb 13:17). We want to do our best to ensure that everyone, regardless of their relative level of risk or position on masking is able to come and worship. We have heard from a number of families who would worship in person with us again if mask wearing were more consistent, and we earnestly desire that our church body would be able to meet together in person as much as possible during this time.
Secondly, we believe that we have a responsibility to lead our congregation in properly submitting to the authorities that have been placed over us so long as those authorities do not request that we obey them rather than God (Acts 5:29, Romans 13:1-7; Titus 3:1, 1 Pet 2:13-17). We are grateful that the authorities have made provision for us to meet, and we want to do what we can to help them in their effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. We realize that wearing masks throughout the service is not comfortable, but we believe that the inconvenience is better than not assembling.
Some in our congregation have expressed that they do not feel comfortable submitting to the governmental authorities on this issue because they believe it to be an overreach of power. Some have also expressed fear that this is only the first step to an even greater overreach of power. If this is your concern, we encourage you to understand our request to submit to your elders in this area. If we are wrong about this, we will certainly have to give an account of this before the Lord.
We read in 1 Peter 2:13-17, “Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.”
When Peter speaks of freedom in these verses, he makes the point that we have been given great freedom through Christ. Peter also has made the effort to show earlier in his letter that our citizenship is now in a heavenly kingdom with Christ. This means we live under a new final authority, though we may currently be "sojourners and exiles" in another land (i.e. this life, cf. 1 Peter 2:11) and thus subject to its rules. His point is therefore that we do not submit to earthly rulers primarily because we think they are infallible, because we agree with all of their policies, or because we think they are right. We do this to demonstrate our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven and to show our faithfulness to God because we have been commanded to do so.
In this case we do not submit to the government out of servile fear, but because we love and trust God. There may be a time where a governing authority is plainly and predominantly punishing those who do good and praising those who do evil (violating what Peter says is their function in 1 Peter 2), but we do not believe that this is what is happening right now. Peter is not calling us to mindlessly follow a civil authority. Rather, he is calling for a posture of submission where God's word is not violated, even if we do not care for what is happening. In this case, we do not believe that the mask order violates implicit or explicit commands regarding worship.
We realize that some in the congregation will not be comfortable with wearing masks on Sunday morning, and may disagree with our decision. If you have further concerns or disagreements with this decision, we urge you to reach out to one of the elders or your small group leader. However, we are asking everyone, apart from young children and those with a medical condition that would prevent them from wearing a mask, to comply with this decision while in the church building. We want to protect the Sunday morning time of worship, and pray that God will work to help us continue to assemble and worship Christ in Spirit and in truth.
Finally, we do not want to allow this pandemic to divide our church or cause us to despise one another. River Hills has persevered through many trials, and by God’s grace we have remained united through many issues that threaten to divide us. The situation that we are addressing now - that of wearing masks - presents us with the added challenge that masks are plainly visible, and thus serve as an obvious sign that there are things we disagree about. However, we firmly believe that our being united in Christ despite the fact that we have things we disagree about is a powerful witness for the Gospel. Our hope is that we will be able to consider others as more significant than ourselves and use our freedoms to glorify Christ and honor one another as we show how he is our greatest treasure, and the things which divide the world do not divide the Body of Christ
In prayer,
The RHCC elders
Larry Finley, David Joos, Sean Kappes, Steve Krug, Paul Martin, Troy Meyer
Update - Thursday, March 19
Dear Church,
We pray you are all well and fighting fear with the promises of God’s Word. In light of the current situation (i.e., COVID19), the elders are trying to navigate a path forward for our flock. Specifically, we desire to honor the governing authorities and their imposed safety regulations and restrictions while also remaining faithful to the commands of Scripture. One such command reads this way:
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25).
We also understand that with the recent public state mandate prohibiting all gatherings of 10 or more people in a single room, this means that these interactions will likely be limited to things like emails, phone calls, video calls, etc. While gatherings of less than 10 people are permitted, we do encourage you to put into practice the recommendations put forward by the CDC. In light of these warnings and restrictions, we will not gather on Sunday morning nor in small groups until further notice.
