Financial Update #5: COVID-19 Financial Relief

Dear SGC Pastors,

Please be aware of the following updated information relating to COVID-19 Financial Relief that I will discuss in our next zoom meeting:

Best Resources Online

I regularly track these sites for the latest information: ECFA, NonprofitCPA, AICPA, Wagenmaker & Oberly blog, and Vanderbloemen.  Here are some recent helpful posts on these sites:

• Wagenmaker & Oberly provide an excellent overview of issues most affecting churches and non-profits in the CARES Act in their April 7 blog post.

• Mike Batts, CPA, has an updated great summary of all the provisions in the CARES Act that pertain to churches and non-profits.

• ECFA has a good summary of most common questions churches are asking about the CARES Act.

• Nonprofit Special Alert from Batts on required Emergency Paid Sick Leave and Family and Medical Leave effective April 1, 2020 (discussed below).

Paycheck Protection Program Update

The Treasury Department released an FAQ on PPP Loans that should give clarity to your banks in processing applications.  The most relevant info that could affect some churches is:

• The $100,000 salary limitation does not include benefits.

• Gross Payroll will be used for calculation of the loan and loan forgiveness.

• The time period for the calculation can be either calendar year 2019 or the previous 12 months before application (or seasonal application).

• There is still no clear guidance on housing allowance.  If your bank allows you to include, then great.  But be prepared for that amount to ultimately not be forgiven.

• Beginning April 10, independent contractors and self-employed individuals can begin applying for PPP loans. So, make every effort to apply this week if you are able to.  Also, as you are helping your church members, make sure the self-employed are aware of this relief that is available for them.  If you choose to not pursue the PPP, remember to consider the other relief available through the CARES Act, like the Employee Retention Credit for Employers, or the FFCRA payroll credit.

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Application

Some smaller churches are considering this loan in lieu of the PPP loan because it is simpler to apply for (direct with SBA online) and provides a $10K advance that does not have to be repaid.  However, there is still conflicting information on whether churches either qualify or are subject to restrictions on how the money is used. 

The application online still includes this certification that is required to be signed (below).  However, the SBA has issued this FAQ on application to faith-based organizations.  Note that his FAQ applies to both the PPP AND EIDL.

I hereby certify UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY UNDER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES that any proceeds of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan or grant will only be used to provide secular social services to the general public, and that I have the authority to make this certification, and that all of the foregoing is true and correct.

We will discuss how to address these conflicts.  But again, this is a loan process that would be valuable to make church members aware of whose business is at risk.  Note Question 9 on the Wagenmaker & Oberly blog post I linked to above.

Families First Coronavirus Response Act effective April 1, 2020.

Because of all the attention given to the PPP loan applications, little has been covered on how this law affects churches that is effective April 1, 2020 (now!).  For churches with non-pastoral staff, it is IMPERATIVE that you understand this law and being tracking sick leave and paid family leave properly.  The best review of this law I have found is currently from Batts (mentioned above).

This new law requires that all small employers (including churches) provide:

• Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL).  Required payment of two weeks to all full and part-time employees relating to COVID-19.

• Emergency Family and Medical Leave (EFML).  Required 2/3 payment of an additional 10 weeks of leave to all full and part-time employees relating to COVID-19.

FFCRA also provides a credit for this paid leave. However, if you use this credit, it reduces the amount of loan forgiveness if you applied for a PPP Loan.  It appears that even if you received a PPP loan and had it forgiven on June 30, 2020, that you would still be required to provide EPSL and EFML through December 31, 2020.

• What is important today, while we still try to better understand this law, is to make sure you are tracking paid time off that may be related to COVID-19 beginning April 1.

• If a nonprofit or church must close its doors or if they no longer have work to perform due to reduced programming, this law may not apply.  In this case, new federal unemployment benefits may be available to churches.

Tommy Hill serves as the Director of Finance for Sovereign Grace Churches. He is also the Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville where he lives with his wife Elizabeth and their children.

What Now That We Can't Be With People?

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Mark Prater podcast, where—our aim is to connect our global family of churches to our Executive Director.

Mark, here we are three weeks into this pandemic and the social distancing and shelter-in-place orders that are pretty much all over the place. And so, as you referenced a little bit last time on the podcast, there's this reality in which pastors are not able to be with folks in the church. Even if there's someone in the hospital, in many cases we can't go visit them. It's disorienting.

