August 6, 2020 - NCC Live Stream This Sunday!
We're excited to kick off our live stream this Sunday August 9! While we recognize the limitations of attending worship online, we are thankful to use these tools to connect our congregation at home. Our prayer is that this connectivity would help us all persevere during this pandemic season and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus (Heb. 12:1-2).
Go to www.ncchurch.net/live to see how to stream the service and check out all the features we've added to this landing page.
We've also included a few things to consider to make the most of the live stream experience. You can stream the service in any web browser and in the YouTube app across all devices (phones, tablets, smart TVs). Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified when we go live! Click here to subscribe.
I kindly ask for your patience as we adapt to the new addition of the livestream, especially as we work out kinks in the process. There is a chance that our original setup could need to change, as well as the platform we are delivering the live video to. We're in a learning process and are excited to use the tools God has provided.
Please continue to pray for our church, community, and world during this trial. May the church shine all the brighter in the midst of much darkness (Matt. 5:14-16)!
-Jonathan
JuLY 22, 2020 - Update: Face Masks and Livestream
Dear New Covenant members and visitors,
Your elders met this past Sunday, July 19th, to discuss our Covid-19 precautions, and to consider how we can best shepherd those worshiping at home for this pandemic season.
Face Masks
As you probably know, the virus is rapidly spreading and our local hospital has surged to capacity in the past week. Currently the CDC, SC DHEC, our local doctors, and our governor are strongly encouraging mask wearing when in close proximity to other people. This is not to prevent you from catching the virus, but to minimize the spreading of it by those who may unknowingly be infected. Your elders feel it would now be wise to encourage mask wearing in addition to the precautions already in place. Those precautions are:
If you have a fever, headache, or respiratory symptoms, or have been exposed to the virus please worship at home.
If you are in a high risk group please take extra precautions as necessary.
Do your best to maintain social distancing, especially if you are not wearing a mask.
Maintain careful hand hygiene with frequent washing or sanitizing.
We are not mandating mask wearing, but are encouraging it, and want you to know that you will be loved and welcomed whether you have a mask on or not. Masks will be available and provided free of charge around the entrances and foyer for your use.
Livestream
Secondly, in an attempt to better minister to our families worshiping at home, and to facilitate unity within our entire congregation we are going to start live streaming the entire service. We agreed to immediately purchase the equipment necessary to do this and train necessary volunteers. Our goal is to begin streaming our services on August 9. More details will be provided as to how you can connect to the live stream. In the meantime, if your situation dictates that you worship at home during this season, the sermon recordings are still available, as well as our orders of worship, posted to our online page.
Please let us know if we can love you or provide ministry to you during this time.
-Dale Hardy, on behalf of the elders
June 10, 2020 - Resuming normal worship schedule
Worship Schedule
In His grace, God is allowing us to resume our normal worship schedule starting this Sunday June 14! Corporate worship at 9:30am, followed by casual fellowship before Discipleship Classes begin at 11:10am. We will maintain several of the health precautions from the previous two weeks (spreading out the Sanctuary seating, no passing of Communion/Offering plates, and no coffee/juice for this season).
Discipleship Classes
Outlined in the June Connection, our normal Covenant Kids and Youth classes will be offered, as well as three adult classes:
Colossians - A101 Library (taught by Mark Burchette, Jay Long, & Joe Noblitt)
The Riches of Salvation - A211-213 (taught by Jonathan Wisdom & Andrew Wilson)
Young Adult Issues (College & Beyond) - A212 (taught by William Millford)
Missions Update
*For this Sunday only, instead of classes #1 and #2 listed above, we are excited to hear from the Salinas family, missionaries our church supports in Mexico as they share a ministry update during Discipleship hour in A211-213.
Podcast
We are thankful for the technology to connect during this season away from corporate fellowship. As we enter back into community life together, we will return to posting the sermon audio only (to our podcast) shortly after the worship service, as well as on physical CDs in the church lobby.
