Opening the Doors

The time has come to meet again. We are planning to open the doors for in-person worship services again this Sunday, May 24, 2020.  We want to do our best to proceed cautiously as we all know that the virus is still being spread and more people are undergoing testing every day. Some of what we do, therefore, will have to be altered a little or changed all together. But thanks be to God, He is never-changing, and we can worship Him together in person again.

Now for the precautions…

First of all, we will not be having Sunday school classes meet before the morning worship. Neither will we be serving lunch after. We plan to reinstate both of these eventually, but we will do so gradually and cautiously. For now, we will also keep the coffee bar closed on Sunday morning. We are planning to have a doorman present to limit the number of hands sharing the door handle, and we will have hand sanitizer available just inside the door.  Masks are not required, nor discouraged. And we’re going to ask folks to move through the foyer so as not to create close-quarter congestion.  We have spread out the chairs to accommodate some social distancing, and we will encourage everyone to say “Hi” and “Howdy” from their seats.

Please keep in mind that we are all trying to navigate this pandemic as best we can. Some of your brothers and sisters may not be as cautious as you are and some may not be as comfortable getting back in to public settings.  Let’s purpose to love each other enough to not cross any boundaries that might offend someone and to forgive when ours might be crossed.  If you feel like what is best for you and your family is to stay home, we will still be streaming live on Facebook as usual. If you have symptoms or are waiting on test results for COVID19, please stay home and join us via the live stream (and let us know so that we can be praying for you). If you have any other concerns or recommendations regarding all of these things, please send me an email or text, or give me a phone call. I value all of the input and guidance I receive would be glad to have all of our bases covered and we get back together.

JP Jobe

Feed the Hospitals - Update 4/18

First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE SPEEDY AND POSITIVE RESPONSE!!!

I want to let everyone know that we have a good amount coming in for most categories, but there's still room if you've been waiting to see where the needs are. 

After several good questions and suggestions, I wanted to update you on a few items.

1. Veggies... We renamed the "Vegetarian Option" to "Non-starch / Vegetarian Option." I think what we are going for in this category is something that will add color and flavor variety to the meal. Several of you had offered a type of vegetable salad that fits really well with this category, so we moved it over. (Go take a look at what's listed to get some ideas of what fits in that category) We could still add 1 or 2 pans if you'd like to make something in that department. 

2. Pans... We have purchased some aluminum pans through some donations that came in, so you can pick up a pan (or 2) at the church to prepare your food in (or we can deliver). We thought it might help with the delivery and service if we had similarly sized pans. (I will be at the church Sunday morning by 9:30am and will likely stay until 12:45 if you'd like to get pans tomorrow)

3. Delivery... If you are preparing something that needs to be refrigerated and would like to deliver early, you can bring it to the church Tuesday (I will let you know a time window soon.) and we will make space in the fridge there. If your dish needs to be warmed, we have some limited oven space to do that for you, so please let us know early that you will need us to do that. If so, you can also deliver Tuesday and we will reheat Wednesday morning.  If it needs neither heating nor refrigeration, you can also deliver Tuesday at the church and we will collect it with the other dishes as well.  If you plan to bring it Wednesday morning, we will be leaving the church at 9:00am to meet Richard and go make deliveries to the hospitals.  (I think that will be the simplest way to handle it. Let me know if you have other questions.)

4. Funds... We have had several donations come in. If you need money to participate, don't hesitate to ask; it has already been given and we'd like to put it to use.

5. Cards... We want everyone who participates to sign cards for the staff at each hospital.  Those will be available at the church during designated drop off times, so don't forget to sign the card! 

6. Needs... We are estimating the amounts coming in as best we can. From the look of things, we could probably still use a little more in each of the Beans, Potatoes, and Other Veggie categories. It looks like we will be good on Desserts and Water.  Visit the list here to see where it stands now.  I have also added a category for a couple of people to help with delivery Wednesday morning. 

Again, let me say THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping with this! Let me know if you have any other questions or suggestions.