There are questions about how to pursue faithfulness when you can't be with people. I know guys are trying all sorts of things. What are your thoughts about pastoring folks in this season when we are told we shouldn't be with people, when that's sort of the whole reason we're doing this job?

Mark Prater:

As I mentioned last time, the fact that guys are feeling pained and burdened actually confirms that they're called as a shepherd to pastor the flock that God has given them. I hope that fact alone encourages them.

Right now most of our pastors are going to feel inadequate, regardless of what they do, because they don't really feel adequate until they can sit and be with their people. Those feelings of inadequacy are more in our pastor's minds than in our members' minds. The fact that you're attempting to find ways to care for your people and interact with your church communicates more care than you might realize.

In fact, you were telling me just earlier that you had a member say something like that to you. Isn't that right?

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah. I mean, I've seen a whole host of Sovereign Grace pastors creating podcasts and devotional videos. You can definitely see it as the pastor's heart to bless and serve their folks during this season.

We've done a little bit of that. I have my own podcast, Gospel Culture Podcast and I've done some video. And even just those little points can feel inadequate, but you're just trying to serve your folks and encourage them.

We're getting people responding and expressing that they feel cared for: You're thinking about us, you want to help us. They feel that care, even coming through what feels rather inadequate (a video recording or something like that).

Mark Prater:

When pastors feel that inadequacy (most of us are going to), we have to remember that the grace of God that we preach to our church is actually the grace of God we need for ourselves. I want guys to be aware of the grace of God and to experience the grace of God in the midst of inadequate feelings that they might be having.

Benjamin Kreps:

I would guess some of our guys in smaller churches are watching all the activity and the streamlined media presentations and responses in the community, and they're just trying to figure out how to stream on their iPhone on Facebook live on Sunday. We certainly want our guys to feel God's pleasure even in efforts that feel inadequate as we seek to be faithful. What are some practical ideas that you've seen or you've been thinking about when it comes to pastoring people from our computers and over the phone and that sort of thing?

Mark Prater:

You know, it's learning how to do pastoral ministry in a different way. I don't think I've got any brand new creative ideas, but you can FaceTime with a person in your church who may be hospitalized. And just the fact that they can see your face can be very comforting. Another idea is to get your iPhone and you record a video personally for them, letting them know that you're praying for them, and share whatever thoughts you may have. And it can be short; it can be two minutes long tops, and you can text it to them.

Benjamin Kreps:

By the way, all of the anti-Apple bros in Sovereign Grace: You can use other kinds of phones than iPhones, right Mark?

Mark Prater:

Exactly. Yeah, exactly.

I mean the podcast you're doing—a guy can do a podcast. Whatever devotionals you're creating and getting out to your church are good. And then there’s your ability to continue to do pastoral counseling over the phone or via Zoom. It may feel inadequate to you, but it doesn't to your people. 

Benjamin Kreps:

Absolutely. Coming up on Friday you've encouraged us to pray together for healthcare workers. And you can consider doing things like reaching out to all of the healthcare workers in your church and making a personal connection and asking how can we pray for you specifically? How are you doing? That sort of thing.

Mark Prater:

 Exactly. I know that at Ricky Alcantar's church, Cross of Grace Church in El Paso, Texas, during their livestream service last Sunday they prayed for all of the healthcare workers in the church. Joe Alcantar was telling me it was very meaningful to them.

Benjamin Kreps:

Yeah, that's wonderful. Any other thoughts for us before we end?

Mark Prater:

Well, again, I just think our guys are doing a great job. They are finding ways to pastor people when they can't be with them.

What I'm seeing actually is sort of this pent up I can't wait until we come back together type of emotion that's building up in our guys. And if I could, I would just love to be in all of our churches that first Sunday that we gather. I think the place is going to explode. I'm really grateful for that. I can't wait for our guys to be with our people and enjoy that.

Benjamin Kreps:

Amen. One thing God could be doing in us as pastors in this season is giving us a moment to pause, even though it's difficult—to rest, to study, to fellowship with the Lord as the anticipation builds to be with our church. Coming out of this season, in the next season there'll be this enthusiasm, passion, and zeal that is going to push the mission of Jesus forward.