Prayer
Please continue to pray for our church, our Anderson community, our nation, and our world at-large. May the church be Christ’s ambassadors of grace, love, and hope in a world surrounded by brokenness. Come and be strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit on unique display in gathering of the saints in corporate worship.
In Christ,
-Jonathan
June 1, 2020 - Online Audio Recording
Good morning church,
It was a joy to be with many in our church family yesterday worshipping together in person! Still, as we pray for the Lord's guidance on what church and ministry life looks like during the pandemic season we want to love and serve everyone in our church family well. To those who remained at home yesterday out of caution and prudence, let me apologize for the lack of clear communication about our plan to deliver a recording from our live service. I posted the sermon about 3pm and the full service audio at about 6:30pm, both to our podcast feed, as well as our website. I realize this is much later in the day than you may have been expecting since the previous 3 months of online services have been available on Sunday mornings. I am sorry to leave you guessing and missing spiritual fellowship with our church.
Due to the nature of recording a live morning service and the editing/uploading involved in making it available, I'd invite you to plan for an evening home worship time for this Sunday June 7. It will be my goal to have the audio recording posted by 5pm this Sunday evening to our podcast feed and our online service archives at www.ncchurch.net/online. That being said, if you would like to wake up and sing the praises of God in your home, another option you have is to pull up one of our video services on our YouTube page from a prior week and sing together in your home. A second option will be that I will post the order of worship for our service before Sunday morning if you'd want to work through the order of worship by reading the selected Scriptures, singing the songs we're singing as a church, and spending time in prayer as a family. It will also be posted on www.ncchurch.net/online.
Join me in praying for our church during this difficult season in many ways. That God would sustain His people as ambassadors for the Gospel amidst trying times. That God would bring justice to reign through His people in our culture. That God would comfort and heal the sick in His timing. And that our faith would be strengthened as our hope is secure in Christ, our anchor.
In Christ,
-Jonathan Wisdom
May 18, 2020 - Re-opening for corporate worship
By God’s guidance through prayer and His Word, and the plurality of wise counsel, our elders have crafted a plan for re-opening our Church facility for corporate worship. Thank you for praying and supporting our church body and leadership during this time. In all these decisions we are seeking to love our church members and visitors, as well as our community. Our desire is to be prudent, practical and follow the principles of Scripture for God’s glory and your well-being.
The points below briefly summarize our plan at this time:
May 31st will be our first week back for corporate worship! (assuming the governor of SC lifts the “state of emergency” orders by this time)
Soft Two-week schedule at first: May 31st and June 7th will consist of a corporate worship service only (no Discipleship classes, Covenant Kids ministries, or other group gatherings in our church facility).
There will be a well-baby nursery for ages 3 and under, and
A well-participant Sanctuary (Please stay home if you have a fever or are sick—this is a way to love one another).
To be clear, Nursery and Corporate Worship are always considered “well-participant,” as we encourage those who are sick to stay home and let us know how we can pray and care for you.
Sanctuary Seating options will be increased and arranged to allow for social distancing.
Communion will be optional for those who want to come to the front to receive it. No one will be required to pass a tray for communion or for the offering.
Online video services will be discontinued on May 31st. You will still be able to access an audio only version of our entire service online for May 31st and June 7th, as well as our normal sermon podcast.
No Bulletins will be issued but you can access our bulletin through the YouVersion app.
The Deacons, in coordination with Mark Burchette and Susie Whitfield, will have the facility ready and clean for your safety. There will be no coffee or juice service the first several weeks.
While re-opening our church for corporate worship on May 31, 2020, nothing from the Bible enables us to presume everyone will be safe to return. We have consulted with our NCC physicians and they would encourage those with high risk categories such as age and health conditions to worship at home. As your elders, thankful for the love of our physicians, we encourage each of you to evaluate your obedience to God and whether or not it is wise, at this time, for you to assemble with God’s people. Trust God and his word to direct you.
After the first two weeks, if all goes well, we will resume Discipleship Classes and Covenant Kids ministries on June 14th.
