MEMO

West Florida District Coronavirus Update, April 24:

We trust you are all doing well.  Between Covid-19 and severe weather, it’s been another crazy week.  The creativity and leadership you have all been exemplifying during this difficult season is to be commended.

We continue to operate under all of the previous guidelines and recommendations we have set forth.  Nothing has changed for the state of Florida at this time. We are all looking forward to better days ahead.

Here are a few things for you to consider as we approach April 30, which is the initial date set for readdressing the current guidelines we are operating under.

  • Governor DeSantis has formed a task force and will be addressing how we are going to move forward in Florida.  He reiterated today that he has not set any “definite dates” at this time.
  • As leaders, we should be preparing for a staged and managed transition from where we are to the “new normal.”  This will impact every church differently based on their size.  We believe larger churches will be most impacted and will have to be more creative for a longer period of time.  It would be advisable for all churches to begin now to use their leaders to dream about what this will look like for their church. Every church should be developing a plan, with special attention given to social distancing, children and youth meetings, small groups, and possibly multiple services.  Also, this plan should reflect the very fluid situation we are in and allow fro flexibility.
  • I would encourage you to:
  • Only announce a definite plan when you know for sure what the federal, state, and local guidelines are going to be and what that timeline looks like.  It would be better to move a bit slower than to present a plan that cannot actually be carried out. All plans should be presented as being contingent on new federal, state, and local guidelines. Our team is working to stay abreast of these developments and will keep you posted as we have new information.
  • Be prepared for the fact that everything is not going to instantly return to the way it was the last Sunday your church met together.  Our world has changed and we must be ready to make things work in this new environment.  God will help us to figure this out as we rely on Him, but we must begin to think about how this will look.  (See “Avoid This Big Mistake…“ by Carey Nieuwhof on our website)

Please avail yourself of all the resources that are on our website. These include many videos and articles to help you as you move to the next stage of this journey.  As always, our team is here for you.  Please let us know if there is anything you, your family, or your church needs.  We will be in touch soon.

Thomas L. Moore

District Superintendent

supt@westflorida.ag

West Florida District Council of the Assemblies of God

4792 Highway 90  |   Marianna, Florida 32446  |  (850) 482- 2986