Dear Soma,

To begin with, I am so proud of you. I am constantly bragging on you and sharing story after story of God’s grace! I wanted to share with you some minor changes we are making to our gatherings starting June 21st at Soma. We have been praying and thinking for a while now about the order of our gatherings. We’ve decided upon a few changes we are going to make for the next season of life at our church.  There are 2 things we need address in this post.

June 14^th

Sunday June 14th will be the first time we will be together and we will have a Baptism Sunday and celebration!   Baptism is a beautiful illustration of the spiritual death and resurrection of the believer who has died to their sin and been resurrected to new life through their faith in Jesus Christ. It is also an opportunity for the believer to make a public profession of his or her faith in Christ, through which both personal and community benefits are received. Our view from scripture is that baptism should occur when a person makes a credible profession of faith in Christ as their Savior.

Since we will be outside social distancing does not require us to limit attendance.

Please fill out this form if you are interested in baptism!!

• Masks

  • We strongly encourage attendees to wear a mask while entering the building until seated and to put it on again while exiting the building.
  • Many in our congregation likely don’t feel a need to wear a mask while in public.
  • Many in our congregation likely don’t feel comfortable in a crowd without wearing one or when in a crowd where numerous folks aren’t wearing one.
  • The elders are not qualified to judge the medical need for masks, but we do believe scriptures plainly instruct those with freedom in a given matter to practice restraint for the sake of those who don’t have that same freedom (Acts 15:1-33; 16:1- 3; 1 Corinthians 8, 9).
  • Further, we believe the teaching of Christ (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31) and His example (Philippians 2:3-8) compels us to place the needs of others before our “rights.” This means that the need some have for others to wear masks outweighs our right to not wear one.
  • Single use disposable masks will be available at the entrance for those who don’t have a mask.
  • Though we strongly encourage the use of masks for the reasons given, no one will be refused entry for not wearing one.

June 21^st

Preparation to Attend:

Identify which service you are assigned to attend (somajc.churchcenter.com/registrations/events).

• • Social distancing requires us to limit attendance to 25 persons per service in the Associational offices, not counting AV technicians and stage personnel. We will not exceed these limits.
  • Space for guests has been factored into our service assignments.
  • There will be no coffee or refreshments available in the lobby.
  • Services will last around 80 minutes in order to give congregants time between services and us time to disinfect.
  • There will be NO childcare available during the Sunday gatherings currently.
  • The registration portal opens on our website at 9am the Monday BEFORE the worship service you wish to attend. The portal will close at 5:00 pm Friday. 
    • For example, the registration portal for the June 28^th service will open June 22^nd at 10am.

• Masks

  • We strongly encourage attendees to wear a mask while entering the building until seated and to put it on again while exiting the building.
  • Many in our congregation likely don’t feel a need to wear a mask while in public.
  • Many in our congregation likely don’t feel comfortable in a crowd without wearing one or when in a crowd where numerous folks aren’t wearing one.
  • The elders are not qualified to judge the medical need for masks, but we do believe scriptures plainly instruct those with freedom in a given matter to practice restraint for the sake of those who don’t have that same freedom (Acts 15:1-33; 16:1- 3; 1 Corinthians 8, 9).
  • Further, we believe the teaching of Christ (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31) and His example (Philippians 2:3-8) compels us to place the needs of others before our “rights.” This means that the need some have for others to wear masks outweighs our right to not wear one.
  • Single use disposable masks will be available at the entrance for those who don’t have a mask.
  • Though we strongly encourage the use of masks for the reasons given, no one will be refused entry for not wearing one.

• Health

  • We are asking everyone who attends to take their temperature before leaving home.
  • If you have been exposed to a person with COVID-19, we ask that you not physically attend a worship service until you have been symptom free for 14 days.
  • If you are in a high-risk category or are immunocompromised, we strongly encourage you to attend services online.
  • Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance and in the worship center.
  • Restrooms will be available, but we encourage you to utilize your facilities at home before coming to church in order to minimize on campus use.

Arriving on Campus

• Parking

  • You may park in any available space.
  • Please put a mask on before exiting the car (SEE ABOVE).

• Observe social distancing

  • Maintain six feet of separation between yourself, or any family attending with you, and others.
  • Wait until your entire family is present before entering. Social distancing requirements mandate that we can’t save seats or ask people to move once seated.

• Follow instructions on being seated

  • Ushers will assist attendees with loading the worship center from front to back.
  • Move all the way to the end of the aisle when being seated.
  • Maintain six feet of space between yourself, or any family attending with you, and others.

• Giving Generously

  • If you didn’t know, almost 80% of our monthly tithes are given during the week either online or mailed to the church. We’ve realized that many of you have missed opportunities to give each week during our gathering because you don’t carry cash or a checkbook. We are adding a giving station in our lobby so you will have an opportunity to give online on Sundays.
  • Each week, at the close of our gatherings, we will invite you to respond through giving at the new station.

Leaving the Campus

• Put on your mask when the service concludes (SEE ABOVE).
• Wait for an usher to dismiss your row.
• Observe social distancing as you exit the building
• Wait to have conversations with others until you reach the parking lot away from the entrance and observe social distancing.

If you are not comfortable with gathering with us in person we will invite you to continue to connect with us online on Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube

We love you each more than you will ever know and we can’t wait to see you soon