Mark Prater:

Amen. May that happen.

Benjamin Kreps:

Thank you, Mark. And thank you everybody for watching. We'll talk to you soon. 

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

Streaming the Lord’s Supper?

It seems each week spent in seclusion raises new questions for pastors as they recalibrate their pastoral care to the demands of this season. It was inevitable, especially as churches went online, that the question of the Lord’s Supper would emerge. Can we livestream the Lord’s Supper?

It’s easy to sympathize with that impulse. Pastors are looking for ways to maintain continuity in the midst of so much upheaval, especially with things so central, and so precious, to the worship of God’s people. But however well-intentioned those desires are, we must always allow God’s Word to direct how we relate to him and to each other; especially in a crisis, a pastor must always have his hand on his Bible.

In another post I argued that, while much pastoral work can get done through a Sunday live stream—and we continue to marvel at the effects this mechanism has had on our congregation—it is not the same as our Sunday gathering. That distinction is even more important when it comes to the Lord’s Supper. While I’m grateful that we are able to serve our congregation in numerous ways through our live stream, we would not even consider observing the Lord’s Supper in this context; I believe to do so appropriately would be impossible.

Signaling Our Unity 

The Lord’s Supper is by its very nature a corporate event. From the very beginning of the church’s history, the Supper was observed when the church was gathered for worship (Acts 2:42; 20:7; note the repetition of the word synerchomai—“gather together,” widely recognized by commentators as something of a technical term for the gathering of the church for worship—in 1 Cor 11:17, 18, 20, 33, and 34). As precious as the Lord’s Supper is to the heart of a believer, it was not given as an individualistic means of grace, but as an ordinance of the church which requires the corporate worship of the church.

The Lord’s Supper is not, then, merely a silent and solitary observance where a Christian privately ponders Christ’s death. Rather, it’s a meal—the family meal of the new covenant people of God where we commune together with our Savior. As with a normal meal, we gather physically and share together (not merely simultaneously) common elements—tactile elements, passed hand to hand—remembering Jesus’ life given for us and communing with him and each other. As we do, our observance of the Supper not only proclaims Christ’s death, but it also vividly depicts those who have been joined to him and bears profound witness to our unity in Christ’s body. Every time the gathered church celebrates the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of, and give expression to, our identity as a family, rescued and adopted by our heavenly Father. This is simply impossible when people are scattered, linked only by a common video feed.

Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church in 1 Cor 11 soberly illustrate the importance of our observance of the Lord’s Supper honoring its nature. When Paul diagnosed the neglect of poorer members of the church by wealthier members in 1 Cor 11, he perceived far more than a relational slight. This neglect created “divisions” (v. 18) that belied their unity in the one body of Christ. Their observance of the Supper was to reflect and reinforce this unity, not damage or deny it. In Paul’s eyes, this behavior did not merely undermine the sacrament—it invalidated it completely: “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat!” (1 Cor 11:20).

Now, it may seem a stretch to compare this situation to a well-meaning, on-line observance of communion. There is, however, an important principle that applies to both: the Lord’s Supper communicates something about the nature of the church—many members joined together in one body (1 Cor 10:17). To honor this—to embody this—we gather together and “all partake of the one bread,” giving vivid testimony to our common participation in the drama of Christ’s saving work. With the Lord’s Supper, the manner of our observation must be consistent with its character and reinforce its meaning.

Marking Out the Church

In testifying of those who have been joined to Christ, the Lord’s Supper also serves the very important function of visibly distinguishing the church from the world around us. Those who partake of the Supper participate, by the Holy Spirit and through faith, in Christ’s body and blood (1 Cor 10:16)—we embrace afresh and enjoy the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf. Never is the line between the believer and the world more starkly drawn than at the Lord’s table. 

In marking out who is a member of Christ’s church and who is not, the Lord’s Supper has a “structuring” function among God’s people. In his excellent book The Church, Edmund Clowney speaks of this aspect of the sacraments:

These outward signs mark out a visible fellowship; they structure Christ’s church as a community with membership. Baptism requires a decision about admission to the community.  The Supper, a sign of continuing fellowship, implies the exclusion of those who have turned away from the Lord. . . . the sacraments testify that the church must have organized form as well as organic life. (The Church, 272).

