Home Church

SAFELY GATHERING WITH OTHERS

As we continue to phase back to a new normal in the life of our church, we continue to consider how to best love each other, share life together, and continue on our mission of being disciples who make disciples. Home Church is a step in that direction. While we desperately desire to come together in-person, the West Side leaders want to make wise decisions that are safe, healthy, and spiritually fruitful for everyone. Because of this, we are recommending that, as a start to transitioning back into in-person gatherings, we should lean into this season of home worship where small groups can gather of around 10-15 in size to watch the worship live-stream, fellowship, and encourage one another. We believe a good starting point in getting back together is encouraging families in small groups to come together for worship in their homes. Here are a few reasons why...

First, this is very biblical as the New Testament church gathered in homes regularly (Acts 2:46; 5:42). This format will remind us that the church is bigger than a building and these smaller gatherings will allow us to deepen our relationships and focus on our neighborhoods.
Second, this plan is very flexible. Certainly there will be some people who still will not feel comfortable participating -- and that's OK! There are also those we would recommend to not participate because of high risks. This plan allows for flexibility as the live-stream will continue, so individuals who decide to stay at home will still be able to worship with the church virtually.
Third, this plan mitigates risk. After talking to health providers, we believe that this is a safe way to start fellowshipping again. We have asked some of our health care professionals to provide guidelines and recommendations on how to do this safely. We believe that if these are followed, there is lower risk.

Throughout this pandemic, it is important to keep asking, what is God teaching us? How is God growing us? It could be that this will be a season where he grows smaller groups through this time of home worship. We look forward to seeing what God does. Transformation happens when people share in physical community (Acts 2:42). We need brothers and sisters to sit with, talk with, and worship with for our faith to grow and develop. But what about the risk? How do we do this in a safe manner that does not put people at risk? After all, loving our neighbor includes protecting the vulnerable by adhering to health concerns. Below are some guidelines for recommendation.

GUIDELINES

The following are recommendations for your home gathering. For more detailed guidelines or for more information, please visit the CDC and Arkanas Department of Health websites.

Intentionally gather early (15-20 minutes) for fellowship before participating in the West Side worship service via Facebook or YouTube.
Keep the group around 10 - 15 or fewer participants.
Strive to keep the group consisted of individuals or families in a similar life-stage or age-groups each week.
Wearing a face-covering is recommended. Face coverings for children under 2 years old are prohibited by CDC guidelines. Groups can set their own guidelines based on their need and preference.
Keep a record of who is in attendance and submit it to the office. You can use the nifty form below.
Practice social distancing as best you can. As much as possible, avoid close contact with people from other families.
Provide hand sanitizer. Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces.
Let your group know if you are sick. It might be a good idea to take your temperature before gathering.
Do NOT attend if you have had a fever of 100.4˚F or higher in the past 2 days.
Do NOT attend if you have had cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms typical of Covid-19.
Do NOT attend if you have had known exposure to someone with Covid-19 in the past 14 days, or to someone who is quarantinning due to COVID-19 exposure.
Consider not attending if you are 65+ years old or have underlying health conditions including high blood pressure, chronic lung disease, diabetes, severe obesity, asthma or immunocompromising conditions. You are at higher risk for severe illness.
If the host family is experiencing symptoms or has been exposed to someone with COVID-19, please consider an alternate location.
Be encouraged to creatively engage in worship together.
- Pray, sing, and discuss together. You are welcome to pause the live-stream or turn down the volume in order to facilitate how your group wants to use the time.
- Get engaged in the online sermon discussion. Possibly designate one person to share in the comments what the home group is discussing.

COMMUNION

Make sure someone is in charge of preparing communion or have each family unit provide their own. During the communion time, you are encouraged to use that time as your group sees fit. You can pause the live-stream or turn down the volume to facilitate and participte in communion together as a group with prayer, thoughts, song, readings, etc.

SHARE & PRAYER

Have a time of share and pray as a group. Before or after the sevice, share together how everyone is doing and how you see God working. Ask what challenges are you experiencing and what prayer requests there are. End by having someone pray over the group and for the requests or spend time in communal prayer.

ATTENDANCE

In an effort to prepare for the need of contact tracing, we are striving to keep a record of who is gathering to watch our service as a Home Church. Please have one representative from your Home Church fill out the form below. The record is sent to the West Side office.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions please contact us at office@westsidear.org or give us a call at (479) 968-1121. You may also contact our Elders or Ministry Team.