Hello, Everyone!
It has been a tense week for the people in the city & all around the globe with the spread & fears of Coronavirus bringing nations to a standstill. In the midst of all this, as believers in Jesus, it’s such an assurance to know He’s still reigning on the throne!
As a result of the advisory from the Maharashtra government on avoiding public gatherings, this would affect the weekly meetings at the Gathering and the following changes will be implemented with immediate effect:
- For at least the next 2 weeks (22nd March & 29th March), ALL SUNDAY SERVICES WILL BE STREAMED LIVE ON FACEBOOK ONLY. THE HALL AT MARUTI BUSINESS PARK WILL BE LOCKED.
- We will Facebook live-stream a time of worship and the message at 10:30am. You can watch the service on the following link as soon as we are live https://www.facebook.com/thegatheringcommunity/
- All Gospel Communities, Roots Class, discipleship meetings, church membership classes are suspended until further notice.
- We would encourage discipleship groups, bible studies, etc. to take advantage of technology and meet virtually (Skype, Hangouts, WhatsApp etc.) rather than in-person.
- We know there will be continued prayer needs. The elders and gospel community leaders at the Gathering will continue to pray for requests that come in. You can submit a prayer request online by writing to us at info@thegatheringcommunity.in
- The elders and their wives and gospel community leaders are available at any time to address counselling needs in the church. Do know that we are available and present for you. Please don’t hesitate to call us at any time.
- Tithes and offerings may be sent online using the below details:
A/c name: The Gathering Community Trust
State Bank of India
Current Account
A/C no: 38527895821
IFSC code: SBIN0011752
Even as we are trusting God with His protection over the church and the city, we believe that an expression of this trust would mean abiding by the advisory set before us by the government & prioritizing the safety of our people by avoiding close contact.
At this point we don’t know what the full extent and duration of the infection could be, so would you all join us in praying for our city, nation and the nations around the globe daily on the below points:
- God would prevent the infection from spreading further
- God would heal those that are currently tested positive
- God would use this time & season of physical infection to point people to their deeper heart infection which is much more universal & eternal in its consequences
- God would teach our hearts to love Jesus more than our possessions, our families & our lives
- God would enable us to be creative in ways to show our love for each other & compassion to a hurting world outside
Lastly let’s remind our hearts that these times of fear, pain & isolation isn’t an end in itself. Because we have our Lord Jesus who defeated death & sits victoriously at the right hand of the Father, we know that these difficult times will point our hearts to our Faithful Redeemer as we cry out and say “Jesus, we need You & we can’t do anything without You”. Let that “living hope” drive the coming days and weeks to be lived out with a fresh purpose and expectant faith!
As Elders, we will be constantly communicating and keeping you posted on how things might look different for us as a church in the coming days. We know that there could be some who aren’t presently connected on social media or part of our WhatsApp groups, so it’ll be really helpful if you could assist us by cascading these details to the relevant individuals. We want to make sure that everyone’s updated as much as possible.
With love and In Christ,
Saju, Zimik and Jinson
(Elders at the Gathering)