Covid Guidelines and Communion Update

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The Regathering Team is pleased to announce that due to the decrease in cases of Covid-19, and the loosening of restrictions on a state and county basis, that our Covid-19 Guidelines will no longer be in effect. In Leu of those we offer a few best practices in order to continue to respect one another and promote health and safety.

  • If you feel ill, or are in the beginning stages of coming down with an illness, please stay home.
  • Please be diligent in personal hygiene, there will continue to be hand sanitizer available in various locations throughout the building.
  • Please be respectful of and attentive to people’s need for personal space.

The Regathering Team has now been disbanded, since we have been gathered as a church since last June, and there are no more Covid Guidelines to uphold. The church Ministry Staff along with the Admin Elders will continue to monitor the Covid situation and plan accordingly for various setups and ministries. Even though Covid has not gone away completely, at its current level this seems like the best way forward.

This change enables us to return to practicing communion much like we did before the pandemic, this Sunday will be our return to having people come up to the front to receive the bread and juice. The Elders will give the bread with small tongs in an effort to promote health and safety practices that we’ve become accustomed to in the last two years. There will be pre-packaged communion elements available for anyone who feels more comfortable continuing to use those.

We are thankful for the Lord’s provision, and that he is always with us, even in difficult times such as we’ve experienced over the last two years. Thank you for your continued diligence in promoting health and safety, which ultimately flow from the love that we receive from our savior Jesus!  Let’s continue to show that love to each other and all those around us.

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Gold Avenue Church Mugs

Do you or anyone you know ever like to drink coffee or tea? We have the perfect gift available for you this holiday season! We have Gold Avenue Church mugs for sale right now! What better way to remind you and others of our shared vision, which is to see the gospel of Jesus Christ transform our lives, our neighborhood, and the world. You can easily be the proud owner of one of these mugs, here is a picture showing what they look like from both sides.

Mugs are available for purchase for only $10, which helps pay for other swag we give free to our guests. Mugs can be bought at church through Mark Essenburg, you can email and we can arrange for your purchase. You can pay in cash or a few other select electronic methods.

We hope that you enjoy your mug and that you have a warm holiday season, surrounded by the joy that comes from knowing Jesus!

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Welcome to Gold Avenue Church!

Please RSVP by clicking THIS LINK

If you would like to attend but are unable to, or you are interested in coming but want to know more, please contact Mark Essenburg HERE.

We really look forward to seeing you at this event, and look forward that we can grow and serve together as God’s family at Gold Avenue Church!

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Deacons Update

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Hi Church Family from your Deacon Team! We wanted to let you know that despite not being in the church building on Sundays, we are still here and willing to help. Our role in the church is to offer resources to church members and, by extension, to our Gold Avenue Church neighborhood. We’d love to talk with you about how you are doing and to find out if there’s anything we can do to help with any physical needs you might have. 

 

With the economic downturn and general uncertainty that we are currently living in, we anticipate that there may be more financial struggles than usual. We want you to know that we’re here to help.  There are several ways of getting in contact with us. You can contact the church directly by email or phone (at the end of this post), or you can fill out the form LINKED HERE. In addition, if you have neighbors or people you know of within our community that are struggling, we invite you to refer them to the deacon team using one of the methods of contact. Make sure to include their contact info and as much information as possible.  We ask you to pray and discern if this next step is necessary for anyone, and invite as the Lord leads, as this is a time when we can all be the hands and feet of Jesus to our neighbors. 

 

In addition, we would like to connect you to a list of resources LINKED HERE. This resource list will be updated as events unfold in the next months for people who live in and around the West Side of Grand Rapids. Any suggestions for what could be added to this can also be sent to the church office using the contact information below. 

 

FInally, we want you all to know that we are praying for each and every one of you. We are living in strange times, but we are so thankful for the hope of Christ that cannot be taken from us. As well, our work is funded by the Benevolence fund, to which many of you sow into on a regular basis, thank you so much for continuing to express your generosity and helping us care for our brothers and sisters in Christ!

 

Church Contact Information: 

goldavechurch@gmail.com

616-454-8833

 

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Giving Generously

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Thank you for your desire to give generously to support our ministry at Gold Avenue Church.  Your generous gifts enable us to continue to see the gospel of Jesus Christ transform us, our neighborhood, and the world. This post has instructions on the various ways to give which are all secure. Your gifts will be received and recorded for tax purposes. You’ll also find instructions on how to give to our ministry partners through our special offerings. Details on which special offerings occur each month can be found in our weekly emails, which you can subscribe to on our main webpage.

Online Direct:

Give securely and directly through this link, you can also set up recurring gifts and select which fund to donate to. The default fund is general fund, you can choose other fund designations in the drop down menu: https://goldavenuechurch.breezechms.com/give/online

Text:  

Send amount (number only, no extra symbols) to (616) 319-2259 and follow prompts to give securely (link to help and additional text commands: Breeze Help)  Additionally, different funds can be given to by adding a space and then a keyword as shown below. An example would be: “50 special” – that would send $50 to the special offering for the month.

  1. No keyword (number only with no words) to give directly to General Fund
  2. “benevolence” to give to Benevolence (Deacons fund)
  3. “van” to give to Van Fund
  4. “special” to give to other designated Special Offering
  5. “kc” to give to Kingdom Congregations
  6. “outreach” to give to Urban Missionary Mark Essenburg
  7. “mission” to give to Missions Fund
  8. “efw” to give to Empowered for Witness

Check:

Make checks out to “Gold Avenue Church” and mail to: Gold Avenue Church, 49 Gold Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504. If for a special offering, designate as such in the memo line.

Cash:

Give in person in the offering box at church, if for a special offering, place in an envelope and write intended fund on the envelope. 

PayPal:

(you can also designate or set up recurring gifts) https://www.paypal.com/donate/…

Online bill pay through your bank – ask for more info on how to set up .

Please note that the church pays small fees to use the following services:

Online & Text: 2.9% + $0.30/transaction for Credit/Debit Card payments or 1% + $0.25/transaction for ACH payments.

PayPal: 2.2% + $0.30/transaction for Credit/Debit Card payments.

Check, Cash, Online Bill Pay: No fees!

Thank you for your generosity in giving!

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