August 2, 2021

Emmaus, 

Kansas City has issued a new mask mandate for everyone over the age of 5, regardless of vaccination or not for people “in places of public accommodation”.  In addition, North Kansas City has issued a statement that encouraged everyone to limit exposure by receiving the vaccine and wearing a mask. 

What constitutes “places of public accommodation” is clearly defined by Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Churches have never been considered “places of public accommodation.” In North Kansas City’s statement, they clearly state that churches are not subject to their encouragement to wear a mask.

We would encourage you to take their policy into consideration as you act in accordance with your conscience concerning the wearing of masks. However, we will not require masks at Emmaus gatherings, as we are not a place of public accommodation.

The pastors wanted to take this quick opportunity to say thank you again for how you have handled the pandemic as a people—while there have been obstacles, we believe that Emmaus has been wise, careful, and considerate throughout the pandemic. We ask you all to continue to fight for unity and love amongst one another as we walk through this next season of life as a Church in wisdom.

Love,

The Elders of Emmaus Church

February 22, 2021

In light of updated local regulations, the Screenland Theatre is lifting their 50% capacity limit and stopping their practice of taping off seats while recommending that social distancing continue. With these changes, Emmaus is switching back to having TWO SERVICES on Sundays: one at 9am and one at 10:45am. Masks will continue to be required. Watch Pastor Josh's video announcement about this using the link below. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact elders@emmauskc.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdbmqIzggDU&feature=youtu.be

November 16, 2020

Your elders would once again like to thank you for your continued cooperation with Covid regulations this year. On Monday, November 16th, Mayor Lucas announced city-wide regulations to take place on Friday, November 20th. Thankfully, there is not a lot of change for Emmaus in regards to this. The new regulations state that gatherings of more than 10 are prohibited in our city. There are some exceptions to this and our Sunday gatherings fit under these exemptions: 

Regularly scheduled meetings of community, religious, health, and civic groups (for example, church services or weekly support groups), provided mask and social distancing requirements are followed. Given the spread of COVID-19, we strongly encourage virtual attendance at these meetings.

Emmaus is already meeting at 50% capacity, wearing masks, and social distancing during our Sunday gatherings. The main effect we will feel from this will be in the area of community groups. For the remainder of 2020, we are asking for your help in the following ways:

1. Continue to be diligent with wearing masks at Emmaus. They are required unless you are under 5 or medically unable to wear one.
2. Continue to be diligent with social distancing indoors. Please do not move tape on chairs.
3. As you gather outside to fellowship before and after services, remember to social distance and not gather in groups of more than 10.
4. We will no longer offer nursery for the sake of our volunteers and families. Please continue to have grace for each other’s kids in the service. (Emmaus Kids will be offering a gift to our families in December to bless your time of gathering with us as a whole family)
5. If you feel uncomfortable with gathering, if you are sick in anyway, or if you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive, then we encourage you to remain at home that week and watch the livestream on Sunday morning.
6. Community Groups are welcome to continue meeting in groups of 10 or less. When this is not possible, we encourage you to engage in community via Zoom.

Again, thank you for your cooperation. We continue to remind you to let your needs be known, be active in the lives of each other in ways you can, and strive for unity. We are thankful that we can continue to gather on Sundays for worship.

We love you, Emmaus. Remember that our God is still on his throne in 2020.

October 31, 2020

Emmaus is going home! Starting November 1st, we will resume gatherings at the Screenland Theatre on Armour Road. Services will be at 8am, 9:45am, and 11:30am. Face masks are required. Members are not being assigned to services (though we ask those who are able to come to either the 8am or 1:30am to leave room for guests at the 9:45am), and reservations are not necessary. Nursery services for children under two-years-old will be provided, and older Emmaus Kids are invited to stay in the main worship service. 

June 29, 2020 - Updated Policies and Procedures for Indoor Gatherings

"We were so thankful that Emmaus could gather yesterday. We also learned a lot from our time together. In light of what we have learned, new city ordinances, and insight from some of our members, we have developed a Covid Policies and Procedures document. Please take the time to read through it well. We want to do all that we can to help keep our people safe while also gathering for worship. If we will follow these steps, we will remove much chance of exposure." -Pastor Josh

POLICY DOCUMENT -- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fxFOKyVc5gD330vlOk5Uu9Ux1M_GpnBqrlspIeYrIl8/edit?fbclid=IwAR08GODlMJ64EdxhGwVO4w2dYbwqquFfX3KyYw57hFBZSrprcDBjGaP6pzw

May 31, 2020 - A Synopsis of the Emmaus Outdoors Announcement

Emmaus is gathering outdoors for worship services on June 7 and June 21 at the Van Till Family Farm & Winery. On both Sundays, the services will be at 10:45am.

Here is what you need to know:

• Van Till is a 30-60 minute drive away from where most of our members live. Plan accordingly!
• Emmaus Kids will not be taking place.
• The sermon will still be posted on the website, YouTube, and Facebook that morning for those who choose to stay home!
• Remember, as Pastor Josh said: "Some of our members will want to hug you. Others will want to stand back from you. It may be awkward. Be awkward with kindness. :-) Seriously, 'EMBRACE (or don’t embrace) the awkwardness.' Ask, respect, and enjoy each other."

