We have not gathered in person since March 15, but plan to open our doors this Sunday, May 17 for a “soft re-opening.”

This will seem too quick to some and too slow to others. We love and respect those who lean pro-meet and those who lean pro-wait. We want to be careful not to cause anyone to feel constrained to act against what they think is prudent in these difficult days. We want you to know that our elders have planned, prepared, and prayed about re-opening over the last month. Our leadership has been engaged in numerous conversations with area pastors and government officials over the last month, preparing us for this moment. Governor Doug Ducey gave us the green light to proceed (not speed) into re-engaging in gathering.

Three verses have guided us throughout. First, we have felt a growing sense of the weight of Hebrews 10:24-25’s command to gather to stir one another up to love and good deeds and not to neglect gathering together as we look to the return of Christ. We have also sought to honor Paul’s Romans 13 charge to submit to and pray for government officials as instruments of God’s justice here on earth. We believe that our officials have not sought to intentionally interrupt the exercise of free worship, but rather to encourage the safety of our citizens. The third text that has shaped our thoughts concerning gathering again centers on the Great Commandments of love of God and neighbor from Matthew 22:37-39.

Trinity Bible Church exists to Make Disciple-Making Disciples and we understand gathered worship to be the engine room of that Christian discipleship. With this in mind, we are asking you to take the time to read the following list of precautions as we seek to gather in a healthy way.
 

Precautions

• Symptoms: If you have symptoms of sickness or are part of a vulnerable population, please don’t attend in person at this time. Please continue to take advantage of our online streaming platform and follow-up Zoom meeting.
• Masks: Please bring your own mask. (We hope to have some extras to provide to you next week if you do not have one.) We will ask that you wear a mask during these initial gatherings out of deference to others who will be encouraged by knowing that we are deploying an abundance of caution. (This does not apply to children aged 2 and younger.)
• Attendance: We will limit attendance to the first 200 people in order to allow for an appropriate level of occupancy density and to follow physical distancing guidelines.
• Ushers: We will have ushers guiding you to your seat to help facilitate distancing.
• Greeters: All greeters will be provided with gloves and will open doors for those in attendance. They will meet you with hand sanitizer upon entrance and exit.
• Sanitizing: We will sanitize bathrooms and pews carefully in anticipation of the service.
• Offering: We will no longer pass the plate for the offering. For the foreseeable future, we will provide alternative means for the offering to be received.
• Children's Ministry: We are not able to provide children's ministry this week. We are currently working on evaluating whether we can orient and mobilize our childcare workers for May 24th and beyond.
• Kids & Students: Families with kids and students are asked to worship together since we will not provide activities for those age ministries.

Common Questions

• What if I don’t feel safe coming? Know that you are loved and supported in your decision. The Bible didn’t really give us a pandemic playbook and we value your safety. We expect that people are in different places as far as their level of comfort with how to move forward. We want to trust one another's motives, love one another sacrificially, and pray for each other as we look forward to the day when we can all meet again without masks. We also encourage you to consider meeting with your Community Group for the live stream if that feels safer.
• Will we have any Sunday school classes on campus? We will not have classes on campus. Our Genesis class will still be offered via Zoom at its regularly scheduled time Sunday morning. 
• How will we sing? We will sing with masks on. I think everyone wanted to have a comeback party that felt like Easter 2.0, but it’s hard to feel the sense of triumph with the pandemic still looming large.
• Can we hang out and talk after the service? Ushers will guide you out after the service and you are welcome to talk with others outside if you like. 
• When will we take communion again? We have purchased individual communion packs and will take communion together as soon as they arrive.
• What if we have too many people show up at the Worship Center? By our count, we can safely fit 200 people in our building and still be able to practice social distancing. We also expect that attendance will be lower as we begin to gather, as some will continue to watch the live stream until a vaccine comes out or the pandemic dies down. We will also be able to seat some folks in the Education Center to watch the live stream together if we need room for overflow.