Previous Updates

Wednesday, July 28, 2021, 11:00am

As we are all aware, COVID-19 has recently regained steam and the new Delta variant has been impacting our community with an increasing number of positive cases and hospitalizations. According to local doctors and public health officials offering counsel to our church leaders, the Delta variant is much more contagious and our community is currently experiencing very high levels of transmission due to this variant.

In response to this surge in cases, the CDC issued new guidance earlier this week in an effort to help prevent spread and protect others. For areas like ours with high transmission, the recommendation is that “everyone (including fully vaccinated individuals) wear a mask in public indoor settings.” In light of this guidance, beginning this Sunday, we will ask our BH members and attenders to again consider wearing a mask while in the building. While we are all eager to put our masks away for good, this is an opportunity to serve our community in a practical, but significant way. For your convenience, we will continue to have disposable masks available at our main entrances.

An additional measure we can take is to continue to be mindful of our spacing around others, whenever possible. During the month of July, the attendance in each of our gatherings has averaged approximately 35% of the seating capacity in our Worship Center. At present, we still have ample room to spread out during our gatherings. Additionally, the front left section of the Worship Center continues to limit seating to every other row.

Finally, if you test positive for COVID-19, experience symptoms of illness, or are exposed to someone with COVID-19, we would ask you to remain at home and worship with us by livestream. This is also a great option for any who need to stay away from large gatherings for other health reasons.

Thank you for your patience and flexibility as we navigate this season. In the event that additional changes become necessary with regard to our precautions and protocol, we will communicate accordingly. Let’s continue to pray that the Lord will keep our faith family and community healthy, preserving a spirit of togetherness as we move forward.

Thursday, April 8, 2021, 10:00am

God has been so good to faithfully lead us through this season, and we trust Him to continue to do so in the days ahead. As you likely know, our state’s Safer at Home order expires this Friday, April 9 at 5:00pm. In addition, the Birmingham City Council voted this week to extend the city’s mask ordinance, which includes Brook Hills, but it does provide some exceptions for religious worship. In light of this new information and with input from our Elder Council and other trusted advisors, here is a brief outline of changes regarding what to expect when you join us on campus beginning this Sunday, April 11:

  • In accordance with our city’s mask ordinance and recommendations from the CDC we still encourage the wearing of face coverings, however, we will no longer require masks to be worn when on campus for worship gatherings or other ministries.

  • This means each individual and family will make their own decisions regarding masks. So, let’s work together as a faith family to extend grace and understanding toward one another regardless of what decision we each make.

  • For the near future, some leaders on campus including our staff, Hospitality Team, and Preschool and BH Kids volunteers will continue to wear masks when serving in their areas.

  • We will have a new area in the front-left portion of our Worship Center designated “Masks Only” for those who choose to continue wearing masks and also desire to be sitting near others who are also wearing masks. In the rest of the Worship Center, you are welcome to wear a mask or not, but may have others sitting nearby who are approaching the issue differently than you.

  • For the time being, we will continue to limit capacity in our worship gatherings and designate every other row for seating on the main floor of our Worship Center. However, every row and seat in the stadium seating in the back of our room will be available for use.

  • Small groups meeting on our campus will be making their own determinations for what approach to masks their group will take.

As with all things we do, we want to maintain a spirit toward one another and our guests of welcoming graciously. Thank you for working together with us up to this point, and for continuing to do so.

Please know we will continue to livestream our worship gathering for all those unable to attend at 9:30am. Additionally, if you have questions or input you’d like to offer, please feel free to contact us through our website.

Wednesday, May 27, 2020, 5:00pm

We’re eagerly looking forward to resuming worship gatherings in person on Sunday, June 21. Your questions and feedback have been helpful as we continue to work toward finalizing our plans. If you have questions or input you’d like to offer, please feel free to contact us through our website.

We’ve all experienced how our current circumstances can change from day to day. As a church, we are remaining flexible with our plans so that we can respond accordingly. We will provide additional details soon to help you best determine if and how you might attend, but below is a general outline of our plan.

