March 17, 2020
My Dear Paramount Baptist Church Family:
In consideration of the public health concerns related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and considering Governor Hogan’s Executive Order prohibiting public gatherings of more than 50 people, Paramount Baptist Church will temporarily suspend all public worship gatherings on Sundays and Wednesdays. We do not know how long this will last. When we’re able to resume gathering for worship, or if other changes are made, we will communicate to the PBC family through mass email as well as posting those notifications on our church Facebook page, and our website at www.paramountbaptist.com. Until we can gather in our facilities for worship again, you are encouraged to take advantage of the following opportunities to participate in worship and discipleship.
- Sunday Service; 10:30am: Beginning this Sunday, March 22nd, we will livestream one Sunday morning worship service at 10:30am each Sunday morning. This service will very much resemble our regular Sunday service, with the difference being you will participate from home rather than being here in the building. This livestream may be accessed from the Paramount Baptist Church Facebook page, or by going directly to the Paramount Baptist Church YouTube page, or by following the link on our website, paramountbaptist.com.
- AWANA, Youth, Sunday School: While none of these ministries will be able to meet, there will be discipleship opportunities available online by various means. Pastor Geoff will be communicating with the Youth and the Vine, and there are additional opportunities being planned for AWANA and Children’s Sunday School. The respective leaders of these ministries will be coordinating and communicating with their groups as to how this will take place. Please wait until you hear from them or contact the appropriate ministry leader with questions before contacting the church office. If you cannot get in touch with the appropriate leader or do not know who to contact, you may contact the church office by phone or email. 301-739-2821; office@paramountbaptist.com
- Prayer: While current circumstances prevent us from meeting, they cannot prevent us from praying. More than anything else, we need to call out to the Lord to intervene in this situation, to protect our church family and our country, and to use this as an opportunity to cause people to consider the uncertainty of life in this world and to look to Jesus for salvation. To encourage us in prayer, and so that we can continue to pray for one another, we will continue to publish our regular Wednesday Prayer Points Guide and will distribute to the church family by mass email.
- Giving: You can mail your regular weekly offerings to the Church office. We are also working on an online giving option that should be operational soon and will be accessible from our website when ready. We will update you as soon as this is functioning. As always, we appreciate your faithful stewardship which allows us to maintain our focus on mission and ministry, especially during these uniquely challenging times.
- Serving: While we cannot serve the Lord in our normal Sunday or Wednesday ministry roles, there remain ways that we can and should serve the Lord and each other. I encourage you to regularly reach out to the people in your Sunday School, small group, ministry area, or circle of friends. We can’t be together in one place, but we remain one body in Christ united by His Spirit. Let’s maintain our unity and connectedness by intentionally reaching out to others in the church on a regular basis, by phone, email, or in person when mutually agreed on beforehand ?. And let’s be particularly focused on reaching out to and checking in on our senior citizens and others who may be more vulnerable and therefore susceptible to this virus. Last night when we gathered for GROW, we spent most of the time calling and checking on our seniors to see if they were well and if they needed help in getting groceries, medicine, or other supplies. They were extremely grateful, and we were very blessed in our conversations with them. We must watch out for our sweet senior saints and others who need help getting through this. If there is a need you are made aware of and can’t meet, please contact one of our pastors or the church office for support.
Remember, our eternally blessed Lord has provided all we need for every need we have, both now and forever. We are BLESSED! Let’s put our trust in Him and walk by faith. The Lord will use the witness of His faithful people in these days; let the light shine in the darkness! I look forward with great anticipation to the time we can again gather in worship as Gods people!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Frank