Rev. Brian D. Hunter’s Response to Reopening of Houses of Worship.

Hello BMZ Family,  In the midst of what is going on in our nation and our world I trust that you are still holding on and still believing that God is still on the throne.  I wanted to take a moment just to share my heart and some concerns in light of recent events in our city from a few local pastors,  and comments made by the President regarding the reopening of houses of worship. 

One of the metaphors that is used for the office of the Pastor is that of a shepherd.  One of the principle functions of the shepherd is to PROTECT the sheep.   As the shepherd of THIS house we will not be opening our church this Sunday.  The truth of the matter is I do not know when it will be,  but it will not be this week.  We will still continue to wait and see how things develop.  I don’t think this is the right time for several reasons.  So as for me and my house our doors will remain closed until further notice and development. 

As the shepherd my first priority is safety of our members.  I have conferred with medical professionals,  our staff, and we have concluded it would not be the optimal time to come back together.  Many of you have heard stories and reports of churches that have come back together and as a result people were infected and in some cases have died.  I would never want anything like that to happen to any of our members as a result of gathering too soon.  So I put love over the law and choose to keep the doors closed until I deem it safe to reopen and gather again.  

I have declared since day one of this pandemic that the church BUILDING may be closed but the church is still open.  We are the church. I am happy to report that we have still been able to supply ministry, and carry out the things the church should be doing.  We have been able to maintain the teaching and preaching of God’s word, people have been saved, people are still joining our church.  We have reached people literally from around the world,  people we may not reached had we just been in the building.  We have made sure our members, especially our seniors, and others in need are taken care of and checked on.  Wherever there has been a need we have done our level best to fulfill it.  Many of our ministries are still active and functioning,  many meeting via Zoom or some other kind of communication tool.  We have provided for and fed families and first responders.  We have still been doing what the church is supposed to do,  and that is serving people.

I encourage you to continue to pray for one another.  Please pray for your pastor and staff as we are led by the Lord as to our timing and strategy.  Thank you for the wonderful support of your church during a time like this.  We will get through this and know that trouble won’t last always!

In His Hands,
Pastor Brian D. Hunter 

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