This implies a critical role for the pastor. If the Lord’s Supper is for those continuing in the fellowship of the body of Christ, we are to do all we can to ensure that only Christians are participating—a physical impossibility in a live-streamed moment.

Hungering and Thirsting for Now

It’s easy to understand the desire to bring the Lord’s Supper into this season of separation. Just as we long to be together in our churches, we long to share the Lord’s Supper with all the blessings it bestows. Although God in his wisdom has separated us from his table for now, we can be assured that he has not separated us from his love (Rom 8:38-39), nor from the grace we desperately need to be faithful in this moment (2 Cor 9:8). In the meantime, let’s view this season of waiting as a unique opportunity to stir our longings and awaken our appetites for the moment when we will again feast together at the Lord’s table.

Jeff Purswell is the Jeff is the Director of Theology and Training for Sovereign Grace Churches and the dean of the Sovereign Grace Pastor's College. He also serves as an elder at Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville, KY.

Financial Update #4: (Urgent) COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program

Please note the following timely information to help you prepare your PPP Application.

• SBA Form 2483 Application updated today

• Interim Final Rules for PPP from the SBA that affect the application process.

• Please note the bottom of page 27 and top of page 28 where further assurances are given to religious organizations on the application to current law.

• There is still confusion over whether housing allowance is included in the calculation.  It likely will not be included.  My counsel is to compute the loan amount however your bank interprets.  Worst case, you would just not be forgiven for the portion that is for housing allowance

As I discussed in our zoom call yesterday, the MOST IMPORTANT step is to contact your bank as soon as possible to see what documentation they require and how they want you to calculate payroll to determine the loan amount.  Each bank will have their own standards for how to interpret the calculation and you will want to follow their interpretations.  If you decide to pursue this loan, please do so as quickly as possible.  There is a good chance that the funding from this program could quickly run out.

Tommy Hill serves as the Director of Finance for Sovereign Grace Churches. He is also the Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville where he lives with his wife Elizabeth and their children.

Treasury Department Guidance on Apply for Paycheck Protection Program

The Department of Treasury is releasing more details on how to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program.  Most banks participating in the program should start accepting applications on Friday, April 3.  Here is the important information you need to apply.

• SBA Form 2483 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Application Form.

  • Note the box in the top left-hand corner to check for “Non-Profit”.

• PPP Information Sheet for Borrowers

  • This document explains the program and how to apply.

  • Note on page 2 that lenders will likely require documentation for your calculation of average monthly payroll.

  • This document clarifies the loan is due in 2 years (if not forgiven) at an interest rate of 0.5%.

• PPP Information Sheet for Lenders

  • If you are having challenges explaining this program to your local bank, share this information sheet with them.

  • If they are not participating, you will need to find a lender that is SBA-certified and is participating in the PPP.

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND that all churches consider applying through the PPP.  This program is intended to help organizations, like churches, to continue to operate at full strength through this current trial. 

To summarize:

• The SBA provides a loan equal to 2.5 times your monthly payroll (explained in my post here).

• The loan will be forgiven entirely if you don’t make reductions in pay or staffing levels.

• Non-profits, including churches, qualify for the program.

• The application process begins on Friday, April 3.

Tommy Hill serves as the Director of Finance for Sovereign Grace Churches. He is also the Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville where he lives with his wife Elizabeth and their children.

Sovereign Grace Churches Day of Prayer for Healthcare Professionals

The Bible is sufficient for all of life, at all times, even in the midst of a global pandemic. God is good to tell us what to do in tribulation, like the COVID-19 pandemic we are all walking through together. God tells us in Romans 12 to “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (Rom. 12:12, ESV).

Being constant in prayer sounds like a good thing to do right now. Therefore, I’m asking the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches to devote this Friday, April 3 to a Day of Prayer for Healthcare Professionals who are serving during the COVID-19 pandemic. These men and women are on the front lines, at the risk of their own health, to care for those who are sick. We, as a family of churches, thank God for them and the many sacrifices they are making. Here are a few ways you can join me in praying for the health care workers serving around the globe:

• Ask God to protect them from contracting the COVID-19 virus as they care for the sick.

