​Hi Fellow Parents!
As we prepare to resume in-person worship this Sunday, you may be slightly freaked out at the thought of having your kids sit through an entire worship service.  Rest assured. Your kids will not be the only ones acting like kids. For an example of this, please go back and watch last week’s live stream, where you can see my son pick his nose and wipe it on my shirt and later disappear underneath the pew chairs until I attempt to pull him out.
​
Although I have clearly not mastered the art of eliciting perfect behavior from preschoolers (or elementary students), I would like to offer a few ideas for helping your kids genuinely participate in worship. After all, their spiritual growth and participation in church life is as vital as yours.

For those of you who do not plan to return to in-person worship services yet, most of these ideas will also be helpful for making the most of a livestream.

1. 1. Encourage your kids to join in singing. I’ve found it is easier to sing if you know the songs. To that end, we are planning to list the worship songs for each week in the e-newsletter that goes out on Wednesdays. I like to make a playlist of the songs as soon as I get them and then try to play them in the background once a day between Wednesday and Sunday (When I say “try,” I actually mean “forget about it until Saturday, and then play them four times to make up for it.” But playing them once a day would be great for you more organized people.) We also pick one of the songs as a family and sing it together for several days during our family worship time, so that our kids will have at least one song they are familiar with in the service.
   
2. 2. Encourage your kids to take notes during the sermon. Notes are more fun if they are in a special notebook, with a special pen (or markers!), or if they look like a comic strip. Drawing pictures is a wonderful form of notetaking. We plan to resume note-taking packets for the service soon, although you will probably need to print them at home. We are looking at making them available as a download from our website and sending the link out in our church announcements. We also hope to add a packet for younger children.
   
3. 3. Have your kids bring their Bibles. Consider bookmarking the passage ahead of time (this week is 1 Samuel 13-14). Those who can read will be able to follow along. Those who can’t will still feel like they’re following along. I let my kids use a highlighter to highlight the sentence or verse that stands out the most to them in the sermon. Then, we talk about what we highlighted and why (yes, I do it, too!). This means that my youngest has highlighted the entire chapters of 1 Samuel 11-13, line by line. It makes him feel like a “big kid;” it keeps him quiet; it develops his fine motor muscles; it makes his Bible special; and he usually wants me to read to him what he highlighted. I’d say that’s a win.
   
4. 4. Pick a quiet activity your kids can do when they’re not doing any of the above things, and make that activity “Sunday only.” I personally really like sticker-by-number books (also called paint-by-sticker). My kids are allowed to do one picture each week (so they don’t use up the whole book too fast). Melissa and Doug make some of these as well as other sticker activities that would be great for worship services. My rule for activities during the worship service is that my kids ears still have to be listening even if their hands are busy (so I stray away from reading books and playing on screens, other than letting my youngest push numbers on my phone’s calculator).
   
5. 5. Give your kids a snack and have them use the bathroom right before you leave home. Being physically comfortable makes it a lot easier to sit still!
   
6. 6. Relax. This is a difficult time for everyone, including kids. I think most of us recognize that. No one should think badly of you as a parent because your kids don’t know how to behave during a global pandemic when they’re asked to go back to a church service they haven’t been to in three months. But if someone is critical, try to give that person grace, too. Stress tends to bring out the sin in sinners. God is giving you an opportunity. An opportunity to be compassionate. An opportunity to listen. An opportunity to forgive. An opportunity to please God rather than man. An opportunity to love your neighbor…and your kids. Let’s not expect perfection from anyone but Jesus.
   

Times of transition are difficult. But God uses transitions to get us where He wants us to be. How will He use this transition to help your family grow closer to Him? How will He use this to make discipling your children a priority for you?
We’re in this together.
 
Melissa Cutrera

Although we have sent out email reminders, we wanted a more visual way to let you know how we are going to safely phase back into worshiping in person.

The below PDF shows our current plan. As always, let us know if you have any questions.

The PMC Steps for Life will still be May 16th, but will be a bit different. The video below from Tammy Leake will explain.