So, are you ready to restart corporate worship? Come Christians; enter into the courts of the Lord with praise! Let us worship his name TOGETHER. Let us not forsake our assembling in the name of Jesus TOGETHER for the encouragement of one another. Let us greet one another with the Love of Christ. It all begins again on May 31st!
Invite friends—this is not just about us! Let us pray for revival and the enlargement of our ministry borders for the glory of Christ! You may be tentative about your health, but do not be tentative about your worship and your ministry for Jesus Christ!
-David Rountree
May 1, 2020 - pray for our leaders
With an abundance of information, new research, and a wide range of opinions circling throughout our world, please remember to pray for our leaders: those in our federal, state, and local government, medical professionals who guide and care for us, decision makers in the various essential goods and services industries, as well as those in our retail markets, and of course our leaders in the church.
We encourage you to pray in general for pastors, officers, staff, and lay leaders throughout our world to rely on the Holy Spirit’s guidance in the Word of God to shepherd the church well to the glory of Christ. Specifically, would you please pray for our local elders at New Covenant Church as they meet on Monday night May 4 to pray through and discuss when and how God may be leading us to re-open our doors for worship and fellowship. Pray for wisdom, understanding, boldness, love, and unity as they seek God’s leading throughout this process.
It’s our desire to honor the Lord, revere His Word, preach the Gospel, and minister to our people, as well as be loving neighbors in our community, responsibly stewarding our decisions and resources for the good of Anderson and our world. We believe we can best be the church when we have regular access to gather as God’s people. However, we also recognize the uniqueness of the Covid-19 situation before us and want to honor the Lord in our response.
Thank you for your prayer and support,
-Jonathan Wisdom
April 1, 2020 - From our Youth Pastor, Joel Wilkes
The New (Quarantined) Self
When I was asked to write a blog post encouraging and ministering to the youth and to the church as a whole, my first thought was “yeah! That sounds great! I’ve been looking for a way to minister to other people during this time and didn’t know how during this crazy time!”
Then I sat down and started pouring over the scriptures and praying and thinking and trying to write and honestly, I couldn’t really think of much. I mean, I kept thinking of passages where Christians are told to not be anxious, and I thought of people who have responded to this crisis by saying stuff like focus on things you can control and not on things you can’t control; essentially, change your mindset.
And those things aren’t bad by any means. For the most part. But I look around the news and the grocery store and I look at the people I talk to and what I see is fear, I see frustration, I see confusion and even chaos. And the true, but at times under-explained, response to tragedy goes something like “trust God and believe he is in control.” Or something like that. And let me stop here and say amen, yes. God is fully in control and fully sovereign over the whole of creation, including covid. Amen. AND there is fear. AND there is confusion. I don’t say that in any way to diminish the sovereignty of God, rather I say that to state an obvious truth about the world we live in right now.
Combine this confusion and fear of the times with a rather large change in schedule and being secluded, and the result has been anything but pleasant. I’m sure you’re tired of being in the house, tired of being around your siblings, or your parents or your kids. You might be working from home with your kids working on school remotely. You might be working on your school work, or tempted to skimp on your school work to play video games or binge Netflix. So, you find yourself struggling to be motivated because everything is different. All of this adds up to even more frustration, more fear, more confusion. On top of that, things are being cancelled left and right; no more sports, shows are being shut down, and all sorts of things like that. More and more confusion. And even hurt at the loss of those things.
Somehow when you’re faced with all this confusion, fear and hurt, it doesn’t seem enough to hear the cliché “don’t be afraid” or “don’t be anxious”. You might even hear those things and sarcastically think, “wow you did it. All my fears are gone. Gee! Thanks!”
One comfort during this time of confusion and fear is the truth of the promises of God for sure - such as the promise Jesus made to his disciples in Matthew 28:20: I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Similarly, comforts offered by the psalmist in Psalm 27: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.” All of these things are true and praise God!