  • Beginning June 21, we will have two on-campus worship gatherings at our regular times of 9:00am and 11:00am.
  • We will begin with a capacity of 500 people (including children) for each gathering, and reservations will need to be made to let us know you’re attending. We also plan to provide some limited overflow seating in the Student Building. More details to come.
  • As the summer progresses, know that we will continue to evaluate our seating capacity needs and make adjustments accordingly.  
  • Social distancing guidelines will be followed with people sitting in every other row and 2-3 seats between households.  Attenders will be seated and dismissed with the assistance of an usher.  
  • We will encourage the use of masks for all those in attendance.
  • Each person is asked to be mindful of spacing and avoid crowding in lobbies, hallways, and restrooms.  
  • Gatherings will last about an hour to allow us time to exit the worship center, clean accordingly, and then welcome everyone for our next gathering.
  • We will not provide worship guide handouts, and we will adjust how and when we celebrate Communion and collect our offerings.
  • We will take other precautions to ensure the health and safety of everyone in attendance, including those at higher risk, and everyone’s cooperation will be much appreciated.
  • While we will have some limited space available on campus for adult small groups beginning in June, our weekly age-group ministries will be suspended for the summer months.  
  • Adult small group leaders may contact Jay Gordon for guidelines and details related to meeting on campus.
  • We will continue to livestream our worship gathering for all those unable to attend.  Starting June 21, the livestream will begin at 9:00am and it will remain available online once the gathering has concluded.  

If you have not yet had the opportunity to review the general outline of our plan for gathering Brook Hills together again, please do so by clicking on the image below.

In the meantime, we will be exclusively worshiping together through our livestream through June 14 each Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 5:00pm

Faith Family,

We’re excited to announce our current plan is to resume on-campus worship gatherings on Sunday, June 21.

We will begin to provide more specific details soon to help you best determine if and how you might attend, but below is a general outline of our plan.

  • Beginning June 21, we will have two on-campus worship gatherings at our regular times of 9:00am and 11:00am.
  • Each gathering will be limited to 400 people (including children), and reservations will need to be made to let us know you’re attending. More details to come.
  • Social distancing guidelines will be followed with people sitting in every other row with 2-3 seats between households and ushers will be available to assist with seating.
  • Each gathering will last about an hour to allow us time to exit the worship center, clean accordingly, and then welcome everyone for our next gathering.
  • We will not provide worship guide handouts, and we will adjust how and when we celebrate Communion and collect our offerings.
  • We will also take other precautions to ensure the health and safety of everyone in attendance, including those at higher risk, and everyone’s cooperation will be much appreciated.
  • While we will have some limited space available for adult small groups, our weekly age-group ministries will continue to be suspended.
  • We will also continue to livestream our worship gathering for all those unable to attend.

As a church, we currently have some extra considerations that others near us do not, such as our ongoing Campus Development Project. Specifically, some of the renovations being made to our worship center have informed when it is best for us to gather in person again, and we have recently begun renovations on the third floor of our current building which necessitates us postponing Children’s Ministry until the completion of their space in our new building.

In addition, our campus is within the city limits of Birmingham, which has its own health and safety ordinances. We are currently factoring in these realities as we finalize our plan and preparations. The image below provides a general outline of our plan for gathering Brook Hills together again (click image to download).

In the meantime, we will be exclusively worshiping together through our livestream through June 14 each Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.

We are so appreciative of your prayers and patience throughout this season of change. We have all faced challenges in considering how to wisely navigate this pandemic while also staying true to our mission and calling as a church. It is such a privilege God has given us to be able to shepherd our faith family, and your support helps make it all the more possible. As we move forward, let’s strive to do so in the spirit of Philippians 2 by “thinking the same way, having the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose,” and remembering that “everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.” 

We love you, church, and look forward to seeing you soon and gathering together again.

Your Elders and Staff

Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 5:00pm

Thank you to everyone who completed our recent survey. We’ve had nearly 1,300 responses. Your input is proving to be so helpful as we continue to consider how best to carefully and cautiously return to worshiping together in person. In addition to other insights, some of the general takeaways include:

  • While we all eagerly anticipate worshiping together in person again, a majority of us are ready to do so as soon as possible, while still recognizing this season will necessitate some special considerations.
  • Most of us plan to take responsible precautions to protect ourselves and our brothers and sisters at Brook Hills.
  • We also expect us as a church to have precautions prescribed and implemented for everyone in attendance to ensure a safe and healthy environment.
  • While ready to worship on campus again, many of us are planning to still exercise caution with our children and plan to have them with us in worship once we resume meeting together in person.

The recent lifting of some restrictions by our state government means we now have the opportunity to consider how and when is best to resume on-campus worship gatherings. In addition to your feedback, current state guidelines, and the advice of other experts, we are also considering some realities unique to our particular church including our Campus Development Project and the fact that our campus lies within Birmingham city limits, which has its own ordinances.