• Ask God to strengthen them for the long hours they are working in hospitals and clinics.

• Ask God to comfort them when they need to spend time separated from family and friends.

• Ask God to provide the equipment, medicine, and supplies they need to care for those infected with the COVID-19 virus.

• Ask God to encourage them especially during difficult and challenging days.

• Ask God to use Christian health care workers to communicate the love of Christ to patients and co-workers looking for opportunities to share the hope of the gospel.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

COVID-19 Financial Update #3: Paycheck Protection Program for Churches

As mentioned in my previous communication, the recently passed CARES Act includes a new loan program called the Payroll Protection Loan/Grant.  This program is a significant benefit available to small businesses, including churches and non-profits.  All U.S. Sovereign Grace Churches who have regular payroll should qualify.  There is much information available to digest online.  I will try to synthesize the most important items below.

Be sure you get this information into the hands of your administrator or financial advisory team as soon as possible so they can consider applying.

Why is this program being offered?

The Paycheck Protection Program is intended to provide relief to small businesses, including churches and non-profits, to help them retain staff during the coronavirus crisis.  The process is supposed to be simplified, with no personal loan guarantees and no recourse to any individuals if used for authorized purposes.

How much can I qualify for?

Most of our churches should qualify for an amount equal to 2.5 times your average monthly payroll costs, including salary and employer-paid retirement, healthcare, and state/local payroll taxes computed over the last 12 months.

Where do I apply for the loan?

Contact your current bank to see if they are an approved SBA Lender and are preparing to receive applications for this program.  If they are not, you will need to identify another bank/lender as soon as possible.  The bank will have the information on the program to help you begin the application process.

What are the terms of the loan?

If you spend the loan on payroll, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities over the next eight weeks, then the repayment is deferred for six months to a year with payoff over up to 10 years at an interest rate not to exceed 4%.

Can’t some of the loan be forgiven?

Yes, if you spend the funds per the above terms in eight weeks, the entire amount of the loan can be forgiven if you essentially keep your current staff employed for the period from March 1 to June 30 at their same pay amount.  The amount forgiven will be reduced proportionally for any staff reductions or cuts in pay.  So, to simplify, if you have four employees paid equally last year and only three on staff this year, you would be forgiven 75% of the loan.  The calculation is more complex, but this is meant to help you understand why it’s important for you to take action!

What can I do now? 

• If at all possible, try to delay any salary reductions or layoffs until you can receive this loan.  The purpose of the loan/grant is to help you retain your current employment levels.

• Find a local bank that is an approved SBA Lender and preparing to offer this program as soon as possible.

• Begin pulling together your compensation records from March 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020, where you have monthly totals for each employee for the following categories. This is the information you will need to compute the loan amount as well as the forgiveness amount going forward.  I find it’s better to start with more detail to make adjustments later.

  • Salary and other wages.

  • Housing allowance (still not clear if housing allowance qualifies though).

  • Employer-paid retirement

  • Employer-paid health insurance

  • Employer-paid state/local payroll taxes

  • FTE (full-time equivalents) for each employee per month.  A full-time employee is “1”.  A 20 hr. employee is “0.5”.

• The US Chamber of Commerce has a helpful document explaining the details.

Again, I strongly encourage you to find someone in your church to begin this process.  It appears to be a great provision of funding to maintain your staff during this season.

For more information on this and other economic benefits available to churches, I recommend ECFA and BMWL.

Tommy Hill serves as the Director of Finance for Sovereign Grace Churches. He is also the Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville where he lives with his wife Elizabeth and their children.

COVID-19 Financial Update #2: Unemployment Benefits

I have had several pastors ask me about whether church staff can qualify for unemployment compensation if they are laid off as a result of the economic impact of COVID-19.  Here are some key highlights (as brief as I can be!).  Be sure and pass this on to whoever helps your church with compensation and benefits.

Do church employees qualify for unemployment compensation normally?

No.  As a general rule, churches are exempt from purchasing unemployment insurance; and most don’t purchase it.  Thus, terminated employees don’t qualify for unemployment compensation.  For this reason, it is important to consider these two key factors:

1. When hiring staff, make sure they are aware that unemployment benefits are not available for church employees.  Also, make sure this is highlighted in your benefits policy manual.

