As part of our Steps to Regathering in Person following the coronavirus quarantine, we want to share more details with you about in-home and on-site venues. 

In-Home Worship Venues

Thank you to those of you who are hosting in-home venues! Some of you are worshiping with your families and others are gathering with friends or neighbors. We are so grateful for all of you! We encourage others to consider hosting an in-home venue as an opportunity to invite family, neighbors or friends to join you and get their fingerprints on God's Word. Here are some things to know about in-home venues:

• Invite whoever and however many people you feel comfortable hosting in your home. (It's OK to think small.)
• Watch the Online Worship Experience on our YouTube channel on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. or some other time during the week that works best for your schedules.
• Consider discussing what you heard following the experience using the Discovery Questions found on page 2 of the Online Bulletin each week.
• For more information about hosting in-home venues, watch this video.
• Questions? Contact Marcus Constantine or Sarah Hayden.

On-Site Worship Venues

Starting on June 7, 2020, we're offering five on-site venues to take in our Worship Experience. Each room will have both streamed and live elements, including a live message. To follow county guidelines for group sizes, you'll need to reserve your seat(s). The reservation link is coming soon!

Here are some things to know once you register:

• You'll receive information on which parking lot to use.
• You'll receive instructions on which color door to enter and exit based on the venue you choose. (As you arrive, we'll have the facility color coded and you'll be able to tell which door to enter.)
• One of the five venues will be a family-focused venue, designed for families with preschool and elementary aged children.
• The other four venues will welcome any and all, including families with children and students.
• Each venue will have some uniqueness, but all will include the same key elements.
• If your reservation plans change, please contact the church office so we can offer those seats to others. 

If you are sick, even at the last minute, please stay home for the protection of others. 

 Here are some things to know once you get to Oakwood: 

• All venues open at 9 a.m. and the worship service starts at 9:30 a.m. There will be one service.
• You are not required to wear a mask, but are welcome to do so if you choose.
• All spaces within the facility will have been sanitized and we will have hand sanitizer stocked for your use. 
• While inside Oakwood, we ask that you maintain physical distancing with anyone who is not in your residence. You are welcome to sit with your family group.
• Restrooms will be available, but please practice physical distancing in all Oakwood indoor spaces.
• We will not be handing out paper bulletins, passing offering bags, or conducting the Lord's Supper. The online bulletin and sermon notes can be found on our homepage.
• We will not be opening any Sunday morning children’s or student programs. Families are invited to worship together.
• We will not be opening the self-service drink stations, but you are welcome to bring your own drink.
• We'll ask you to exit the building as soon as the service concludes.
• Feel free to connect with friends afterward in the parking lot or on Oakwood's outdoor grounds.

As we open up the church facility to more groups, let's give grace to one another, including  our staff and volunteers as we navigate this situation together. As brothers and sisters, we humbly ask that we uphold respect and honor, preferring one another above ourselves (Romans 12:10).

Is it better to worship in-home or on-site?

We will continue offering our Online Worship Experience to help create meaningful in-home venues and discussions with your family and neighbors. Remember, the Church is not a building; the Church is you, people and families who love God and share His love with each other and the world! 

We're delighted that some of us will gather on-site beginning June 7! We're equally delighted that some of us will continue gathering in homes! 

Together, let's celebrate how worship is rising and disciples are being multiplied for our Lord from homes and on-site venues across Lake Country!

This Sunday, May 31, at 9:30 a.m. Oakwood Church will continue to use YouTube Premieres to host an interactive worship experience.

Our Kids Bulletin is available for preschool and elementary children so they can connect with the sermon. Click HERE to download it now!.

WEDNESDAYS:

All current Wednesday night online groups will be wrapping up TONIGHT, May 27. Connect HERE at 7 p.m. 

Starting Wednesday, June 3, we will be meeting onsite for high school ministry! 

SUNDAYS:

All current Sunday morning online groups will wrap up this Sunday, May 31, with a special time of prayer from 11 - 11:30 a.m. for Oakwood Church and our High School Ministries! Connect  HERE via Zoom.

Starting Sunday, June 7, we will be launching a brand new online group for students called Discovering God's Heart For Biblical Community. This group will meet via Zoom from 11 - 11:45 a.m.

SUMMER 2020:

Watch for more fun details!

Hi Families! 

I hope each of you had a wonderful Memorial Day—getting some time to enjoy the sunshine, and maybe some friends and family. There is light at the end of this quarantine tunnel! 

Today’s lesson is about change. We are all impacted by change, but we all respond differently. How about you? How about your kids? We’ve all been through a lot of changes over the past couple of months. Has God used any of these changes to make you more like Him? 

This season of change has forced me to depend on God for many things—for companionship, direction, technology assistance, energy, and toilet paper! In each situation, God was faithful, giving me just what He needed me to have. God can use a quarantine to change us into the person He wants us to be.

Our Lesson this Week: God’s Son, Jesus, Changes Everything—Saul’s Conversion 

This week we’ll meet a man named Saul. Saul thought he was serving God, but really he was working against God. God had big plans for Saul, but first, He had to change his heart!

Check out my video for the lesson, the story video, and/or use the lesson plan below to share the Big God Story with your kids this week. Have even more fun and use the story and pictures attached for your kids to tell the story! Feel free to pick and choose the other activities to help your kids learn that Jesus Changes Everything.

• Lesson Plan: God’s Son Changes Everything
  
  
• Story Options:

1. VIDEO: God’s Son, Jesus, Changes Everything with Miss Becci
2. VIDEO: Saul becomes Paul
3. Story and pictures for kids to tell the story
4. Saul’s Face Templates: blind and seeing faces

• Object Lesson: God Changes Us! Instruction and Video Demonstration
  
  
• Blindfolded Maze Game and Instructions
  
  
• Coloring Page
  
  
• Maze
  
  
• Crossword
  
  
• Word Search
  
  
• Connect the Dots

Learning Packets (complete with materials listed above) can also be made available outside of the church office. Packets should be pre-ordered by 2pm on Thursday. They will be available for pick up Friday morning by 8am. Click HERE to order your packet now!

Don’t forget Story Time with Miss Becci this Thursday, May 28, on the Family Life @ Oakwood Church Facebook page! I’ll be reading The Big God Story by Michelle Anthony! See how many stories your kids know AND how each story is connected as part of God’s amazing plan. Be ready to answer questions, too, as this story invites listeners to be part of God’s story, too! 

Until next time, remember God loves you so much! 

Becci Terrill
Children’s Director
Oakwood Church 

5/26/20