That being said, we are working diligently to plan and prepare for the return to our campus. We hope to share the details of that plan within the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, we will be exclusively worshiping together through our livestream through the end of May each Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 12:00pm

WE WANT YOUR INPUT

As we look forward to and prepare for returning to some form of regular ministry on our campus, we want to do so with gracious caution and compassion. In addition to prayer and consultation with a variety of experts, we also believe it’s important to hear input from you, our faith family. 

We would ask for each adult attender of Brook Hills to complete the short survey at the link below, which should take you no more than 5 minutes. All responses are confidential, and we appreciate your open and honest feedback. The results of this survey will help inform the steps we take toward getting Brook Hills back together.

TAKE THE SURVEY

 

OTHER REMINDERS

 

#1 WORSHIP GATHERINGS - We will be exclusively worshiping together through our livestream at least through the end of May, though this may be extended. Please continue to join us online each Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.

#2 BROOK HILLS TOGETHER - Beginning with our new Rooted sermon series through Ephesians, we're changing up the format of Brook Hills Together. Every Tuesday and Saturday morning, one of our Pastors or staff members will help us look back at what we learned from Ephesians in the past week and look forward to where we're going in Paul's letter for the next week. You can find these on our website, Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. 

Wednesday, April 29, 2020, 5:00pm

Faith Family,

We all have been anticipating the easing of restrictions we’ve experienced during our state’s stay-at-home order, which is set to expire tomorrow, while also awaiting further information on how exactly that would work and what would be specifically allowed and encouraged. Our Pastoral Staff Team met during and following Governor Ivey’s press conference yesterday, and in light of the new Safer at Home order and other guidelines, we want to share with you the following updates.

#1 WORSHIP GATHERINGS - We will be exclusively worshiping together through our livestream at least through the end of May, though this may be extended. We are prayerfully hopeful we will be able to begin hosting some sort of worship gathering in person sometime this Summer. However, we do not currently know when exactly that will be. Whenever we do deem it responsible to begin gathering together in-person, we will need to do so with certain precautions and accommodations to help ensure one another’s health and safety. We also recognize some of us, especially those with underlying health concerns, may not be ready to return to gathering together with large crowds for some time. For that reason, we plan to continue our livestream worship for the foreseeable future. We may need to adjust the time of that livestream, at some point, but for now we will continue to worship together online each Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.

#2 SMALL GROUPS AND AGE-GROUP MINISTRIES - Our government leaders are still asking us all to avoid non-work gatherings of ten or more people. That would apply to most of our small groups and age-group ministries. Therefore, we are asking all of our small groups to continue meeting online through Zoom and other digital platforms. We are so encouraged by the many ways you all have continued to stay connected and encourage one another. Let’s keep it up, and we hope to be able to encourage small groups who are comfortable to begin gathering together again soon. Our age-group ministry leaders will also continue to plan unique opportunities for our children and students and will be providing more information regarding summer plans.

#3 BROOK HILLS TOGETHER - Our Pastors have so enjoyed joining you each weekday for reading and praying through a Psalm together. Now that we’ve begun a new sermon series in Ephesians, though, we thought we would try something different. So, this Friday, May 1, will be the last day of our current format for Brook Hills Together. Beginning next week, with some of us being able to resume a more regular schedule, we’re going to go to two days a week and allow our study of Ephesians to guide our times together.

#4 OFFICES REOPENING - While some of our staff will need to continue to work remotely, others will begin having more regular office hours starting next week. If we can be of any assistance, please call us at 205-313-7777, contact us through our website, or utilize our staff directory.

We will continue to provide weekly updates regarding our gatherings and ministry. You can always access these on our website, but we will also notify you by email and social media.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support and the many ways in which you are loving and serving one another so well. It’s good to be the Church at Brook Hills.

We love you, faith family.

Your Elders and Staff

Wednesday, April 22, 2020, 10:00am

We know that many are eagerly looking forward to some of the current restrictions under which we are living being lifted while others remain concerned about what this could mean in relation to the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). We, too, share both of these sentiments. We greatly desire to be gathered together again in worship and ministry on our campus as well as throughout our city and world. However, we also recognize the responsibility we have to not only care for our faith family well, but also our community.

While we await further definitive guidelines from some of our government leaders, we are prayerfully considering a number of different scenarios of how we as a church can best move forward in the next phase of this season. Please join us in praying for God's wisdom, discernment, and guidance for not only our leaders, but for each of us in our church.

