The community around us is in crisis, a COVID-19 induced crisis. For the first time in history, this Spring of 2020, every state in the US was simultaneously in a declared state of emergency. As people sent by the risen Jesus to be about His mission bringing a message of life and of peace, how do we respond?

Our Spring 2020 NOW Start event went online on Saturday morning, May 9, to hear from a congregation in Arizona that’s been on the front lines of community response. We invite you to participate too below by watching the recorded event.

BEFORE YOU LISTEN… a little introduction. Unfortunately the recording starts several minutes into the conversation, but here’s what you missed.

We are taking with Nate Schaus, pastor of Summit Community Church (LCMS) in Goodyear, AZ, a municipality of the greater Phoenix area. It’s a congregation planted in 2003 that has always postured itself as a community minded ministry that loves and engages with their local area in a variety of ways. COVID-19 put a pause, or delay, on some of their significant community efforts and all Summit’s worship went from in-person to online.

Through conversations with leaders in the community and calls to the Mayor and local State Representatives asking, “What can we at Summit do to help?”, they heard the community saying “Encourage our healthcare workers, who are on the front lines of this.” So they did. On Easter Sunday they challenged worshippers from Summit to make over 1,000 cards and posters to give to health care professionals. They held a socially distant, no touch, drive-by drop off at Summit’s parking lot the Tuesday after Easter. Volunteers waved and celebrated as people brought cards and then those volunteers distributed the cards and posters to hospitals and fire stations in the area.

While planning for this in the weeks leading up to Easter, Summit sent care packages to the local hospital, ordered in food for the break rooms to bless their workers, and made plans with the hospital’s administration to bring the cards and posters the week of Easter. This led to an amazing opportunity that only God could have arranged. The CEO of that local hospital called Summit to ask if they would be willing to host a worship service in the parking lot of the hospital on Easter specifically for the staff and families of patients, who were not able to worship anywhere else that day. Summit said, “YES!” They provided online worship for their own congregation on Easter, but provided in-person, socially distant, parking lot worship for the local hospital proclaiming the message of the risen Jesus!

Now you are ready to join in and hear the rest of the story! Click the image below to play. (If it doesn't play direct from the website click the pop out box in the upper right corner of the video.)