2. Because there are no unemployment benefits available for terminated staff, try to be more generous with your severance policy than you might if you were a small business paying unemployment insurance.  There are other reasons to be generous with this policy beyond the scope of this review.

Are some States now offering new unemployment benefits available as a result of the COVID-19 crisis?

Yes.  I know of at least two states (Ohio and Tennessee) that are now providing some level of unemployment benefits for employees not eligible for regular unemployment benefits if their loss of employment is due to the current COVID-19 crisis.

• If you are faced with the difficult decision of having to let go of an employee, check your state for these potential new benefits.

• You may also have church members in this situation.  Make sure and ask them to pursue unemployment benefits if they have lost their jobs, including this new benefit in some states. 

What about Federal unemployment benefits?

The CARES Act includes federal funding to provide some level of unemployment benefits for church and non-profit employees who have lost their jobs.  I haven’t found any specifics on how this relief is provided yet.  I will update you when more information is available.

The key point at this moment is being prepared to serve your employees if you find yourself in the difficult position of needing to eliminate any staff.  Also, remember to consider the potential effect these decisions could have if you applied for the Paycheck Protection Program Loan/Grant.

For more detailed information on this and other economic benefits available to churches, I recommend ECFA and BMWL.

Tommy Hill serves as the Director of Finance for Sovereign Grace Churches. He is also the Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville where he lives with his wife Elizabeth and their children.

What is God Revealing Through the Pandemic? An Interview with Mark Prater

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Benjamin Kreps:

Hey everyone. Welcome to the Mark Prater podcast, where our aim is to connect our global family of churches with our Executive Director. Hey Mark, there's a rumor going around that for your protection, you've been quarantined underneath the Texas Roadhouse in Glen Mills. Is that where you're broadcasting from right now?

Mark Prater:

I kind of wish I was, but that's not true.

Benjamin Kreps:

You get those nice little cinnamon honey biscuits just taken right down into the basement, to the bunker.

Mark Prater:

Yeah, that'd be one of the reasons I'd love to be there.

Benjamin Kreps:

All right. Well, what we wanted to talk about was this: So God is always at work. He's our sovereign God, reigning over all things. Everything happens according to the counsel of his will. We only see a tiny bit (or understand a tiny bit) of what he's doing at any given time. But what are the kinds of things that you see God doing or revealing in Sovereign Grace Churches during this season?

Mark Prater: 

It's a great question. I've been thinking a lot about it and observing. And of course I don't know all that God is doing, as you just referenced. And I think there's more that we will learn in the weeks and months to come. But here's one of the things I'm seeing: As I watch our pastors respond to this pandemic, it reveals their true calling to shepherd God's people.

And what I mean by that is one of the difficulties our pastors experience is not being able to be with their people. And so that's not only frustrating, t pains them when they're used to sitting in an office counseling them or being with them on a Sunday or dropping into their small group, and none of that can occur. It's just difficult for our guys. And so that alone reveals that our pastors are just guys who love to shepherd the flock that God has entrusted to their care.

Benjamin Kreps: 

And you can see that expressing itself in a myriad of podcasts and devotional videos I see it popping up on my feed from Sovereign Grace guys constantly. You can just feel that guys are saying, we want to connect with our people. We want to serve them even from a distance. So that's wonderful. What else are you seeing?

Mark Prater:

That reveals another thing I'm seeing, which is a commitment by our pastors to our shared ecclesiology. So all those attempts that you just mentioned, whether to do livestream or if the church is choosing not to and doing devotionals for their families to do at home: All of those are expressions of our commitment to build a local church with our values. 

And I think what's being revealed in this time is how we've built for the last 30+ years. We've built with values where the local church is very central to our life and to what we do. And because of that, guys are wanting to continue to build that way in the midst of a pandemic. And I think the effect will be that once we can gather together again, no pastor should fear a member just saying, I'll just continue to livestream. I think they're going to want to be with God's people. And that's because of how we built over the years.

Benjamin Kreps:

It is wonderful in that we historically and presently enjoy a sense of needing to be with one another, practicing the "one anothers," connecting and fellowship, not just showing up on Sundays. So the live feed on Sunday, if that's what we're doing, or some other means, definitely can't replace any of that, just supplement some things. Anything else you're seeing?