While we are cautiously hopeful we may be able to have some sort of gatherings in the coming weeks, right now we can confidently say we will continue to livestream our regular Sunday worship gatherings through at least the month of May, though this may be extended. Even if we can resume gathering together in some capacity, we recognize some of you who are most at-risk in our faith family will need to continue to protect yourselves as much as possible, and we want to continue to serve you and any others through our livestream. Please join us each Sunday at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.

As any other final decisions are made regarding worship gatherings and any other ministry able to occur in-person, we will be sure to keep you informed through our website, email, and social media.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020, 5:00pm

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Good Friday and Easter worship gatherings. If you happened to miss out, they are still available at brookhills.org/live. 

We will continue to livestream our regular Sunday worship gatherings through at least April 30, though this may be extended. Please join us every Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.

We know many of you invited friends, neighbors, and family members to join us for worship on Sunday, some of whom have never put their faith in Christ. We've created a helpful resource for you as you consider how to have a spiritual conversation with them about what they heard. Don't let this opportunity to follow up with them slip by.

CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

Just one of the many things we are missing about not gathering together in person on our campus each week is the incredible progress being made on our Campus Development Project. So, we thought we'd share a short update with you and let you see some of what's been happening. You can learn more at brookhills.org/rootsandreach.

GLOBAL OPPORTUNITY - Are you looking for a way to care for our mission partners during this global pandemic? Our Global Team has created an opportunity for you to send them a note and give a word of encouragement as they persevere in this pandemic. Learn more and send a note at brookhills.org/globalnote. 

THANK YOU for your continued patience, encouragement, and prayer as we all navigate these unknown times together. We will continue to provide updates regarding our gatherings and ministries every Tuesday. You can always access these on our website, but we will also notify you by email and social media.

Tuesday, April 7, 3:00pm

As we all heed our State's mandate to shelter in place to impede the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), we want to offer a couple of updates and reminders in regards to our response.

#1 WORSHIP GATHERINGS - We will continue to livestream our regular Sunday worship gatherings through at least April 30, though this may be extended. Please join us every Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. You can also participate in worship with us at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.
 
#2 HOW WE CAN HELP - There are four areas of care where we are working to provide help and support, and below are some ways you can join us:

 
We will continue to provide updates regarding our gatherings and ministry every Tuesday. You can always access these on our website, but we will also notify you by email and social media.

Tuesday, March 31, 6:00pm

#1 WORSHIP GATHERINGS - Continue to join us for worship online every Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live. Lots of churches are streaming at this time, which can affect the quality of our stream at times. If this is ever an issue for you, try viewing the stream at Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube, or catch our replay once the livestream is completed.
 
#2 PRAYER GATHERING - Gather together with us as we pray with and for one another online, tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 1, at 6:30pm at brookhills.org/live. We’re also calling all who are able to fast throughout Wednesday as we prayerfully attune ourselves to our need for God above all else.
 
#3 EASTER - While disappointed we will be unable to gather in person to celebrate Easter together, we are hopeful that we might have an opportunity to have people join us for worship online who might not have otherwise. Of course, that’s only if we let them know. So, while we hope you are making plans to worship with us online at 10:00am Easter morning, we also want you to consider how and whom you might invite to join us. We have some resources to help available at brookhills.org/easter.
 
#4 HOW WE CAN HELP - There are four areas of care where we are working to provide help and support, and below are some ways you can join us:

 
We will continue to provide updates regarding our gatherings and ministry every Tuesday. You can always access these on our website, but we will also notify you by email and social media.
 
We love you, faith family.
Your Elders and Staff

Tuesday, March 24, 5:00pm

Faith Family,

It was so good to gather with many of you for worship online this past Sunday. As we continue to face uncertain days, our prayer is for us all to trust what we know to be certain from Jesus’ prayer in John 17: 1. We know for a fact we are treasured by Jesus. 2. We all have the truth of His Word as an ever-present resource. 3. We can rely on His promise that though we have trouble in this world, we also have Him.

We, like you, are paying close attention to continuing developments in our city’s, state’s, and nation’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. In light of what we continue to learn, we wanted to offer the following updates.

