3/16/20 Update

Since the County of San Mateo and the State of California have called for all citizens to shelter in place, until further notice, we will no longer be holding servcies, meetings, or any events at the church and the church offices are closed until further notice.  We ask that you not come by the church for any reason, unless you have called ahead and arranged for entrance to the church from someone on staff. The reason being, that we have people who are coming to the church to work on various necessary tasks who need to be protected from the virus.  We are still cleaning the church regularly and disinfecting all doors and surfaces so that critical administrative work can be done in safety.  
Our updated ministry information is below:

• All worship services will be performed with a small team per State guidelines and will be done either by live-stream or pre-recorded so that you can worship at home.  You can visit our Services page to view our worship services.  
• Youth ministry events are proceeding online and you can learn more by looking at our Youth Ministry page for more information.  
• We are currently working on preparing for continuing our Wedensday Night Bible study online and we'll soon have more information for you about how you can participate.  Please check back regularly on our Wednesday Bible Study page. 

3/14/20 Update

I wanted to update everyone on some decisions we've made as a church leadership regarding the coronavirus (Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease has spread globally since 2019, resulting in the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.  The San Mateo County Health Department has issued a new statement (3/14) guiding organizations to now limit meetings to "essential gatherings of no more than 50" only.  They are allowing us to determine which gatherings/meetings as any group of 10 or more people within the same space.  They are granting a exceptions for "places of worship for purposes of conducting religious services or ceremonies."

Eventhough we are exempt from the 50 person limit, we normally don't have more than 50 people per service.  In addition, we are mandated to comply with all of the county regulations about social distancing, disinfecting of surfaces, and removing commonly touched items.  We have put in place all of these procedures.  We are also currently working to enable us to hold services online next Sunday (3/22), and we are evaluating Mid-week events.

We DO believe that our meeting together as a church is essential for the spiritual growth of the body of Christ, here at FBC. However, we have also determined that we should take the following steps and put a hold on the following meetings.

- Nonessential meetings (Elder Board and Leadership meetings) are cancelled for now.

- FBC Youth Group, Tuesday nights, will be re-evalutated for this week, and if held, will be limited in it's activity to minimize contact between students, and will be re-evaluated by the end of the week.

- Wednesday Night Bible study re-evalutated for this week, and if held, will be limited in it's activity to minimize contact between participants, and and will be re-evaluated by the end of the week.

- Awana Wednesday night ministry will be put on hold for now.  Ron and Cathy have been in touch with the families involved in this ministry and they have a plan to continue remotely.

- Worship choir will be put on hold for now.

- All other events and meetings scheduled for later in the month will be tentative based on the spread of the virus over the next few weeks.  

- Sunday Worship services, Adult Bible study, Youth at 11:00am, and children's programs for 9:30am (not 11:00 am) will continue for now, implementing the changes that we've outlined on the FBC webpage and previous post. 
(We advise you to not come to church if you are sick or have any simptoms.  If you are well and choose to come to church, please do not shake hands, hug, or make physical contact with others.  We'll suspend all activities that involve touching common services: coffee/donuts, offering bag, bulletins, etc).  And we have been thoroughly disinfecting all surfaces throughout the church on a weekly basis. (sanctuary pews in between services)

Since the numbers of infected in SM County seem to be increasing and the time period of the potency of this virus is the way it is, the events that are still happening may be cancelled or curtailed very soon as well.  We will continue to seek the Lord for His guidance and wisdom as to how we proceed.  We are confident that the Lord is in control and will give us wisdom through this time.  It is our desire to serve our community and not put people at risk, therefore we will be evaluating any and all events in the future.  We are confident that the Lord is working in all this to bring glory to Himself and that we can shine the light of Christ as we follow Him.