A Plan for Meeting Together Again

Basic Plan

• Beginning Sunday, June 7, we will be having in-person worship services.
• We will have two services to enable safe distancing.
  • 9:00am-10:15am - 1st Service
  • 11:00am-12:15pm - 2nd Service
• We will also continue live streaming our 11:00am service on YouTube.
• We will not be having Children’s Ministry classes.
• We are limiting to 175 persons in the auditorium and 25 in the multipurpose room.

General Health Screening

If you or a family member have experienced any recent symptoms, such as: fever in the last 48 hours, a cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, experienced new loss of taste, vomiting, or diarrhea in the last 24 hours, then we are requesting that you remain at home until you are free of these symptoms. In addition, if you have been in close proximity with anyone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, we request that you remain at home for two weeks after exposure (unless you are able to be tested and are negative). In general, if you or members of your family are ill, please remain at home.

Basic Safety Protocols

• We are asking everyone to practice Safe Distancing (around 6 feet) between households. This is slightly farther apart than we are accustomed to being in normal conversations. Remember that 1) you may have the virus and not know it; 2) it is spread from you through the air/vapor that you breathe out; and 3) putting sufficient distance between you and others makes it less likely they will contract the virus from you.
• Regularly wash your hands. We also have hand sanitizer readily available.

Masks

• We are not requiring masks, though we encourage them in situations where safe distancing is not practical. We are doing our best to enable safe distancing at our services so that wearing masks is not necessary.
• We realize there are many opinions about wearing masks. However, remember that wearing masks need not represent fear, but rather love for others as you seek to prevent spreading COVID-19 to others in the event that you have COVID-19 and don’t know it.

Live Streaming on YouTube

We will continue live streaming our service on YouTube. We will be streaming the 2nd Service (11:00-12:15). You can access the sermon manuscript and live stream video at https://sgcapex.org/live. We realize that there are different levels of comfort with beginning to meet together. We expect to continue live streaming into the future even after COVID-19 is no longer an issue.

Multiple Services and Sunday Schedule

• 8:00 am - Worship Team Rehearsal and Sound Check
• 8:00 am - Prayer Meeting available on Zoom (check church calendar for link)
• 8:50 am - Front doors open for entering the building
• 9:00-10:15 am - 1st Service
• 10:15-11:00 am - Clear the building and clean before the second service
• 10:50 am - Front doors open for the 2nd Service
• 11:00 am - 12:15 pm - 2nd service

What will be different in the services?

• This schedule means that our services will be shorter than our normal 2 hours.
• We are limiting to 175 persons in the auditorium and 25 in the multipurpose room.
• We will shorten slightly the time of singing and the sermon.
• We do anticipate sharing the Lord’s Table together soon. We will have slightly different procedures for handing out the bread and cup to avoid passing plates and reaching into a plate of crackers and touching lots of them.
• The prophecy mic will be available. You will not need to share with an elder beforehand, but an elder will guide you as to when you should share.
• We may or may not have a closing song based on the time.
• After the services, you will be instructed to exit the front doors toward the parking lot and clear the auditorium so that it can be cleaned before the second service.
• We will not be having the prayer team down front after the services.

Parking and Entering/Exiting the Building

• There are no changes to our parking procedures.
• Greeters will greet you outside the building at the main front doors (which will be propped open).
• An usher will point you to one of the doors in the auditorium. You will be asked to move directly into the auditorium unless you need to use the restroom.
• Ushers will be seating people from front to back in the auditorium. They will guide you to the next available seats. We are asking families to sit together and to maintain safe distance from other families. Please follow their instructions as they are working to ensure safe distancing and efficient seating for everyone. We have removed every other row of chairs, and ask that you leave 2-3 seats between your family and another.
• We ask that you stay at your seats until the service is over and we dismiss out the exterior doors at the front of the auditorium.
• If you would like to use the restrooms before leaving, you may stay in your seats until your section is dismissed, and then exit through the lobby to the restrooms and go out the doors to the back yard.
• The kitchen and any classrooms or offices down the hall will be closed to traffic.
• You are invited to hang around and fellowship with others in the back yard after the service.
• The back doors will be locked, so if you need to re-enter the building, you’ll need to go through the front doors.

Before and After services

• The backyard is available for fellowship before and after the service.
• The Lobby will not be available for fellowship or socializing before or after the service.
• We are asking everyone to simply use the Lobby for getting to/from the auditorium, bathrooms, and/or the Multipurpose Room.

Children’s Ministry

• We will not have Children’s Ministry at this time (while we have two services).
• We are eager to begin Children's Ministry as soon as it can be done safely and as soon as we are confident the classes can be staffed with the appropriate volunteers.
• It could be as late as September before we begin CM Classes. We simply don’t know yet.

Lobby

• Families with young children will be able to be in the multipurpose room.
• We will not be serving refreshments (coffee and pastries) during this season.
• We will have bottled water available at the coffee stations for those who need it.

Infant Care Room

• The Infant Care Room will be available for nursing moms.

Multipurpose Room

• The Multipurpose Room will be set up as an overflow area (instead of the Lobby).
• During the 9:00am service, the multipurpose room is available only to those wearing masks.
• This space is intended for overflow if we have too many in the auditorium.
• It may also be used by families with young children.
• We will be showing the livestream in the Multipurpose room.

Bathrooms / Water Fountains

• The water fountains will be closed. Bottled water will be available at the coffee stations.
• The Ladies’ Bathroom will have one way traffic, entering through the hallway entrance, and exiting by the water fountains.
• For the men’s bathroom, guys will line up at the bookstore to keep the entry/exit open.

Backyard

• The backyard is available before and after the service for extended times of fellowship.
• We still ask that everyone take precautions for safe distancing.
• The back doors by the bathrooms are locked during the service, but the bathrooms will be available between services and after the second service.
• The playground and Gaga pit are currently closed.
• Parents are responsible for supervising their children.

Cleaning Protocols

• Gail Barnes is leading a team to handle cleaning between the services.
• Flat surfaces, door handles, and the bathrooms will be cleaned between the services with cleaning supplies approved for COVID-19.

How long will we follow this plan?

• The elders are eager to move back to one service as soon as we feel it is safe and appropriate to do so.
• At this point, we have not set a date for returning back to one service, but anticipate following the 2-service plan at least through June and July.

Other Details

Kids’ Clubs (Rangers and Keepers)

For the summer, our Kids’ Clubs will not be meeting. This follows our normal summer schedule for Kids’ Clubs (Rangers and Keepers).

Youth Ministry

The 7-8th Grade Youth Group, as well as the High School Youth Group will not be having in-person meetings during the first phase of the church meeting on Sundays again.

Office Hours

The church office is maintaining normal office hours at this time (Tuesday-Friday, 9am-5pm).