Greetings Church!

At a recent press conference, Gov. Hogan presented an update about the “Roadmap to Recovery,” providing particular details associated with Stage One of that plan.  Stage One includes places of worship.  Montgomery County is not yet in Stage One, and we will continue to follow their guidelines.

NPC leaders have been considering when and how we will return to corporate worship and facility use.  The governor’s announcement gives us concrete information to consider as we discern our next steps.

What does this mean for NPC?

There are no immediate changes at this time.  For this coming Sunday, we will live stream on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/neelsville) as we have been doing for the previous nine weeks.

We wanted you to know that we are aware of Gov. Hogan’s remarks.  We will be waiting to hear what further direction Montgomery County provides at today's press conference.  We will be continuing our discussions with elders, deacons, trustees, and staff to make a wise decision for our NPC members and guests.  Then, we will communicate as soon as we have more concrete steps beyond this.  Please, pray for us.

We want to hear from you!

Your thoughts, concerns and needs related to reopening are very important to us.  Would you please fill out our short survey so that we can take your input into consideration as we determine the best way to safely meet in person again?

Be encouraged by this scripture as we are discerning when and how to meet again.

“But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face.”  (1 Thes. 2:17)

“Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink.  Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.”  (2 John 12)

Here are a few resources for information:

• Maryland Coronavirus Dashboard (coronavirus.maryland.gov)
• Montgomery County, MD Webpage (www.montgomerycountymd.gov)
• Montgomery County Community Resources (www.infomontgomery.org)

The Lord be with you.  Stay safe and well.  May the Lord grow our patience, endurance, and love during this time.  Connect with someone to show care.  Connect with someone to express your need for care.

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Jeffrey Rickett

Our elders and other leaders are reviewing best practices for ministry, re-opening, and safety considerations during the recovery phases of this pandemic. We have identified several sub-teams that will be preparing action plans including: communication, worship, adult discipleship, facility, children and youth, fellowship and outreach, personnel, and local missions. We greatly appreciate your prayers for these decisions, and we will communicate these action plans as they become available. Pray for us in this way: "that we may abound more and more, with knowledge and discernment, so that we may approve what is excellent" (based on Phil. 2:9-10)   

Dear NPC Family,

It was good to hear from many of you again at our live stream service.  We love the encouraging feedback! Moreover, I hope you are all actively practicing social distancing and doing well and staying healthy. On Sunday, I shared that we would be providing opportunities to pray and learn together during this time that we are mostly home-bound. Please take a moment and read the information below so that you can join us in these upcoming events.   Please also keep yourself informed by clicking on the below links as it relates to the COVID-19.

As you likely have heard, MCPS has extended their school closure until April 24.  Likewise, Neelsville is extending our closure and all activities and events are cancelled until further notice.  We know we are all trying to determine what “normal” looks like right now, so we will communicate with you as soon as we have updates on the closure and reopening. 

Please pray for our whole team so we can serve and lead NPC during this crisis.  Our prayers are with you for health and peace during this time.  

Warmly,

Pastor Jeff

Dear NPC Family,

Thank you for joining us this past Sunday for our first streamed worship service. Many of you have given us encouraging and helpful feedback, and we look forward to growing our experience in this new medium. We will live stream again this Sunday at 10:30am on our public Facebook page.

As we move forward in the coming days, I thought it would be important to make sure you are informed about the ministry of NPC. To make sure that we are clear and efficient in our communication to you, we reserve church community communication to those items that impact the whole church. We do not want to duplicate information or unnecessarily inundate your email inbox. To that end, the pastoral team will take the lead in particular areas, and as questions arise you can direct them as follows:

Primary Areas for Communication:

• I will communicate to you regarding whole-community issues and notifications from Session, Deacons, and Trustees. In addition, I am planning ways to minister to you the Word of God that will encourage you during this challenging time. I will utilize the NPC Facebook pages, Eletters, Zoom, and whatever technological tools we believe will be helpful. | EMAIL PASTOR JEFF
• Jamie Swope and Amanda Enzenauer will reach out to those in the Children's & Family Ministry and Student Ministry with ways to connect during this time.  | EMAIL JAMIE  | EMAIL AMANDA
• Our Local Missions Team is hard at work determining ways we can BLESS OUR CITY of Germantown during this time (scroll down for more info). Contact Courtney Midlam if you are healthy and willing to volunteer.  | EMAIL COURTNEY
• The latest information regarding Neelsville’s response to COVID-19 and ways we are supporting Germantown will be posted on our website.  https://neelsville.org/about-us/coronavirus-updates

Helpful Resources to Utilize:

• Send prayer requests through https://neelsville.org/resources/prayer and our prayer chain members will delight to pray for you during the week.
• Your prayerful tithes and offerings can be mailed to the office or you can donate through the website at https://neelsville.org/donate.
• Please do not hesitate to reach out to your deacon, the office or Pastor Jeff if you are in need of assistance during this time.
• You can continue to contact our office with any questions at office@neelsville.org or 301-972-3916.  Please leave a message if you reach our voicemail and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
• Together with our administrative team, we will seek to keep our communication to you robust and effective. Please pray for our whole team so we can serve and lead NPC during this crisis.

Warmly,

Pastor Jeff