Mark Prater: 

I'm seeing the way that pastors are responding to the pandemic in a way that reveals their commitment to our shared gospel mission in Sovereign Grace. Partnership really matters right now. And that's what you're seeing. So even the idea of: Okay, how do you pastor your church in a pandemic? There are guys sharing resources and ideas and ways of doing things together.

But there's also just an ongoing expression of care: pastors reaching out to other pastors, asking how they're doing, texting them, letting them know they're praying for them. I'm observing all of that and realizing God is going to use this pandemic to strengthen the partnerships we so much love in Sovereign Grace.

Benjamin Kreps:

That's beautiful. Is there anything that you have enjoyed or anything you'd recommend to think about when it comes to expressing the gospel mission during the season? (Things that you've seen that seemed to be effective or useful for us to think about?)

Mark Prater: 

In terms of gospel mission, in terms of advancing the gospel, is that what you mean? Probably one of the things (if you haven't yet done it) is to read Jim Donahue's blog post on the church development website. So how do you reach out when you're shut in? He has some really good ideas there, including just praying for unbelievers. 

I think what we've got to anticipate is God using this to draw unbelievers to himself. I saw a picture on Twitter just two days ago of a Barnes and Noble bookstore where the Bible shelves are sparsely filled. In other words, the grocery stores are not only empty, the Bible shelves are empty. And I think that picture says a lot about where people may be at. 

I think Sovereign Grace is poised as just one small denomination to participate in maybe even a revival. Maybe God would do that. Let's pray that way, right? 

Benjamin Kreps:

Amen. Ray, Ortlund Jr. had a post about the hopefulness of what God might be doing through this when it comes to revival that I saw on the Gospel Coalition website. I can't remember what it was called, but it's wonderfully faith-stirring to prepare for revival through all of this.

Mark Prater:

Yeah. Ray Ortlund just has faith in the midst of the pandemic.

Benjamin Kreps:

Such an optimistic fellow and friend. Well thank you Mark.

Mark Prater:

Hey listen, let me mention one other thing before we leave. If, guys haven't seen it yet, Jeff Purswell wrote a blog post yesterday. It's up on the Sovereign Grace central website. And it's up on the church development website. It's entitled, To Stream, or Not to Stream: Considering Sundays in Seclusion. 

It's a very thoughtful blog post that I want all of our guys to read and take advantage of.

Benjamin Kreps:

Great. And thanks for sharing that with us. Thank you for your time, Mark.

Mark Prater:

You're welcome, Ben.

Benjamin Kreps:

We'll talk to everyone else when we see you here next time. Stay safe.

Mark Prater is the Executive Director of Sovereign Grace Churches and has served as an elder at Covenant Fellowship Church since 2002. 

COVID-19 Financial Update #1: Families First Coronavirus Act and CARES Act

I just wanted to let you know that we are monitoring information that could affect churches, particularly relating to government-sponsored relief through the Families First Coronavirus Act and the CARES Act.  As we become aware of information to help you understand the impact on your church, we will let you know where helpful resources are available. 

Specific parts of the laws that could directly affect churches include (1) payroll tax credits for up to two weeks paid leave for employees related to COVID-19; (2) Paycheck Protection Program Loans/Grants; and (3) Expanded Unemployment Benefits.  Here  are a few places that I have found helpful to keep up-to-date currently for those who aren’t afraid to dive into the details (or send to your finance committee team to review):

• ECFA COVID 19 Resources

  • https://www.ecfa.org/Content/ECFA-COVID-19-RESOURCES

• BMWL CPAs COVID-19 Resources

  • https://www.nonprofitcpa.com/covid-19-updates/

• Also, here is an excellent review today by Mike Batts on the CARES act as it affects churches

  • Mike Batts Cares Act Summary

• Vanderbloemen Church Resources for Navigating COVID-19

  • https://www.vanderbloemen.com/covid19 

There will be a rush of articles and materials interpreting these things for all businesses and churches.  For now, I would recommend letting the experts spend more time interpreting these things and the government to provide us clear guidelines and instructions for how to best apply these new laws.

Tommy Hill serves as the Director of Finance for Sovereign Grace Churches. He is also the Administrator for Cornerstone Church of Knoxville where he lives with his wife Elizabeth and their children.