News & stories

Your pastoral staff realizes that many of our members fit the demographic of people that are at risk for more serious health challenges from contracting COVID-19. Because of this, we believe the most important thing to do is hold our services online until things improve. Therefore, we are canceling in-person Sabbath services for the next three weeks (through April 4). Each Sabbath, we will Livestream our worship service through our website at www.camelbackchurch.net. Just click the “Live” button at the top of the Home page to connect. As you remain home with your family these next few Sabbaths, we encourage you to join us online beginning at 11:00 AM. The worship service will include music, prayer, and a message to encourage.

All scheduled events, including the IFAK training this Sunday, are also canceled until after the first week of April.

We also ask that you remain faithful in your financial giving to the Lord’s work through tithes and offerings. It is easy to set up through the Adventist Giving website: https://adventistgiving.org/#/org/ANP4FB/envelope/start. There is a serious possibility of falling way behind our church budget needs at a time when the church is not meeting together for worship. Please help us stay current by planning your giving in advance through this helpful online tool.

A few of our small groups may still meet this week, but with an eye on the need to exercise social distancing practices. We are also preparing to send out a video link, Monday through Friday. It will be a message from one of us pastors, posted on our YouTube channel. More details to come.

We will be sure to keep you updated as the situation changes. Please feel free to contact the church office or one of the pastors, if you have any questions. Pastors John, Mark, and Melanie stand ready to respond to your needs and will remain available for appointments and visitation. We ask that you help us get the word out to people that you know do not frequent social media, have access to email or have other limited communication channels.

We serve a God that has called us to share the gospel in a variety of ways, not only through word but love in action. As we keep our eyes on Jesus let’s also look out for the needs of others. We are reaching out to a few health services organizations to ask what we can do to support their work of caring for the most vulnerable. If you are interested in participating in this kind of ministry, please call Cherie to volunteer.

This is a great time to focus on your personal devotional life as well. Spending time with Jesus in prayer and the Word is more important than ever. And what better time is there than when you are at home with time on your hands. Here is some inspired counsel that may be encouraging for you today:

“We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labor earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will, in the end, prove to have been efficient for good.” (The Desire of Ages, p. 362)

Please unite with your church family here, and around the world, in praying for the work of Christ’s angelic host to fight against the forces of evil and counteract the spread of this disease. And do so claiming the promise that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

God bless you all,

Pastors John, Mark, and Melanie