But one of the most encouraging things to me, in addition to these promises, is the way Jesus Himself faced the reality of living in a broken fallen world. This is beautifully seen in the passage we looked at with Tim Keller’s sermon a couple weeks ago, John 11. The story in John 11 shows that with the death of Lazarus, even when Jesus KNEW what he was going to do, how did he respond? John 11:35, the shortest verse in the bible says, Jesus wept. He knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus knew that Lazarus would be alive in just a minute, that the tears of Mary and the tears of Martha would change from tears of mourning into tears of joy, but with the effects of a broken world right in front of him, Jesus wept. He saw the brokenness, the fear, the confusion that surrounded this event, and even though he knew the outcome, he wept. It also says he was deeply moved and he was greatly troubled. He was incredibly emotional.
This story is encouraging to me because in the midst of the confusion, fear, and doubt, not only do we have the promises of God that are true, but we worship a God who doesn’t simply dismiss the reality of sin, who doesn’t dismiss the brokenness of the world, but we worship a God who loved us so much that he came down and wept with us in this brokenness. I’ve heard many a pastor say, God didn’t promise he would take this pain away, but he did promise to go through it with us.
That isn’t the silver bullet to wash away all the fears and concerns over this chaotic time, of course. But the fact that our Lord and Savior not only promised to never leave nor forsake us, but also joined us in times of turmoil can be an anchor in the storm. We don’t have a God who is far off, knows the outcome and is just waiting for the right time to act; we have a God who deeply grieves with the pain of his people. We worship a God who really is in control and is also moved by our fears and doubts. We have a high priest who empathizes deeply with us and as believers we have the Holy Spirit who, as Romans 8 says, intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. We are not alone, even we are isolated. Let us cling to the truth this week as we face a broken world, that our Savior knows what it means to suffer and weeps with those who weep, mourns with those who mourn and, through all of it, promises that this is not the end of the story.
-Joel Wilkes
March 30, 2020 Online through end of April
In alignment with CDC and governmental recommendations, we are currently planning for online worship services only through the end of April. Please go to our Online Worship page each Sunday to engage with our service by video and download complementary resources.
March 25, 2020 - Video update from david rountree
March 24, 2020 - online worship services by video
We’ve heard from many who were encouraged by the order of worship we posted last week for in-home use on Sunday. So thankful that we, indeed, worship in Spirit and truth in the freedom of Christ our Savior!
Starting this week we’ll begin filming an abbreviated worship service led by our own team. We’ll also post an Order of Worship to complement the service and provide a teaching outline for the sermon. Be sure to go to ncchurch.net/online for these videos, but we’ll link them on Facebook and Instagram as well.
This is not ideal. We can acknowledge that. But as we “gather” online, we are really and tangibly loving our neighbor in this trying time. And how thankful we are that we can even do what we’re doing to stay connected. As we approach Sunday, consider how you can prepare for worship this week. I came across a helpful (and funny) meme about how to best engage with a video worship service.
As much as we may want to stay in our PJ’s, sit back and relax, while sipping some coffee, let me encourage you to fight this casual mentality. We may not be in our church building in the presence of one another, but we are always the church in the presence of God. Let us continue to set this day apart, to honor the Sabbath now as we would throughout the year. As best we can, let us seek to engage our hearts, minds, and bodies in the worship of Almighty God.
Stay tuned for more updates as we take this week by week and don’t hesitate to reach out to me for any reason!
-Jonathan Wisdom
March 19, 2020 - Encouragement from Mark Burchette
In the past few weeks we have faced a global pandemic that has resulted in thousands of deaths, millions of people unemployed and the stock market in a downward spiral. Along with these cataclysmic events comes panic, fear and anxiety. How is a Christian to live life in a world filled with fear?
The disciples were about ready to have their world turned upside down. Jesus, at the Lord's Supper in John 13:21, told them that one of them would betray Him. Can you imagine the shock and the fear that came when Jesus announced this future event? These 12 apostles had been together for three years and had gone through many trials in ministry. They had become a band of loving brothers. Now they were left staring at one another, in disbelief that one of them would betray the Lord.
