REGATHERING AT THE GROVE:
We're excited to be able to see our worship center once again populated with family and friends ready to experience the power of being physically together to celebrate the presence of God. We want you to be completely ready for what worship will be like when we re-enter the campus on Sunday, July 5, 2020. Although we are still fighting a pandemic and our world has changed so much in the past 3 months, we are striving to make coming onto the campus of Hickory Grove SAFE, SIMPLE, and AWESOME!
We will be offering 3 time slots for gathering on campus for worship starting Sunday, July 5 - 8:00 AM, 9:15 AM, and 10:30 AM (and we are ready to add a fourth time slot at 11:45 AM if we reach capacity in the other 3 services - watch our Facebook and Instagram pages as well as church e-mail for that announcement). These new times will allow us to maximize our “limited” capacity while also providing plenty of time for cleaning in between the services. THE SERVICE THAT WE WILL BE LIVE STREAMING IS 10:30 AM, so for those worshiping from home, remember that this is 30 minutes later than our usual time. Each service will last 30-40 minutes long and will be SAFE, SIMPLE & AWESOME.
SAFE
SIMPLE
Okay, so here is how simple it will be for you to attend a worship experience on the campus of Hickory Grove at 11969 Taylor Mill Road, Independence, KY…
AWESOME
A message from Pastor Bill:
Our church family and our world have gone through something like never before these past 3 months. I am reminded of the tornado that tore through our area in 2012. In many ways, we are having to rebuild life experiences in a new and different way because what life was like before has been torn apart. Still today, when I drive through Piner, KY, I see new houses and barns and roofs where I clearly can remember rubble used to be. I’m reminded that the silver lining in destruction is the beauty and new-ness of the stuff we build to replace it. Hickory Grove was planted by God in 1800. He knew that we would be where we are right now in the midst of this pandemic. And He plans to use us to be His hands and feet to those around us here in Northern KY. We will continue to do whatever it takes to eradicate lostness by helping every person take their next step with Jesus. What is your next step? I hope that it involves KEEPING! KEEP worshiping, whether you do it from home on-line or back on our campus. And I hope you will strive to KEEP being the #ChurchDeployed by loving your neighbors and letting Jesus shine through you wherever you go and whatever you do or say. We, the Church, are re-entering the building, but a building we are NOT! We are a body. HIS body. So let’s keep being that!
We will be offering 3 time slots for gathering on campus for worship starting Sunday, July 5 - 8:00 AM, 9:15 AM, and 10:30 AM (and we are ready to add a fourth time slot at 11:45 AM if we reach capacity in the other 3 services - watch our Facebook and Instagram pages as well as church e-mail for that announcement). These new times will allow us to maximize our “limited” capacity while also providing plenty of time for cleaning in between the services. THE SERVICE THAT WE WILL BE LIVE STREAMING IS 10:30 AM, so for those worshiping from home, remember that this is 30 minutes later than our usual time. Each service will last 30-40 minutes long and will be SAFE, SIMPLE & AWESOME.
SAFE
- We are encouraging everyone who who is at risk, who is experiencing any illness symptoms, or who is just still a bit nervous about all of this to continue to worship safely from home. It’s our top priority to continue to have a high-quality, engaging, LIVE STREAMING worship experience on-line. So join us at 10:30 a.m. (new time) each Sunday by going to the main page of this website and clicking on the link to Facebook or YouTube.
- Pick out your favorite mask and bring it with you to wear on campus. Don’t worry. It won’t be weird. Most everyone else will be wearing one too, including all our staff and volunteers.
- Our volunteer team will help you know where to go from the moment you enter our parking lot. They will be wearing a shirt that makes them easy to identify, so if you have any questions at all, don’t be afraid to ask.
- You will always be entering a facility that has been cleaned and disinfected before you arrive. To help us with that, our doors will not open for the next batch of worshipers till 10 minutes before the start time. So no need to get to campus too early.
- We have plenty of hand sanitizer, and we even have extra disposable masks on hand in case you don’t have one or forgot yours.
- We are going to postpone serving coffee until we make sure we are in a good groove with this “new normal.”
- Our restrooms are open and available for one person to use at a time, and we will clean the area after each use.
- We have reconfigured the chairs in our worship center to ensure good social distancing. Our volunteer team will help your party find their seats. We will keep 3 SEATS empty between each “party” of worshipers. That equals 6 feet.
- We will only be utilizing the WORSHIP CENTER on our campus. Since there are plenty of handicap ramps and 3 entrances into the center, foot traffic into and out of the building will be safe and efficient.
- Until further notice, there will not be any Life Groups meeting on campus on Sunday mornings. This will allow us to keep things safe and simple as we re-enter the campus for worship.
- Because we are still learning how to safely and effectively do childcare during this pandemic, Grove Kids will not be launching for at least the first month of us re-entering the campus. And Grove Youth Small Groups are currently happening “at home” off-campus rather than on-campus.
SIMPLE
Okay, so here is how simple it will be for you to attend a worship experience on the campus of Hickory Grove at 11969 Taylor Mill Road, Independence, KY…
- Go back to the homepage of this site and register your “party” for one of our worship days and times. If you do not have on-line access, simply call (859) 356-3162, ext. 10 to reserve your spot. We will be using Eventbrite as our platform for making reservations on-line. Reserving your spot is FREE and you don’t have to print off a ticket and bring it with you. We will be expecting you and will be ready to welcome you when you arrive. To start things off, we are going to have a 70 person capacity. So if the Sunday and time slot is already filled, you can choose another time slot or another Sunday ahead of time to reserve your seats at The Grove.
- Then just show up (no more than 10 minutes early) and let our volunteers help you find your seat.
- IT’S THAT SIMPLE!
AWESOME
- The worship experience, as it has been throughout the quarantine, will be geared for the whole family and for all ages. Because of this, kids will have an opportunity to grab a SWAG BAG to take with them to their seat. Inside the bag will be cool stuff to help them engage and interact with the worship experience. There will be an elementary and a preschool version of the SWAG BAG each week. For those choosing to continue to worship at home, you can pick up your SWAG BAG before Sunday so that your child can enjoy it at home while you watch the live stream on-line.
- We have prepared a room by the restrooms for nursing moms or crying kiddos that is clean, safe, and set up for social distancing.
- Our worship experience will last 30-40 minutes. That’s at least 20 minutes shorter than our gatherings back before the quarantine. But we will pack a lot of stuff into that time. Our worship experience will give all ages an opportunity to acknowledge the reality of God’s presence, hear from God’s word, and take a next step with Jesus, all in a celebrative environment.
A message from Pastor Bill:
Our church family and our world have gone through something like never before these past 3 months. I am reminded of the tornado that tore through our area in 2012. In many ways, we are having to rebuild life experiences in a new and different way because what life was like before has been torn apart. Still today, when I drive through Piner, KY, I see new houses and barns and roofs where I clearly can remember rubble used to be. I’m reminded that the silver lining in destruction is the beauty and new-ness of the stuff we build to replace it. Hickory Grove was planted by God in 1800. He knew that we would be where we are right now in the midst of this pandemic. And He plans to use us to be His hands and feet to those around us here in Northern KY. We will continue to do whatever it takes to eradicate lostness by helping every person take their next step with Jesus. What is your next step? I hope that it involves KEEPING! KEEP worshiping, whether you do it from home on-line or back on our campus. And I hope you will strive to KEEP being the #ChurchDeployed by loving your neighbors and letting Jesus shine through you wherever you go and whatever you do or say. We, the Church, are re-entering the building, but a building we are NOT! We are a body. HIS body. So let’s keep being that!