We are a church of small groups, not a church that has small groups. Therefore, it is imperative that we maximize our small group structure to enable us to stay connected, meet one another’s needs, and exhort one another to stand firm in the faith (cf. Heb. 3:12-14). To this end, we are looking to our Discovery Groups and Small Groups to help each of us stay connected to one another within the church. If you are not currently in a group, a group leader will be reaching out to you via email or phone to include you. Our group leaders will be in regular contact to ensure everyone at River Hills Community Church is being nurtured, encouraged, and prayed for. If you are not currently part of a group and a leader does not reach out to you, please contact Kathy in the church office and ensure that she has your information on file (mail@riverhillsonline.org).
Following the Good Shepherd,
The RHCC Elders
Update - Wednesday, March 11
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In light of rising concerns about the novel coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, we feel this is a good time to remind everyone that as God's people, we do not fear inconvenience, sickness, hospitalization, or death. We hope that none of our decisions are motivated by such fears. Rather, we have a firm confidence that no matter what happens to us or the world around us, we serve a great and glorious Savior. He does not promise us protection from quarantine, sickness, or death. No, he promises us salvation from our very sins, so that when we face God on His throne, we face him not as a wrathful judge who rightfully casts us out of His presence forever, but as our loving Father who warmly welcomes us into His presence where there is joy forever. How great is this salvation that we partake in!
However, out of the overflow of love that we have for our Savior, we do want to do good to all (1 Peter 2:12, 17), including the communities we live in and our brothers and sisters at River Hills Community Church. This is what has motivated us to decide to cancel Sunday services until further notice. There are many among us that are at higher risk from this disease. Protecting them and the community around us at the expense of our time of worship as the Body of Christ is a decision that the elders did not reach lightly. We recognize that the actual risk of contracting the virus and suffering harm is low at this point. Yet our desire is not just to avoid harm, but to promote good. We feel that the best way to do this is by helping to limit the possible spread of COVID-19 and to submit to the governmental authorities God has placed over us (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-17). Not out of fear of sickness nor of the authorities. But out of a love for our Savior that seeks to love each other and to promote the good of the places we live (Jeremiah 29:7).
The command to not neglect meeting together (Hebrews 10:25) is one that we feel strongly and we take great joy in following. We hope that this temporary decision to refrain from holding services will help grow in us a strong desire for that which we are missing out on, so that we come together to worship Christ and encourage each other with renewed vigor and passion. The elders will evaluate week by week whether we think it would be wise for us to resume our regular Sunday morning services or other gatherings.
Some practical considerations…
The Sunday morning offering is almost the exclusive income for our congregation, and there are still bills that need to be paid even when we don't meet. We encourage you to consider giving online at http://www.riverhillsonline.org/giving, or mail your offerings to the church at 2843 W. Court Street, Janesville, WI 53548.
We will be in constant communication via email. Please keep an eye on your inbox. These things are in constant development, and we will try to make decisions and update the congregation as quickly as we can.
Pastor Aaron will continue his study through 1 Peter, and will make sermon outlines, audio, and discussion questions available on a weekly basis.
We do not consider it our calling to be technical experts on the coronavirus. If you disagree strongly with our decision to cancel services, please consider that we are doing the best we can to make a wise decision with the information that is available to us. If you want to talk to one or more elders about our decision, we would be happy to have a conversation with you.
Because small groups are below the recommended number of people that are to refrain from gathering at this time, we are going to leave the decision whether to meet or not in the hands of individual small groups and their leaders. Remember, we are a church OF small groups, not a church that HAS small groups. The small group leaders meeting will still be held this Monday, where we will discuss ways that small groups can be used to help us not neglect the command of Hebrews 10:25.
Family worship is one of the legs that the life our church stands on. Now is a great time to work on our practice of this vital spiritual discipline.
Your elders,
Larry Finley, Dave Joos, Steve Krug, Paul Martin, Mark Milligan, Les Mitchell, and Aaron White