We have reopened the building for worship services!
The Church Council and staff worked very hard to make this a reality. We are very excited about this and have created this FAQ to help with the transition.

Do we have to reserve a spot for our family?
No, but we are asking for reservations particularly these first few weeks because we don’t know how many to expect, if we need more chairs, or even need to add a service.  (All we need is your family name and how many will be attending.)

Will there be something for the children?
Yes. If you choose to have your children sit in service with you, we will have coloring pages and other activities for the kids when you arrive. You will have plenty of space to spread out with your kiddos, and we are keeping the services to 45 minutes.  (And if you wanted a coloring page or activity booklet for yourself – that’d be okay as well.)

Starting Sunday, September 13th, we are relaunching a modified version of our children’s ministry! Here are the Children’s Ministry Reopening Guidelines.

What can I expect when we show back up to the building?
To be treated like a rock star. We will have a dedicated entrance and have some hand sanitizer waiting for you. You’ll have a spacious place to sit and get situated. After the service, you will have a dedicated exit. Don’t worry, we will have signs.

Will we sing?  Have music?  Teaching?
Yes! We are gonna sing.  We will start by live-streaming our worship team into the gym.  This allows us to fit around 50 more people into the gym.  Teaching will be live and in-person.  Service time is going to be around 45 minutes long.

Will you still have the service online?  With chat and live prayer?
Yes and yes.  If you are not comfortable coming back with all the precautions, join us online on Facebook. We will broadcast live and would encourage you to even have watch parties with your Connect Group. Our online presence will not be going anywhere. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and click to accept notifications to be informed of any new live broadcast postings.

What’s with mask wearing and social distancing?
When we provided the church survey, 44% of you said “Yes, I would wear a mask” while 38% said “No, I would prefer NOT to wear a mask.”  Of all the questions we asked, this was by far the most polarizing.

Yes, we are asking people to wear a mask (not small children), and we are observing some physical distancing. We are allowing mask removal while seated, during the message. Masks will remain in place during any movement around the building and while singing. There were three reasons for this decision.

First, our research shows that most COVID-19 positive cases happen when there is prolonged exposure to the virus in droplet form in enclosed spaces. Some activities – like coughing, sneezing, eating, and singing – exponentially produce more droplets. Going to the grocery store or running in and then out of a store provides very little time or opportunity for exposure. Sitting in the same place for 45 minutes while singing does increase the risk significantly. By wearing a mask and physically spreading out, we are lowering the risk of exposure.

Second, we live in a litigious culture, and we received some guidelines from our insurance providers to follow so that if anyone contracted COVID-19 at WHC, we would have coverage for that.

Third, we wanted as many people as possible to feel comfortable coming back to the building. We know that there are people who have strong beliefs all over the spectrum. We believe these initial guidelines navigate a middle road.

How long will these guidelines be in place? 
We don’t know.  We anticipate there will be changes every week as we are constantly researching and learning new things.  We are always going to change and adapt as new information comes in.  We are hoping to have children’s ministry up and running in time for the start of school as well as our student ministry and small group Bible studies.

What if I’m having a hard time with some of these guidelines?
First, know that we – Church Council, pastors, and staff – had a difficult time with these decisions. Reopening the building presented the most complicated series of issues we have ever faced. We found ourselves wrestling with our personal convictions versus what was going to be best for a congregation of over 400 people, ages 85 to 8 days.

Second, pray with and for us. We spent weeks praying through this, seeking God’s wisdom. We still are. This is a starting point for us to open, and we know it will change. Every step will require more wisdom than we have right now. So pray that God would give us all a spirit of unity and of grace.

Third, talk to us. You can drop us an email to set up an appointment. We’d love to hear you and see if there is some way we can help each other keep moving forward.

Personal Note from Grant English, Lead Pastor:

As our Church Council, pastors, and staff wrestled through all the reopening decisions, I found myself incredibly conflicted. Some of the decisions we made, I am 100% behind and believe in. Some of the decisions (after a lot of thought and prayer), I recognize as necessary for the time being even though I don’t like them. I haven’t known what to do with this inner conflict until God reminded me of a scene that played out in our driveway a couple of months ago.

As many of you know, our family was forced to navigate Cooper’s (our 22-year old son) cancer diagnosis and chemo-therapy during this global pandemic. It radically challenged and changed our family. We were exhausted – emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

Cooper has a group of friends that he has navigated life with since middle school. They are very close – been in Bible studies together, graduated high school together, roommates, housemates, vacations, graduated from K-State together. Cooper was supposed to be in a couple of their weddings this summer, but obviously he can’t do that.

Like many of you, we have dealt with a lot of disappointment.