Dear Church Family,

   In the midst of this hard and stressful time in our world, we have new opportunities to minister and care for the people in our community. One new opportunity is making homemade masks that our local hospital workers can use if/when they run out of medical grade masks. They are on the front line against the virus and it’s good to be reminded that God has not abandoned them in this dark time. Supplying masks also brings honor to the name of Jesus.  Davis Hospital is accepting any design. They prefer the mask have a slit between the two layers of cotton fabric so they can add a filter if needed. This slit is not necessary for them to accept the mask. The masks can have either elastic or strings to tie.  Click here for a link to the mask design.

   For delivering the masks, we want the hospital workers to know we love them and are praying for them. But hospitals are also high-risk places to be because that’s where the really sick patients are going to get treatment. Right now, to limit the number of people that are put in the higher risk environments, we are asking one person from each life group, group of friends, or other group that would like to participate to gather the masks made to take them to Davis Hospital. (The Utah government website says items are not being accepted, but Davis Hospital has confirmed they are accepting homemade masks).  This person needs to be over 18 years old to comply with the hospital’s visitor restrictions. We also want to advise against those 60+ and people with pre-existing conditions, like diabetes, respiratory condition, cancer, immune compromised, heart disease, COPD, or other conditions that put individuals at higher risk from being the person to deliver the masks. Davis Hospital is accepting the donations at the main entrance, which should be on the south side of the building. The address is 1600 Antelope Dr, Layton, UT 84041. Donations are welcome 6 am-6 pm, Monday-Friday. Please make sure to mention that you are with Mountain View Baptist Church.  If you are comfortable, consider taking the time to ask the person receiving the masks if you can pray for them and the hospital - just pray from 6 feet away :).  Alternatively, you may drop masks off at the church office during normal office hours, and someone from MVBC will take the masks over to the hospital for you.

   We will be in contact with the hospital in the coming days and weeks to see if there are other needs we can fill.  What a great opportunity to show the love of Jesus to our neighbors.

“For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.’... “And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’”
Matthew 25:35-36,40 (HCSB)

             Rachel Cress & Pastor Charles

                        Update - 3/26

Hey everyone,

    Concerns were raised about whether or not Davis Hospital would still be accepting homemade masks. After talking this morning with the contact I was given at Davis Hospital, they are currently still accepting masks. However, the situation is rapidly changing and other hospitals have made statements saying they are not accepting masks anymore. At this time I think it would be appropriate to make an update to the statement made by the church. The update could go something along the lines of:

    ‘The situation surrounding the virus is rapidly changing. As of the morning of 3-26-2020, Davis Hospital is still accepting homemade masks. However, this may change. If the hospital refuses the masks when a donation is trying to be made, please be understanding and still offer to pray for the hospital and people you are talking with.

    We will continue to keep our church family up to date as we receive new information. We are looking into new places that may need masks if the hospital starts declining donations.

    I think it would be prudent to start looking into either assisted living, nursing homes, or other places with vulnerable populations that would benefit from receiving homemade masks. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate or ideas as to how to go forward in this mission opportunity, I’m sure we would all be excited to hear them!

    In Christian love,
    Rachel Cress

Many North American cities could reasonably be called pre-Christian. Even in the traditional “Bible Belt” Christianity is being pushed to the margins. In the midst of this, God is bringing the nations to our shores and offering unprecedented opportunities for the gospel.
The Church in North America is also the primary source for funding and sending missionaries, so the spiritual health of North America impacts mission work around the globe.
At the North American Mission Board, we see a mission field that needs the hope of the gospel. With your partnership, we’re committed to taking this hope to cities, small towns and college campuses.
Your prayers and gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® provide support for thousands of missionaries. These men and women are planting new churches in unreached communities and meeting needs through compassion ministries. Every day, lives are being impacted and transformed.
The needs are great, but the living hope of Christ is greater. Thank you for reaching out with hope to your own community and for your passionate support for North American Missions.

Youth Movie Night is Saturday, February 8th from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. We will be watching the film “OVERCOMER” from the creators of War Room. Pizza,  popcorn, soda, and candy available for all attendees and the price of admission is free. All youth, grade 7 – 12, are welcome and encouraged to attend with a friend! If you would like tickets, please see Pastor Charles or any of your Youth Student Leaders.