#1 WORSHIP GATHERINGS - We are extending the suspension of all of our on-campus gatherings and ministries through at least April 12. Yes, this means we will gather together online to celebrate Easter. While this isn’t what any of us want, we are hopeful we might see even greater gospel impact as people participate online who may not have gathered with us in person. Please, join us in inviting friends, family members, coworkers, and neighbors to gather online with us, and let’s ask God to work in all of our lives as we proclaim the gospel and faith in our risen Savior. We’ll be providing you more resources in the coming days to help us accomplish this, and you can always get further details at brookhills.org/live.

#2 OTHER GATHERINGS - We are also moving forward with plans to host some special gatherings we would normally be having on campus, but we will move them online as well. These include:

  • Prayer Gathering - April 1 at 6:30pm
  • Good Friday - April 10 at 6:00pm

These will also be available at brookhills.org/live.

#3 SMALL GROUPS AND AGE-GROUP MINISTRIES - We want to encourage all of us to stay connected to our small groups. Especially at times like these, we need to rely upon one another as we care for, encourage, and pray for each other as well as the needs of our church and community. If you’re not in a small group, please let us know, and we’ll help get you connected with others. Our Local Disciple-Making team is providing small group leaders with great resources to help facilitate this, especially during this time of social distancing. Likewise, our age-group ministries are continuing to provide resources to help families continue in discipleship at home. These are available weekly in each ministry’s parent emails as well as brookhills.org/live.

#4 BROOK HILLS TOGETHER - Every weekday around noon, gather with one of our Pastors on our website or on our Facebook or Instagram as we read a daily Psalm and pray. Though for this season we may be scattered, this is just one more way we can continue to be Brook Hills together.

#5 MINISTRY NEEDS - If you have or know of a need in our faith family or community, please let us know so we can consider how we can help. We have also set up a webpage where we are updating current needs and serving opportunities in our city so that we can continue to show that Brook Hills loves Birmingham. Currently, the most urgent need we are helping meet is:

  • Brother Bryan Mission is in need of canned vegetables, frozen food, prepared frozen meals, and cooked food from restaurants for the 65-70 homeless men staying there. Please call Brother Bryan (205-322-0092) and ask for Brian Keen or Bobby Montgomery for more information or to schedule a time to bring food. You can also visit their website to make a monetary donation.

#6 GIVING - Thank you for your continued faithfulness and generosity in your giving though we cannot gather together. We know some of us are feeling the financial impact of this crisis, and it’s good to know we can continue to rely upon and support one another through our church. We are already learning of members of our faith family who are going to need some unique help. So, we are especially thankful for your giving toward both our general ministry budget and our family assistance offering. Remember, you can always give online, by mail, or even arrange for a staff member to pick up your gift, if you prefer.

#7 OFFICES CLOSED - Our church offices are closed until further notice, however, we are continuing to minister to our members and provide counseling through phone and video calls. During this time we will regularly check messages throughout each day, and you can also contact us through our website or utilize our staff directory.
 

We will continue to provide updates regarding our gatherings and ministry every Tuesday afternoon. You can always access these on our website, but we will also notify you by email and social media.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support and the many ways in which you are loving and serving one another so well. It’s good to be the Church at Brook Hills.

We love you, faith family.

Your Elders and Staff

Friday, March 20, 5:00pm

As of 5:00pm today, our offices will be closed until further notice. If you require assistance or would like to speak with someone, please contact us or utilize our staff directory. Thank you.

Tuesday, March 17, 5:15pm

Faith Family,

This past Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended there be no large gatherings of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks. Yesterday, the Alabama Department of Public Health made the same recommendation, and then today enacted a prohibition of gatherings of 25 or more within Jefferson and the surrounding counties, including Shelby County, through April 6, with the possibility of extending that deadline. In light of these recommendations and restrictions, we have developed the following plan.

#1 WORSHIP GATHERINGS - In compliance with the new restrictions, we are suspending our regular worship gatherings through, at least, Sunday, April 5. In light of the other recommendations, we expect the suspension will likely need to be extended beyond that date. However, we want to remain hopeful while also recognizing the fluid nature of these guidelines. If any adjustments to these plans are needed, we will share those with you as soon as possible through our website, email, and social media. 

Suspending our gatherings is not something we want to do, but in light of all the information we have right now, we believe it is what we need to do to contribute toward stopping the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Our hearts are extremely heavy. The thought of not gathering together with you all each week, up to this point, would have been unfathomable. We need each other. We need you. We need our church. So, we are praying diligently for God to work in mighty ways and ask you to join us in doing the same. In the meantime, we will continue to gather for worship online each Sunday at 10:00am at brookhills.org/live.