A few months ago, his friends wanted to have a graduation celebration together. It was to be their last hoorah before they all got jobs, got married, and moved away. How could they do that with Cooper, given his vulnerable immune system and the COVID-19 pandemic?

If Cooper gets sick, it could kill him, so Amy and I set the ground rules:

Must be outside, in our driveway/cul-de-sac.
Nobody comes in the house.
Must maintain social distance.
Wear a mask.
Nobody touches Cooper or anything that gets to Cooper.
Hand sanitizer will flow like water.
We can shut it down so Cooper doesn’t get exhausted.

Every single one of them responded: No problem. We’re in.

It was 100 degrees with no breeze. We had Popeye’s and cookies. Not one of them complained. They were too busy laughing and telling stories. I was blown away by their act of love and kindness towards Cooper.

They chose to be inconvenienced because…

They knew it was only for a short period of time.
They knew there were better days ahead.
They did it for someone they loved.

That driveway lesson has stuck with me, because it’s a picture of Western Hills Church.

Western Hills Church has an incredible legacy of serving others. We have a trophy case full of stories where we chose to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of others.

Opening our building and facilities to the community.
Scholarships for a Christ-centered sports experiences.
Providing hundreds of meals to food-insecure families.
Providing funding for COVID-19 affected families.
Adopting three different schools.
Engaging with trash-dump communities.
Supporting missionaries in at-risk/closed countries.
Adopting international college students to show them the love of Christ.
Partnering with Antioch Church to model bridge-building to our city.

We have consistently chosen to be inconvenienced, because we knew that it was only a short inconvenience in light of eternity. We know that there are better days ahead. Most importantly, we do it because we deeply love people.

All people. Because they are made in God’s image, AND because God loves them deeply.

This is living out the reality of Jesus. And my prayer is that this once again comes shining through during this difficult season.

Let’s go be the church.

Grant was able to sit down this week with his friend Pastor Marcus Clark from Love Fellowship Church. Be sure to take some time to listen to their discussion and thoughts on the events of the past couple of weeks.

After the events of the past week, Grant sits down with his friend and fellow pastor Delmar White who pastors New Mount Zion Baptist Church. Pastor White talks about how hard it was to teach this past Sunday as well as how the church should begin to move forward on the issue of racism.

Grant was invited to join Andy Addis, Pastor of CrossPoint Church regarding the WH Journal post he wrote last week titled “When Asking Why is No Longer Enough.” Joining them in the podcast is Pastor/Author Stephen Owens – Lead Well of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Bedford, OH. Listen as they discuss their thoughts about what needs to happen next in race relations.

I have been asked for my thoughts concerning the death of George Floyd as well as the despicable act by a young woman in New York who tried to get an African-American man arrested simply because he asked her to keep her dog on a leash in a leash only area.

Before I speak on either of these instances, some backstory. If you are reader of this blog, you know the journey I have been on concerning race relationships in our community. You can read this or this or this or this. I could list more but you get the point.

I am not new to this discussion.

In fact, for the last two years, I have met with a group of African-American pastors over lunch, coffees, and zoom meetings. I have purposely pursued relationship with these men and they have welcomed me as part of the family. I am often the only white guy in the room (we are changing this, adding some “cream” to the mix). These men have become some of my closest friends, a safe place for me and them to ask questions, to tease each other and laugh. We text all the time, check in on each other.

Why have I done this? Why have I purposely sought out relationships with African-American pastors and churches in our community? Why do I show up and listen?

Because I got to the point in my life where I realized that being mad about racism and asking “why” was no longer a good enough response.

Let me be clear. There is no excuse for the actions of those ex-police officers in Minneapolis. None. George Floyd should be alive right now.

But this is not new. The events of this week are not isolated instances. This has been a part of the reality of what it means to be a black male in America for quite some time. The cell phone has revealed a deep, dark secret that we whites have either ignored or been ignorant of and we really should be past the point of being shocked.

And that is what triggered me this week particularly about the white community. Why are we still shocked? Why do the images and video shock us this week? Why is this instance so heinous? What is so unique about the death of an unarmed, handcuffed black man this week that has finally got us speaking out and speaking up? Why has it taken this long for so many of us to see this?

I am tired of seeing press conferences of white people who are outraged by these actions but then return to the safety of their white privilege. I am tired of sound bites and twitter posts but then no intentional change in terms of building relationships with people that look different than you. I am tired of “leaders” who sound fantastic at a press conference but they can not incarnate what they are preaching.

