Hey Team,

God is doing amazing things in our community and you're a part of it. This Covid-19 storm has concerned many of us but it has also encouraged us to strip away the layers that are not necessary for our lives. We're discovering what it means for the core of each of us to encounter the core of God. 

Many of us are simplifying our lives, spending quality time with those we love in person or through other means. Some of you have told me that you're now playing more board games as a family or going for more walks or scenic drives. In many aspects we're rediscovering what it is to be human. 

The early church and the persecuted church worldwide has often found herself in lockdown and unable to meet publicly. Despite these limits, the church has typically grown and thrived out of these kinds of circumstances and we are no different. Even though our lockdown is not from persecution it has still forced us to come to grips with what it means to truly follow Jesus and reinvent how to do this together when we can't gather in person. I’m so proud of how each of you are stepping up to the plate.

Please take a moment to read through the important updates below and please continue to keep your eyes and your hope fixed on Jesus. Folks, we are coming up on Easter week! The resurrection of Jesus Christ! He got up! He paid the ultimate price for our sins and through the resurrection He broke the power of sin, death, and the devil. We have so much to celebrate!

“See” you this weekend.
Keep shining,
Mark
Urgent Need for N95 Masks and Gowns!
Our local hospitals are beginning to run out of personal protective equipment for our amazing nurses and doctors serving on the front lines. We are putting out an URGENT CALL for anyone who may have these items to donate:
  • Unused N95 masks
  • Unused isolation cover gowns 
  • Please drop off these donations in the main lobby of the church building TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY, April 5 between 9AM-5PM.
Connecting Online
I encourage you to continue to visit our website for the weekend services and daily devotionals , and to peruse all of the online ministries available for you and your family. Familiarize yourself with our new home page which provides easy access to all of the opportunities to connect and grow.

The last three weeks have been a huge undertaking for our staff as everything has transitioned to a digital platform and we’ve moved to Zoom, email, and old fashioned phone calls to make sure that church life not only moves ahead but that we all  thrive . You'll be noticing changes from week to week as we continue to get better at this and we are always open to suggestions. I’m excited to start an online midweek Bible study in the book of Philippians - more info on that will be coming soon.

Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter
As we come into this weekend, we enter Easter week! Even though we can't meet on the beach or at the church for fabulous celebrations in person, this is still going to be a significant week for all of us to celebrate the resurrection and we're going to do our part to make it special. 

Don't miss the Palm Sunday service this weekend. Go out and cut down a palm frond for each of your kids and watch the service together. There will be an opportunity to celebrate communion during the service this weekend as well. We encourage you to bust out some bread or crackers and some grape juice or something similar and follow along from home as we all celebrate the Lord's supper together. And in this time of hardship for everyone, don't forget to give . This is a time where our giving is needed more than ever.

We are also planning an online Good Friday service for April 10 and we will have a wonderful celebration online for Easter weekend (April 11-12). 

Helping Others - Response to COVID-19
Many of you have expressed a heart to help out in some way. If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out this form and our team will follow up with you. We are mobilizing volunteers to help meet needs within our church body and we’re also linking up with organizations like Bread of Life, Fill A Belly, San Diego Rescue Mission, other local churches and more to meet needs within our community.  Sign up to volunteer or make a donation to our Benevolence Fund (which provides support for our NCCC family) or to our Emergency Relief Fund (which provides support for our greater community).