JP Jobe,
Pastor to the best people on earth!

Feed the Hospitals

Being a part of the body of Christ often calls for us to come together to accomplish something bigger than any one of us could do alone. I'm sure during this time of pandemic and quarantine we have all felt thankful for the men and women working in our hospitals and would like to do something to show our appreciation. One of our members had an idea that I believe we can all get behind.

We are going to be preparing a meal for the staff at two local hospitals (in Winnsboro and Pittsburg). The hospital in Winnsboro has 60 members of its staff and the one in Pittsburg has 120, so we are looking to feed 180 people in total. This is where being part of a church comes in handy. Together we can do more than we could alone. We are going to cook BBQ Brisket and provide buns, and we need your help to provide sides and desserts and bottled water. We have set up a spreadsheet for people to sign up in the following categories: Baked Beans, Potato Salad (or other potato dish), Vegetarian Option, Dessert, and Bottled Water. We are asking that you put your name and the number of servings you plan to prepare below the categories you would like to help with.

Click here or copy this link to visit our spreadsheet and sign up to participate in feeding the hospital staff.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18SHL_AYqnGhyJY1wrTtwaNGErNii2k8gZdnk0raT4K8/edit?usp=sharing

To have it ready for lunch on Wednesday, we need to have everything ready to go from Richard and Eveleen Moss's house by 9:30am on Wednesday, April 22. We can make any necessary arrangements for pick up or delivery if you let us know in time. (Reply to this email or call JP: 903-348-9764)

Also, if you are not able to prepare food, but would like to donate funds; OR if you want to prepare food, but can't afford the extra expense, LET ME KNOW - this is what being part of the body of Christ is all about. We will make sure everyone has the opportunity help however they are able.

We will try to share as much as we can as plans develop, please look for updates in your email. And don't hesitate to call JP if you have any questions, need to make arrangements, need assistance, or just need to talk. (903) 348-9764.

For His Glory,
JP Jobe - Pastor
Good Hope Family Fellowship

COVID-19 Response

I hope you are well and I am trusting the Lord to see us through all of this.  Romans 8:28 assures us that even this outbreak will be used by God to bring about His ultimate plan and purpose. I’ve read the back of the Book, we’ll come out on top.  In the meantime, we labor through the ups and downs and seek to serve our community in the best way we can.  Due to the information provided by the CDC and Texas HHS, it seems one way we can serve our community is to avoid gatherings of more than 10. Therefore, we are encouraging everyone to tune in to our Sunday service from home through our Facebook Live video. There will be a link to our Facebook page on our website (GHFF.net) or you can go straight to facebook.com/goodhopeff/videos.  We will begin the broadcast at 11:00am Sunday with a 5-minute countdown, then Keitron and I will lead you in worship through song and word like we do every Sunday. I hope you will be blessed as you tune in and that this will tide us over until the situation improves and we can meet face to face again.

Just a couple of technical notes: first, you DO NOT have to have a Facebook account to view the videos. Just follow the links, our page is public and viewable from any internet connected device. Second, you will likely have to scroll down the page a bit to find the video.  Look for the “LIVE” indicator on the video, or you may end up watching a service from a previous week (if you see yourself in the seats, it’s an old video). Thirdly, the 5-minute countdown window is to provide time to work out technical issues, on our end as well as yours. If it’s not up immediately give it a minute, if you’re still concerned it’s not working, try checking in with others to see if theirs is working.  We will do our best to start on time and be ready to address any problems that may arise.  Lastly, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE SUNDAY OR WOULD LIKE ADVICE ON HOW TO BE READY TO WATCH, PLEASE CALL ME OR TEXT ME.  I will be more than happy to answer any of your questions.

Also I’d like to share with you is this video from YouTube.  I think he has a lot of good thoughts about how to apply Christian principles to our current situation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg-q7QO3Vrw. 

Finally, if you HAVE needs, let us know. We’ve got your back. If you SEE needs, let us know. We want to help.

Praying His blessings on us all,

JP Jobe