(And We’re Giving It Away!)

By Pastor Victor Chen

Do you ever wonder what church post-COVID-19 should look like?  

What aspects of church would look the same as before? What aspects of church should look different?

The book, “Rediscover Church” by Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman, addresses those very issues. Every church has faced challenges in “reopening” and I believe that “reopening” is proving to be more difficult than “shutting down”.  

Perhaps this time now allows churches around the world to rediscover what it truly means to be the “Church”. This book aims to help us discover that.  

This book gets back to the basic core understanding of what a church is and its essential characteristics and practices. The illustrations are timely, speaking specifically about coming out of “stay at home” orders due to COVID-19.

If there is any chapter I would recommend reading, it would be chapter 3, “Do We Really Need to Gather?”. This is a timely chapter addressing many of the questions our church has faced and is facing since reopening.

I’ll close with a challenging quote from this chapter to encourage you to read more in this book:

“Sometimes people like to say that “a church is a people, not a place.” It’s slightly more accurate to say that a church is a people assembled in a place. Regularly assembling or gathering makes a church a church. This doesn’t mean a church stops being a church when the people aren’t gathered, any more than a soccer “team” stops being a team when the members are not playing. The point is, regularly gathering together is necessary for a church to be a church, just like a team has to gather to play in order to be a team.” (pg. 48, Rediscover Church)

Due the generosity of Crossway publishers, our church has received a limited number of the books, “Rediscover Church”, to give away for free. Please contact me at vchen@evergreensgv.org to receive your free copy.

by Pastor Victor Chen

As we enter the new year, it is always helpful to look back and reflect on the significant moments of this past year. For our church reopening this past year, there were many significant milestones to reflect upon.

Reopening Indoors 5/2/21
“Actually, it was my first time worshipping inside with the church family. It was a great blessing to finally worship together in the sanctuary. I saw the importance of corporate worship and Colossians 3:16 lived out. Corporate worship is special. I was so excited that I recorded us praising the Lord together!” -Pastor Mako Seto

“Finally. Thank you Jesus. This was a beginning and a return to a new normal. I prayed this would be an acceptance of a new normal way of life.” -Pastor Kenny Wada

Reopening In-person Youth Group April 2021

“There was an excitement of students and staff seeing each other face to face. Singing corporately was a joy. It brought a lot of hope for future youth meetings.” -Pastor Paul Moy

Relaunching In-person Adult Church School (ACE)

"It was a joy to see members of our church pursuing growth in the Lord through ACE. My hope was that all who came would find encouragement in their relationship with God and in their life of faith.” -Pastor Terry Gee

While the Zoom class last year afforded opportunities for some to attend who otherwise would not have been able to, there is definitely a sense of connection and excitement to be back in-person again with a room full of people desiring to learn and grow together. I most appreciate and enjoy seeing multiple little conversations, laughter, or prayer happening between various class members before and after the ACE class (which cannot happen as easily with the limitations of Zoom). -Pastor Dan Christian

Relaunching In-person Church School

"What a blessing it has been to see the students return to Church School in-person. The past three months have been filled with excitement, eagerness and encouragement. Sunday mornings have been filled with excitement as students are so happy to see their friends, while the CS teachers get to greet the students in-person after over a year of Zoom classes! The students and teachers are so eager to learn and teach God’s Word, as well as pray for one another. It has also been a time of mutual encouragement as we worship the Lord together in the MPR and share in small groups in the classroom. We have experienced God’s faithfulness and goodness together, as He cares for Church School at Evergreen." -Terri Wong, Church School Superintendent

"As I reflect back on our reopening, I feel so humbled by His goodness. It is such a joy to interact with the children, watch them play, and hear their sweet voices laughing and singing again! It has been wonderful to reconnect with families and welcome new friends as well! I'm so grateful for our entire Church School team, and for our supportive CS families! As we prepared for reopening, we were excited and hopeful. But many of us also had concerns as we navigated uncharted waters in an ongoing pandemic. Through it all, God has shown so much mercy, and continues to prove Himself loving and faithful beyond measure! It is all truly by His grace!" -Debra Ton, Children’s Ministry Associate

I hope these brief reflections remind us of God’s goodness to our church and help bolster our hope in the Lord as we enter the new year. To God be the Glory!