Then Jesus gave the 12 apostles another shocking revelation. He was about ready to leave them and they could not follow Him. They must have been even more filled with fear at this point. Peter then responded by saying that he would even die for the Lord. And Jesus shocked the group one more time by saying that Peter would deny Christ three times before the rooster crowed.
Can you imagine being one of the disciples that evening? They were told by Jesus three Life changing events that would rock their world. They probably responded with fear and anxiety wondering what they should do. How did Jesus comfort them in this moment?
He said, "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also…" John 14:1-3
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also." John 14:18-19
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." John 14: 27
Jesus told his disciples in no uncertain terms that he would always be with them. He was with them at the supper, he would be with them after the resurrection through the Holy Spirit, and finally at their death he would be with them forever.
This promise is not only for the disciples but also for us when we are facing fearful things. In the past few weeks the Corona Virus has spread to our country. We have seen the death toll rise and the stock market crash. We have seen unemployment go up with the number of virus cases multiplying rapidly. All of these events tempt us to worry and to fear. The words of Jesus said on that fateful night 2000 years ago are still true for us today. "Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me." The apostle Paul reiterated what the apostle John stated in the above passage; that the old me is dead, and now Christ lives in me. And because He lives in me, I can walk by faith,
knowing his love for me, and knowing that He empowers me to live for His glory no matter what trial or temptation I face.
This is great news for the Christian who faces any trial------even a global pandemic.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled."
- Mark Burchette
March 16, 2020 - Letter to the Congregation:
Dear New Covenant Church Family and Guests:
The elders and I met Sunday evening and made a very difficult decision. I truly hate not gathering all of us together to worship our glorious Lord every Sunday. However, due to our national state of emergency, the recent South Carolina emergency actions, and due to having one of our own church members (a medical professional who was not in attendance for our worship service on March 15) in quarantine for exposure to the coronavirus, we have decided to move our worship of God into individual homes for the next two Sundays (March 22nd and 29th). We will be monitoring new developments and re-evaluating all matters as needed to discern the best course of action for our future. We are eagerly praying we will all be together on Palm Sunday, celebrating new life on Good Friday and rejoicing on Easter Sunday and that is only weeks away. Please pray with us!
None of your officers or staff like the idea of us not meeting together on Sunday. Since we are being providentially hindered, we do strongly encourage each family to agree on a plan for your worship of God for the next two Sundays. We are resourcing your home worship from our website. If you will go there (ncchurch.net/online), you will find a brief order of worship you can follow both Sundays with a message that deals with our need to respond to national tragedy and pray for our nation and church.
As long as we meet in home groups for the next several weeks, we are not only remaining submissive to the authorities of our land but we are hopefully doing our part to love our neighbor and minimize the risk of coronavirus exposure. With this in mind, if you are able and willing, we encourage you to invite others from our church family or your neighborhood to meet with you in your home for fellowship and worship. Especially reach out to any you know who may be alone in their homes. Please check out what Jonathan has put on our website to assist you at ncchurch.net/online as well as ncchurch.net/coronavirus for further updates.
As to many other small group meetings of New Covenant during the week (Prayer groups, Bibles Studies, etc.) check with your leader for availability of meeting. DAWN and Youth Group will not meet for the next two weeks.
Additionally, if your physician or any health agency recommends self-quarantine for you or any member of your family, please inform us so we can be in prayer for you. 97% of coronavirus patients survive. Let us pray for you to be in that group!
You know, we are greatly concerned for the health and safety of every member and guest of New Covenant along with desiring to lovingly embrace and minister to our community. Let Krisy Mortenson (mortenson@ncchurch.net) know of any prayer requests and we will be diligent to pray for one another.
Our God is good and gracious and will see us through this ordeal. I can’t wait for another glorious Sunday together. As soon as we can meet as a congregation we will. Keep praying daily for mercy and healing for our land. To God be the glory!
Your pastor and fellow prayer warrior,
David Rountree