#2 OTHER MINISTRY AREAS - In addition to our regular worship gatherings, we are also suspending all other on-campus ministries until further notice. However, we are currently working on some ways to stay connected and continue to encourage and equip our faith family. Our age-group and small group ministries will be providing resources through their weekly parent emails. 

#3 SMALL GROUPS - While our on-campus small groups will not be having their regular meetings during this time, we are encouraged by some of the ways we’ve heard that you’re already reaching out and connecting with one another. However, in a White House briefing yesterday afternoon and reiterated today, government officials urged all Americans to avoid gatherings of more than 10 people for the next 15 days. So, we are encouraging all of our small groups to avoid meeting in person at this time. With that in mind, our Adult & Small Groups Minister, Jay Gordon, is going to be providing leaders with some helpful ideas about how small groups can continue to connect and care for one another during this season.

#4 HOW YOU CAN HELP - Circumstances being what they are, it can be difficult to know how best to help. We’d like to offer a few suggestions.

  1. Pray - Pray for God, in His mercy, to cease the spread of this disease. Ask God to grant wisdom to leaders of our church, our city, our state, our country, and our world as they direct us in the best courses of action for prevention and care. Pray for healthcare workers and others serving on the frontlines to treat and stop this virus. Pray for the partners we have serving around the world to be protected and comforted. Ask God to help us all make the most of any opportunities we may have to point people to the comfort and salvation ultimately found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

  2. Give - Thank you so much for the generosity you exhibited in your giving this past week even though we were unable to gather in person. Your faithful giving to the general budget helps us continue in ministry and respond to the needs of the people in our community and world, which can be significant in times like these. Your giving to our Family Assistance offering affords us the opportunity to support members of our church in need, as well.  Giving online or by mail are the best avenues for making a contribution during this season.  

  3. Reach Out - Without our weekly times together in person, it is even more important for us to intentionally engage with one another and those around us. So, check on the members of your small group, other friends from church, and your neighbors who live next to you. Offer prayer, support, and encouragement.

  4. Specific Needs - As we become aware of more specific areas of need in our church and from our partners, we will be sure to share them with you.

    • Oak Tree Ministries is currently helping to ensure all the children of Marks Village who normally rely upon school meals have enough to eat. Their current need is for financial donations to assist with this effort.

    • Serving You Ministries is also helping provide nutritional assistance for fellow Birminghamians. However, their greatest need currently is for volunteers who will bag groceries inside to be delivered to cars. 

    • We want to ensure we are meeting needs in our church and community. We also want to help care for any who might require special attention during this season. So, if you have or know of a particular need, please let your small group know. If your small group is unable to meet the need, please contact us. If you are in need and do not have a small group or know of someone who might benefit from us reaching out to them, please let us know so we can help.

While it pains us to be unable to gather together, we take comfort in knowing that though we are separated, God is never far from us. In fact, He is with us. Let’s continue to trust Him and look to Him to lead us as we follow. 

We love you, Brook Hills.

Your Elders and Staff

P.S. - If you need to sign up for church wide email communications, please fill out the form available here.

Friday, March 13, 10:00am

Faith Family,

In light of further recommendations from local leaders and medical professionals, and in the interest of the health and safety of our members, we feel it is wise to temporarily adjust the plans for Sunday gatherings and midweek ministries that we shared previously. You may have even heard some of our plans reported on the news this morning, but we have made additional changes since then. So, please read carefully.

Yesterday, officials with both the Jefferson County Health Department and the Alabama Department of Public Health recommended citizens avoid large gatherings of over 500 people. In light of these recommendations, we have developed the following plan for how we might honor our city and state leaders, love one another, and love our neighbors in our community.

#1 Sunday, March 15 - We will NOT gather for worship or small groups on campus this coming Sunday, March 15. Neither will we have our Faith Family Gathering that was scheduled for Sunday evening. Instead, we will provide an online gathering that will include music, prayer, and a message from Pastor Matt. This gathering will be different in many ways from what we’re normally used to, but we believe God will still be honored as we worship together, seek Him in prayer, and proclaim the gospel. You will be able to join this online gathering at 10:00am on Sunday, March 15 by visiting brookhills.org/live.

#2 Future Gatherings - We will continue to evaluate the possibility of resuming regular on-campus gatherings as well as other options that might exist for gathering online should it become necessary for us to continue doing so. Once decisions are finalized, we will share that information with you through our website, email, and social media.

