Some of us are now regathering on campus for worship. Some of us are continuing to worship online. Regardless of where and how we gather, we're still the church—in our homes, in our communities, in the world—and we're determined to worship, grow, connect, love our neighbors, and serve others in Jesus's name.
We'll keep you updated as things change and new information becomes available!
A Note from Pastor Tom about the Governor's New COVID-19 Measures
BABC Family,
You may have seen that Governor Northam announced New Statewide Measures to Contain COVID-19 on Friday, November 13, 2020, and you might be wondering how those measures could affect Bon Air Baptist Church.
The Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) confirmed Friday evening that the governor's 25-person limit on group gatherings does not apply to churches, workplaces, or schools. That means that Bon Air Baptist Church will operate as usual while continuing to follow the best practices and guidelines the governor previously outlined for churches including mandatory masks, social distancing, and rigorous cleaning of our worship spaces.
That being said, there are two items that have changed that we plan to incorporate:
The governor's mandate now requires everyone aged five and older to wear a mask in indoor public spaces (rather than age 10 as previously stated).
While the 25-person limit does not apply to worship services, it does apply to other church gatherings including events, weddings, and funerals.
Note that if you signed up for the Drive-Thru Thanksgiving Dinner Pick-Up, it's still on! It's not affected by the mandate because people will stay in their cars.
We're thankful that we can continue to meet on-campus while continuing to follow the guidelines and best practices that help keep all of our members, guests, and staff safe during this pandemic.
October 16, 2020 - I've received questions from a couple of folks regarding where Bon Air Baptist Church is in terms of the COVID phase we're in. We remain in Phase Two with some modifications. We're worshipping on campus, practicing social distancing in seating and traffic patterns, wearing masks, hand sanitizing, and we've added funerals, weddings, small gatherings of students and children events, and family movie nights on campus with all restrictions in place.
Some have said that if we would loosen restrictions, more would return to meet our capacity in each service. While that may be true, we feel it would not be prudent to “test” the waters in this season of concern over the seasonal flu and COVID together.
I hope you will celebrate with us that to date, we have had NO cases of COVID reported from any in-person attendance. We believe this is due to your diligence in keeping up with the safety precautions. As someone said early in this process, “Bon Air Baptist Church is one of the safest places on earth right now.”
We're working hard to keep this before us and not let down our guard. I want to honor our members, guests, and staff who come in good faith trusting that we are being safe.
Thank you for your patience and continued prayers for our staff as we strive to bring you quality worship and meaningful discipleship programming as we are living out our mission, “A Place to Belong… A Place To Become!”
And one final word...
A shout out to all our servant leaders who are teaching online and building community albeit virtually!
Pastor Tom Stocks
Lead Pastor
Bon Air Baptist Church
Thanks for your prayers. We've been praying for you, and we're excited and preparing to see many of you on campus soon.
Regathering Date
At this time, there is no set date when Phase Two (on-campus worship) will begin. Church Council will meet on again on Monday, June 15, 2020, to determine the actual date that we'll be regathering again. For now, Bon Air Baptist Church remains in Phase One.
Phase One (current status)
Campuses Closed to the Public Mon-Sun
Online Worship
Sunday Bible Study Online
Discipleship Classes Online
Church Meetings Online
Phase Two (date to be determined)
Campuses Closed to the Public Mon-Sat
Worship Held Onsite at 1/2 Capacity
Social Distancing (6 ft) Required
Masks Mandatory
Worship Online Continues
Sunday Bible Study, Discipleship Classes, and Meetings Continue Online Only
Church Council met Monday night (May 18, 2020) and adopted the following:
"The Council has received a draft phased plan from the church staff and endorsed it. The staff will continue to evaluate options and prepare the plan. The Council will take action to endorse a re-opening at a later date, once more is known. Until that time, we will continue the current operating approach with the buildings closed and services online."
Staff is already evaluating and implementing the specific items and requirements that we'll need to have in place so that we're prepared when we're ready to reopen (appropriate signage, social distancing marking, taping off no entry areas, shutting down water fountains, deep cleaning of sanctuary and commons, etc…).
Re-gathering Date
At this time, there is no set date when Phase Two (on-campus worship) will begin. It is a wait-and-see situation as we continue to evaluate options. In the meantime, we're thanking God for all of the creative ways we're able to stay connected for worship, discipleship, and loving the RVA.
COVID-19 Survey
As we navigate our way back to when we will be able to meet in person as a church family once again, we'd also like to hear from you. You're invited to complete an anonymous COVID-19 Survey through next Monday, May 25. If you haven't received the survey via a campus email, and would like to receive it, email connect@bonairbaptist.org.
An update from Bon Air Baptist Church Lead Pastor, Tom Stocks:
Governor's Statement
The Governor's latest phasing for religious gatherings states that as of May 15, 2020, churches may begin to hold services in person.
Church Council Decision
Church Council will be meeting on Monday, May 18, to determine the pathway forward for a Bon Air Baptist Church (BABC) re-gathering strategy.
We hope to be open as soon as possible, yet we also desire to be good stewards of your health and the health of those around us. We understand that every church is different in size and functioning and therefore BABC will choose its pathway forward respecting our unique culture and context.
Re-Opening Strategy & Restrictions
The strategy for re-gathering is not as simple as one may think. It will come as no surprise that there are restrictions that apply to a re-gathering strategy. To name a few:
Occupancy shall be limited to no more than 50% of the lowest occupancy load on the certificate of occupancy of the room or facility in which the religious services are conducted.
Individuals attending religious services must be seated at least six feet apart at all times and must practice physical distancing at all times. Family members, may be seated together. Mark seating in six-foot increments.
It is recommended that persons attending religious services be encouraged to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth at all times.
These are just three of nine restrictions and that are followed by a long list of “best-practices” suggestions.
All of this to say, Church Council will be patient and practice due diligence in preparing a re-gathering strategy that has several phases.
Current Operating Strategy
Until the announcement is made, we are still operating under the former strategy adopted (see below).
We are under an executive order form the Governor to "Stay At Home” to protect the health and safety of Virginians and mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19. The executive order currently remains in place until June 10, 2020.
The order directs all Virginians to stay home except in extremely limited circumstances. Individuals may leave their residence for allowable travel, including to seek medical attention, work, care for family or household members, obtain goods and services like groceries, prescriptions, and others as outlined in Executive Order Fifty-Three, and engage in outdoor activity with strict social distancing requirements.
Virginians are strongly encouraged to seek alternative means of attending religious services. Places of worship that do conduct in-person services must limit gatherings to 10 people to comply with the statewide 10-person ban.
We are thankful that the state continues to recognize faith practice as an essential service.
Our personnel team continues to support the following:
Church buildings will remain closed to all who are not on staff
Someone will be in the office Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. to receive calls, communications, mail, UPS, Fed Ex, etc.
Staff is encouraged to work from home as much as possible
We will limit staff in the building to 10 people
We will continue to expand our online and virtual discipleship as we continue to worship together online each week. We will continue to be the church!
Note: Due to COVID-19, our campuses are closed to the public during the week, but we're open for worship on-campus by reservation. RSVP for seats or join us online for worship and discipleship!