Asking “why” is no longer a good enough response. We know why. Mankind is selfish and sinful. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

A better question is “Now what?” Start personally before you start corporately. After a week of social media posts, twitter fights, and facebook comments – what is going to fundamentally change in your life? Will you seek out a relationship with someone of color to listen and learn? Will you risk your safety and comfort to stand with other African-Americans?

It is the way of our Lord and Savior…to walk in these places as a redemptive voice.

I am grieving with my brothers this week. I am angry when they are angry, frustrated when they are frustrated, exhausted when they are exhausted. Not because they are black. But because they are my friends. And that is what fundamentally needs to change in our culture moving forward.

I hope you have been frustrated over the last few weeks.

I hope you have had moments where you got angry for no apparent or good reason.

I hope you found yourself inexplicably tired a night or two… or three.

I hope you got irritated because the cereal companies have conspired to make their plastic bags only open when you apply the force of a jaws of life.

I hope you found yourself staring silently at your kid trying to find the words to explain new math, which makes absolutely no sense at all.

I hope these things, because they are a reminder that we are still a work in progress. That the transformation project that Jesus tackled in our heart is still in full swing. These moments of failure should be roadsigns that we see as proof that God is indeed not finished with us.

These failures are like breaking down on the side of the road. It is inevitable. Cars break. Tires go flat. Batteries die. These things happen. That in and of itself is not a surprise. What is often a big surprise is our reaction to the event.

Do we sit on the side of the road and scream profusely at the inconvenience of it all? Do we curse the day we were born? Do we find someone to blame for this tragedy that has befallen us? Do we panic and wallow in the shame and guilt of not up keeping the car the way we should have?

I have experienced all of those things, and what is astonishing is that after all of that emotional energy is expended, the car still isn’t fixed.

Sometimes the fix is obvious, a flat tire or a dead battery. It is something that, with a little help from some friends, can be fixed in straight order. And life continues. It’s an opportunity to teach a kid how to change a tire or get a battery and alternator test at an auto parts store. It costs some time and relatively little amount of money.

Other times, it requires a tow truck and someone with more experience and knowledge than I. So we call for help.

Either way, an action must be taken. A decision to quit rolling around in self-pity and actually do something that could help the situation.

This is true in our transformation journey with Jesus as well. There are going to be failures. A sharp retort. A quick response. A lustful eye. A careless attitude. Some failures are going to be more catastrophic in their consequences than others. Some failures will require more than an apology and humility. Others will require a more extensive visit to the repair shop.

The point is, the true failure in a failure is when the failure itself gets the last word.

The only thing worse than falling down is not getting back up.

So I hope you see this list differently now – as opportunities to experience the grace of God in a deeper way.

And I hope after you experience these things, you get back up and grab His hand. Again. And again.

Last month was our first VIRTUAL LEAD Night, and it was such a HUGE success, we are going to do it again! Monday night, April 20th, at 6:30pm.  You can sign up here.  We will send you a zoom invite.  It’s going to be great.

Who is LEAD Night for?
If you serve in any capacity at WHC, LEAD Night is FOR you. We want to invest in you, give you some encouragement and some soul care. If you are interested in serving in any role at WHC, I’d encourage you to check out LEAD Night. It will get you around some of our leaders, you’ll get to make some new friends and experience the culture here at Western Hills Church.

What should I expect from VIRTUAL LEAD Night?
You can expect a 15-20 minute dose of encouragement/food for thought alongside an opportunity to participate in a smaller group (think 5-7 people) discussion about the topic at hand. We’ll end the evening praying for and with each other.

Sneak Peak at LEAD Night
One resource that I want to put in front of our leaders is the incredible insight that Dr. Henry Cloud, Christian Psychologist and author, has just recently re-released:  Four Principles To Maintain Well-Being During A Crisis.

Here’s the first one:  Stay Connected.

What is core to being human is to be connected – to our God and to each other. COVID-19 has impacted this ability in unprecedented ways, but it does not have to keep us isolated from each other. We need to continue to be intentional in connecting with people.

For the English family, we’ve adopted a couple of different new traditions for us. First, is our Connect Group on Wednesday nights. We meet via Zoom, and the first half hour is utter chaos as the group tries to reconnect with each other…. at the same time. It’s funny and loud, but it hits the spot. We eventually get to the Bible study part… eventually. Sometimes.

We also have game nights at our house. This is with our family around the table. Carcassone and Rumikub are the favorites, but we also do this via Zoom with a few friends. There are a couple of board games via apps that we are learning to play, and it’s quite fun. (Ticket To Ride is a good one.) We’ve also had driveway visits.

The larger point is that these little connections go a long way to maintaining our sanity through this process. We need each other, and staying connected is crucial to navigating this crisis well.

Want to know the other three? Come join me on LEAD Night to find out!