May 4, 2020 - An Update from Pastor Joshua on Re-Entry Plans

"Emmaus finds itself in an interesting situation. Missouri, Clay County, Platte County, North Kansas City, and Kansas City all have slightly different plans to reopen. Though we are in Clay County and North Kansas City, our elders have chosen throughout this pandemic to follow the lead of Mayor Lucas and Kansas City, MO for 2 reasons: First, we have members who are located all throughout the metro and this best unites us all together. Second, KCMO tends to carry the most weight and acceptance of the general public.  In addition to these, Mayor Lucas has proven to be the most careful, which helps us remain conservative and avoid rushing reentry. Per KCMO's 10/10/10 reentry plan, we will continue to follow this lead. What does this mean?

1. As of May 17 Community Groups will be free to meet in person. Groups must meet the 10/10/10 guidelines, as well as 6ft distancing. Groups can meet outdoors as an entire group as long as they follow the 6ft rule. Groups may also rotate men/women as long as they meet 10/10/10. By meeting as men one week and women the next, it enables one adult to stay home with children and avoid breaking social distancing for our kids. 
2. Sundays will continue to follow the same pattern we have; Family worship via Looking to Sunday and live-stream sermons. 

We will follow this plan at least through the end of May or until Mayor Lucas changes his plan. If KCMO is still following this plan by June 1 and Clay County and NKC are opened more and not experiencing a surge of Covid, we will consider the option of meeting on Sundays in compliance with NKC and Clay County."

March 21, 2020 - An Explanation of Home Worship and Livestream Sermons from Pastor Josh

"While we are unable to gather, we thank God for technology that allows us to be edified by his Word. At Emmaus, we are not reproducing our worship gatherings in an online format. We do not consider what will happen on Sunday [the live-streamed sermon] a “Gathering of the saints”. At the same time, we believe that as you gather in your homes as families, God can and will speak to you as you worship, pray, and hear the Word of God taught. 

We are making our sermons available to you via live-stream, not to reproduce our gatherings, but to encourage your hearts to look to Jesus, to comfort your souls from distress of these days, and to care for your needs. And we are live streaming these sermons to continue to glorify God through declaring the gospel to you and those who will watch.

March 17, 2020 Update

Emmaus, as you may have already seen, the Mayor of Kansas City has taken the CDC recommendation from yesterday and forbid groups meeting larger than 10 individuals. This is a mandate for the next fifteen days. We have talked as pastors and believe it is wise for us to comply with this mandate. Therefore, since most of our Community Groups are larger than 10 people, we are asking that all our groups cancel for two weeks. We will remain meeting with our groups as normal after the 15-day mandate is over.

However, the pastors would strongly encourage you all to get creative with how you can meet and care for one another through online platforms. We would encourage, if at all possible, to meet at least once, using technology (a service like Zoom), while we take this break from Community Groups. Also, just as a reminder the pastors are gathering this Saturday to pray, process, and plan what the next few weeks will look like for us as a church. We ask for your prayers for this important meeting and the decisions we’ll be making.

As with each announcement, we want to remind you that we love you and are so thankful to be your pastors. You’ve loved one another well during this unique season and we’re grateful to walk through this unique season with this particular body of believers.

March 16, 2020 Update

Emmaus, first the pastors want to thank you for how you’ve responded thus far with the COVID-19 pandemic here in Kansas City. We’ve had many of you reach out to us, reach out to others, and simply practice Christian wisdom and charity in this unique season. Your pastors are proud of you and very thankful for you.

As you may have seen, the CDC has announced that they recommend any gathering over 50 people to be postponed for eight weeks. Moreover, the Mayor of Kansas City has banned any meetings of 50 people or more for the next eight weeks. This was hard news to hear for us as we are already longing to be back with you after just one week. At this time, we don’t have our finalized plan in place, but we wanted to update you with the next few steps. This upcoming Sunday, March 22nd, we will gather virtually as we did this past Sunday. You can follow the same process and tune in for our live stream at 10:45AM as Pastor Josh preaches the book of Daniel. As for the plan beyond March 22nd we ask that you pray for us as we are planning an extensive meeting to pray, process, and plan for what the next two months might look like for us as a Church. We are hoping to think of creative ways in which we can both follow the advice and regulations given to us from the medical and civil authorities while still maintaining faithfulness to one another in a Biblical sense.

As always, we pray that in the midst of this season of uncertainty that you and your family are pressing into Jesus. We pray that the Lord would use this global pandemic to maximize your joy in him as you treasure Jesus and cherish the gospel. We love you, Emmaus. As we said in our last update, we wouldn’t want to walk through this unique season with any other body than you all.

March 13, 2020 Update

It is with heavy hearts we announce that we are canceling gathering this Sunday, March 15th at Emmaus Church. The Sunday gathering is not something we take lightly and therefore this decision was not made lightly. After much prayer, discussion amongst the pastors, and listening to the medical and civil authorities, we believe it is wise for us to not gather together in either service this upcoming Sunday morning. While the Kansas City area has been blessed with few cases of COVID-19, we still believe this move is wise for the health of our people, in accord with love of neighbor, and in compliance with counsel from those with more knowledge about the situation than us. 

Pastor Adam will still preach this Sunday as planned and we invite you to join us online at 10:45 AM (CST) via livestream as we marvel at our triune God through the book of Ezekiel.