Interim Worship/Ministry Plan E

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Grace and peace. I am overwhelmed at the blessings of God’s Providence as He continues to guide us through this “present distress” while allowing us to maintain Briarwood’s commitment to be – On Mission, On Message and In Ministry – yet make every effort to do so safely. I am grateful for your intercessory prayer commitment, generous and sacrificial stewardship and desire to love one another and our visitors well. Because of your thoughtful and consistent participation in worship, stewardship and outreach we have been able to implement various ministry plans to keep extending and expanding our efforts within the safety protocols provided to us. We now take next the step with the Briarwood Interim Worship/Ministry Plan E.

First of all I specifically want to praise the Lord for the renewal of the BYG Ministry, the initial efforts of our Board Directed Ministries (i.e. Young Business Leaders, Women’s Business Leaders, Ballet, Birmingham Theological Seminary, Briarwood Christian School, Fellows, Quest, Campus Outreach and Christian Medical Ministry). It is no small thing that these ministries have continued their efforts at evangelism and discipleship. In addition, I praise the Lord and I am also grateful for Children’s Church and our growing attendance at our three morning worship services. Along with you I am grateful that we have reestablished the Lord’s Supper Communion services and thank the Lord for our Advent outreach initiatives – Christmas at the Caroline House, Drive-through Nativity, Hallelujah Christmas Concert and our five Christmas Eve Services.

It is a blessing to see how you have done this thoughtfully and conscientiously, expressing your concerns for safety in one another’s lives. Therefore, in light of your diligence and the Lord’s Providence, our Session would like to take another step forward by implementing Interim Worship/Ministry Plan E as follows.

  • Maintaining our Congregational Community assignments for our three Lord’s Day morning worship services which has served us well to provide a balanced attendance in all three and accommodate social distancing.
  • 8:00 A.M. – The Oaks, Legacy, Covenant Keepers, Sojourners, Teambuilders, REAL Life, Homefront, Hearts & Homes, Discovery, Kingdom Builder, Mountain View, Abundant Life
  • 9:30 A.M. – International, Leveraging Life, Inside Out, In One Accord, Women Impacting the World, Family Life, Deeper Life, Homestead, Joyful Hearts, Faithful Followers, Graduates & Career
  • 11:00 A.M. – College, Encounter, Growing in Grace, Heritage Builders, Firm Foundations, Growing Together, Next Step, Family Matters
  • We will continue to offer an opportunity for our Sunday School Communities to schedule bi-weekly meetings as well as maintain the Zoom Sunday School instruction opportunities. (Special Thanks to Community teachers, pastors and class shepherds in giving diligent servant leadership to the flock.)
  • We are establishing in Children’s Church a two-fold ministry to include both Sunday School Bible teaching along with Children’s Worship during the one-hour meeting time each Sunday that parallels our Worship service in the Sanctuary.
  • Beginning Sunday, January 10, we will reestablish Sunday Evening Worship Services while still maintaining an effective use of our new ministry, “Conversations with Harry and Bruce.”
  • Our Youth Ministry will continue their Wednesday night gatherings and make a time adjustment to their Sunday evening small groups to complement our Sunday evening worship service. This information has been posted on our Youth Ministry website.
  • The Bookstore and Library are now open on the Lord’s Day morning for access while of course using the safety protocols i.e. a specific number of people in the store for the purpose of social distancing while wearing a mask.
In conclusion, we of course are grateful for the various efforts of Bible Study and fellowship opportunities initiated by the members of the church outside of the Briarwood facilities. We are also grateful for maintaining health and safety protocols during these various gatherings. Again, your thoughtfulness as we continue to move forward is deeply appreciated and may our Lord actually make these days of challenge days of growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ in the unity we have manifested in Christ by being a Church that is – On mission for Christ, On message with the Gospel of Christ and in ministry to lift up Christ through worship, evangelism, fellowship and discipleship.

For Christ, the Gospel and His Church On Mission – On Message – In Ministry

Harry L Reeder III

Beginning Sunday, January 10 . . .
6:00 p.m. Sunday evening service available in-person. The Briarwood Christian Bookstore and the Church Library are open on Sunday mornings.

Continuing Plan D . . .
The Nursery is open for the 8:00 and 11:00 services and Children’s Worship is provided at all three of our morning worship services. We have sought the counsel of other childcare facilities and are seeking to follow the guidelines provided to us by health professionals as we train and equip our staff to lovingly and safely care for your children. Providing the Nursery at 8:00 and 11:00 allows us to clean during the 9:30 service and prepare for the children coming for our 11:00 service. The Nursery will be available on Sunday Mornings by reservation.

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, rooms are available for social distancing for Congregational Communities not needing childcare to gather. A large majority of our Communities have embraced effective means for replacing the Sunday morning teaching time with Zoom and other methods, and we do not want to alter that at this time. However, there is an additional need for some of them to periodically meet in person. These bi-weekly gatherings are be available by reservation through our Christian Education Department. Communities determine best use of time to meet the needs of their community.

Wednesday evenings, Raiders and BYG ministries meet weekly at The Barn. We also have prioritize gatherings spaces for communities needing childcare to meet. We provide bi-weekly meeting opportunities by reservation along with our Nursery, Connect and Ignite ministries. This allows the children to participate in Children’s Ministry while their parents are attending their respective Community gatherings. Communities will determine best use of time to meet the needs of their community.

Sundays, Raiders small groups meet at the church while BYG small groups meet at The Barn.

Please Note . . .
We strongly encourage people at “high risk” and communities with a significant number of members at “high risk” to make wise decisions regarding when and if to gather together. We will continue to provide Worship streaming, Zoom and other means of ministry for those needing to avoid large gatherings during this time.