#3 Small Groups - We will not have any on-campus small groups this week and encourage off-campus small groups to be prudent and use discretion in deciding whether or not to meet. However, we encourage all of our small groups to be intentional in connecting with members in other ways as well, by phone, text, email, etc., in order to continue to stay in touch and lift one another up in prayer.

#4 Midweek Ministries - We are suspending all of our midweek ministries at least through March. Though, as we continue to evaluate, this timeline may be extended.

#5 Other Weekday Ministries - We are also suspending the Homeschool Co-op classes, Women’s Ministry, and ESL classes for the next two weeks, but may determine it is necessary to extend this timeline, as well.

#6 Early Learning Center - Our ELC will follow the direction and decisions of the Shelby County School System, as is our standard practice.

#7 Office Hours - At this point, our staff will continue to have regular office hours Monday through Friday. If we can be of any assistance to you, please let us know.

Our goal, as we’ve considered options and made decisions throughout this week, has been to both honor God and care for you, our church, and our community well. This continues to be our prayer, and we thank you for joining us in asking God to work all these things together for our good and His glory.

We look forward to “seeing” you online for worship Sunday.

Your Elders and Staff

Thursday, March 12, 4:15pm

Faith Family,

We want to update you on what’s happening at Brook Hills in light of the increased concerns over the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Like you, we’ve been closely following this evolving story with concern. As staff and elders, we’ve had a variety of discussions in consultation with medical professionals about how to best move forward. Developments are changing hour by hour, which may ultimately impact this Sunday. For now, please read through this entire email as it contains detailed plans for keeping our campus safe along with suggestions about how you can help.

#1 Gatherings: Our current plan is to remain open and to gather for Sunday worship and small groups, as well as midweek ministries. In the event that local and state health officials recommend further closures, or we determine it is in the best interest of our faith family to suspend gathering or ministries for a period of time, we will inform everyone to the best of our abilities through our website, emails, and social media.

#2 Sanitation: We will continue to work hard to keep our campus clean, paying special attention to our preschool and children’s areas and commonly used surfaces like door handles, seats, and counters. We will also have hand sanitizer readily available through our main building and our student center. Additionally, our staff and volunteer teams will wash their hands frequently and will stay home if they are sick. We’re also encouraging our leaders in preschool and children’s ministry to help ensure our children are washing their hands and using hand sanitizer.

#3 Communion: At this time, we believe it is wise to temporarily suspend our weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Our current plan is for this suspension to last through Sunday, April 19. However, we will reevaluate by April 10 whether or not we believe this suspension will need to be extended.

#4 Offering: We are also going to suspend passing our offering baskets at the end of our worship gatherings for the same period of time we are suspending the Lord’s Supper. Instead, we will have the large baskets we typically use for Global Offering placed throughout the room for us to use as we worship through giving our tithes and offerings. You can use these baskets as you enter or exit the worship center. This is also a good opportunity to utilize our online giving options where you can give one-time gifts or even set up recurring giving using a debit or credit card or bank draft.

#5 Greeting: We want to continue to welcome one another graciously and display hospitality to everyone around us. However, for the period of time related to communion and offering, we will also be suspending our official greeting time that often begins our worship gatherings.

#6 Worship Guides: At this time, we will continue to distribute worship guides and have pens available at all entrances to our worship gatherings. Feel free to bring your own pen, but if you do take a pen, we encourage you to keep it rather than return it. If you do not wish to take a worship guide or pen, though, we certainly understand. You can always download a digital version of our sermon listening guide on our website or through our app.

#7 Prevention: During this time, it’s also good to remind ourselves of what we can do to help prevent the spread of this and other viruses. These include:

  • Wash your hands frequently. Soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective at killing viruses. 
  • Observe good cough and sneeze etiquette. Cover your mouth and nose in the crook of your elbow or with a tissue that should be immediately thrown away. 
  • Be aware of your risk of transmitting infection to others. Please stay home if you or your child are feeling sick. Contact your medical provider to let them know you’re ill, and follow their advice. We also ask that you or your child be fever-free for at least 24 hours before returning.
  • Get in the habit of not touching your face as often.
  • If you or someone you know tests positive for COVID-19, please let us know so we can find a way to help, pray for everyone involved, and take any necessary precautions here at Brook Hills.

