Dear faithful Angelus Temple members,

As of now, we are all aware of the news of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It is impacting every part of our nation and world in profound ways. We continue to pray for our nation and God’s protection upon those being impacted here and abroad. The mission of Angelus Temple and the Dream Center has always been to stand out as a light for Christ in not only good times but challenging ones as well. My Sunday sermon reflected a nudge in my spirit about the challenge ahead of us. We are seeing that challenge unfold right before our eyes. What do we do from here? As a church, it’s our time to shine brighter than ever. This season is certainly different from any other one because it’s one where we are determined to make the greatest impact for Christ while moving forward with wisdom and caution.

Both can be accomplished! We have been blessed with the opportunity as a church to house one of the largest food banks in the city to help during this time. There is a possibility that schools could be canceled and many children who depend on school lunches will no longer be fed. The good news is that we have the capacity to mobilize one of the biggest outreach armies to stand in the gap for our city and feed the masses. We are ready to express the love of God in many ways during this hard time. Only a powerful, thriving campus like the Dream Center and its faithful members at Angelus Temple can accomplish this great task!

I love our church, I love you, and I’m so proud of the faithfulness of our members. Many are wondering what is going to happen with church services going forward. As of now, all services including Thursday, March 12th, will go on as normal. We are working hand in hand with the city’s guidelines regarding public meetings. If the city limits our crowd gathering size to 1,000, for example, we could temporarily add another Sunday morning service. As of now, however, we have received no word on any such restrictions so services will continue at normal times. Everything will go on as normal unless we are notified of any changes. We will remain in full compliance regarding any city requirements moving forward. We encourage everyone who is sick to please stay home.

We are also enforcing that with all the residential programs at the Dream Center and overseers will make sure that residents are healthy before coming to church. Additionally, we ask that you be sensitive to the concern of others regarding shaking hands, high fives, or any hand touching. We understand that some might want to stay home from church during this time and we encourage you to watch the live stream of the service at angelustemple.org.

One last thing— these are challenging times for the church. I encourage everyone, whether you’re coming to church or staying home, to continue to be faithful in giving. Businesses have the luxury of financial bailouts during tough seasons. Ministries like ours don’t have that safety net, but we do have something even better…. GOD’S PEOPLE. You can still give at angelustemple.org should you choose to give online or you can bring your offering to church. We will keep you updated as this thing continues to change. You can also check our social media pages @angelustemplela for updates.

Keep praying for the church and our mission to bring a spotlight of God’s grace during this challenging time. I’m also praying for you, your families, and protection every single day.
Thank you for being a book of ACTS church and for your commitment to the greatest cause of all—the cause of Christ.

Pastor Matthew Barnett