#8 High Risk Groups: If you are one at higher risk of getting very sick, such as older adults or those with certain medical conditions, we want to help care for you. We know some of you may feel the need to avoid gathering together with us for a period of time. Know that our weekly sermons will be available online at our website and through our app by Monday morning each week. We are also exploring other options for how to include you in gatherings online and will let you know as soon as we have a plan in place. In the meantime, if you find yourself in need, please let your small group leader know or contact us at the church office.

This situation is ever-changing, which means our response will need to be as well. We are working to consider any future contingencies that may be required. As we adjust our response, we’ll continue to let you know through email, website, and social media.

Thank you, faith family, for your ongoing concern and support as we all walk through this together. Though the days ahead are unknown to us, they are well known to the God we serve. In times of uncertainty, let’s look to Him in faith to remove our fear, calm our worries, and lovingly guide us through as He always does so faithfully.

We love you, Brook Hills.

Your Elders and Staff

Saturday, March 7th, 10:38AM

Faith Family,

We are likely all aware of the COVID-19 Coronavirus situation unfolding around the world. Like you, we are continuing to stay up-to-date on the latest information so we can be as prepared as possible. Our pastoral staff thought it would be beneficial to share with you how we are thinking through this situation and the steps we are taking in regard to our church in the days to come.

Please understand we are not in a position to be a source of information about coronavirus, nor a source of medical advice. To get the latest information, we recommend you pay attention to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization. And naturally you should always seek medical advice from qualified medical professionals. One of our Elders, Dr. Scott James, is an infectious disease specialist and recently contributed to an article for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission that is helpful for Christ-followers considering how to think about our response to coronavirus.

After receiving some wise counsel from medical professionals, our purpose now is simply to let you know we are thinking ahead about ways we can mitigate the spread of illness during our weekly gatherings, and to ask for your help, as well.

#1 Pray: Let’s continue to pray for all those here in our country and around the world who have been affected by this disease. We want to ask God to comfort the grieving families who have lost loved ones. Additionally, please pray for our workers we have serving around the world, for God’s provision and protection, and pray He might use this as an opportunity for the spread of the gospel as we have the opportunity to point others to the only God we can trust in times of uncertainty.

#2 Gatherings: Our current plan is to continue gathering together weekly for worship, small groups, and midweek ministries. We may make slight adjustments to our regular gatherings if they become necessary, and we, of course, will be paying attention to recommendations from authorities, especially the Alabama Department of Public Health. Our Early Learning Center will also continue to align with the plans of the Shelby County School system, as we do in all matters.

#3 Sanitation: We will continue to work hard to keep our campus clean, paying special attention to our preschool and children’s areas and commonly used surfaces like door handles, seats, and counters. We will also have hand sanitizer readily available through our main building and our student center.

#4 Global: Chip Bugnar, our Global Pastor, recently sent out an email to all of our short-term trip participants and summer mid-termers. We have decided it’s prudent to cancel some of our upcoming trips to certain areas of the world. However, our goal is to be as patient and measured as we can be in order to minimize impact on our global mission efforts. As this situation continues to unfold, we will be in touch with team members who are currently signed up for a short-term or mid-term trip. So, if you are signed up for a short-term trip but haven’t yet been contacted, your trip is currently moving forward as planned. 

#5 Prevention: During this time, it’s also good to remind ourselves of what we can do to help prevent the spread of this and other viruses. These include:

  • Wash your hands frequently. Soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective at killing viruses. Observe good cough and sneeze etiquette. Cover your mouth and nose in the crook of your elbow or with a tissue that should be immediately thrown away. 

  • Be aware of your risk of transmitting infection to others. Please stay home if you or your child are feeling sick. Contact your medical provider to let them know you’re ill, and follow their advice. We also ask that you or your child be fever-free for at least 24 hours before returning.

  • Get in the habit of not touching your face as often.

  • If you or someone you know tests positive for COVID-19, please let us know so we can find a way to help, pray for everyone involved, and take any necessary precautions here at Brook Hills.

While we cannot control the virus, its spread, or the impact it has in our church, we want to assure you we’re doing everything we can to make our campus as safe and clean as possible by taking some easy, common-sense steps. We appreciate your cooperation and commitment to help us do just that. We’ll remain in conversation with medical professionals to help us think through anything else we should do.

We certainly don’t want you to be worried about coronavirus, just prudent. Remember that God has not called us to live in fear but in faith. So, even as we try to exercise wisdom in these circumstances, we trust in our sovereign God, that He is working all things according to the counsel of His will and that He is in absolute control.