WELCOME TO IMPACT CHURCH ONLINE!

We have begun meeting in person together again!! Each Sunday we will go live at 10:30am on Facebook with worship and preaching for those that don’t yet feel comfortable meeting in person.

COVID19 PROCEDURE UPDATE - 7/8/21

What a year and a half this has been!

I remember the first Sunday we went virtual. It was March 15, 2020. The livestream was terrible, I did not have a worry in the world, and I looked at this COVID19 thing as a little break. I fully expected to be virtual for 2 weeks then back to normal. Boy, was I wrong.

From there, we did not meet in person for 15 straight weeks. We returned to a limited in-person gathering on June 28, 2020, but it was far from normal. The majority of church still watched online and we did not offer any kid's environments in person. It felt great to be back at in the building, but I still hoped for the day where we could get back to “normal.”

On September 20, 2020, we decided to reopen Impact Kids (minus nursery). This decision came with strict procedures to keep everyone safe. It took a lot of hard work from our Impact Kids team to get to a point where we could do so.

After a rough winter where we almost closed everything back up, we made it to May 19, 2021 where we no longer required mask for the main worship area. We still required mask for all Impact Kids, team members, and parents dropping kids off.

After meeting with our church board last night and in accordance with Gov. Hogan’s lifting of the state emergency as well as the Carroll County Health Department, we will no longer be requiring mask in any area starting this Sunday. This means that our Impact Kids, team members, and parents dropping kids off will no longer be required to wear masks.

We are still highly encouraging those of you who have not been vaccinated yet to continue to wear your mask, especially if you are serving in the Impact Kids environment.

We will continue to ask if you are sick, contagious, or possibly been exposed that you stay home out of safety for everyone. We will also continue to monitor COVID19 for any variants and will adjust if we feel it is needed.

I want to personally thank the Church Board for their responsible decision making. I want to thank our staff and leaders of have adjusted to the constantly changing procedures. I want to thank all of our team members who have respected these procedures throughout the entire pandemic. And I want to thank everyone that has continually participated at Impact Church, whether online or in person.

If you have any questions for me, feel free to reach out.

-Pastor Eric

COVID19 Procedure Update - 5/19/21

Last night, I met with the church board and some of our staff and leaders to continue talks about an update to our COVID19 procedures. Throughout this pandemic, our board has made decisions based on Governor Hogan’s, the CDC’s, and the Carroll County Health Department’s guidelines. After discussing with the owner of Freedom Optimist Hall, the board voted to approve the following guidelines starting this Sunday:

1) Mask will no longer be required downstairs on the main floor. We encourage everyone who is not comfortable yet or anyone not vaccinated to continue to wear their mask.

2) We will continue to require mask upstairs in the Impact Kids area for now. Since all schools and most daycares are still requiring mask, we will also continue to do so. That means all kids 4 and up, team members, and parents when they drop/pick up their kids

We thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we continue to navigate through this.

Pastor Eric

COVID19 UPDATED PLAN - 12/8/20

At Impact Church, we understand that there is a value and importance to in-person services. We believe that in a time of isolation and loneliness, we need community more than ever. We also understand the importance of safety. We understand that it is our responsibility to keep everyone safe during these times, and that sometimes the best way to keep everyone safe is by suspending in-person gatherings for a period of time. 

With all of that in mind, the Impact Church Board has approved the following guidelines in correlation with the COVID19 Task Force and all State and Local guidelines

GUIDELINES:

Impact Church and Impact Kids will remain open currently with all of our COVID-19 procedures still in place. If any of the following happen, we will suspend all in-person gatherings for 2 weeks:

• If the average new daily case numbers in Carroll, Howard, and Baltimore County reaches 45 (per 100K)

• If a stay-at-home order is issued

• If local or state restrictions are imposed that asks us to suspend in-person gatherings

• If a person in the church tests positive for COVID-19 after being in service on a Sunday 

 If any of the above continue after two weeks, we will continue to suspend in-person gatherings for another 2 weeks.

 Our number one priority is to ensure your safety. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@impactchurchmd.com

Reopen Plan - Stage 2, Impact Kids - 9/28/20

The purpose of this Reopening Plan is to create the procedures that ensures a safe reopening of Impact Kids, starting on November 1. 

This plan was developed by the Impact Kids Team in coordination with the Impact Church COVID19 Task Force.  This task force heeds all State and Local guidelines.  This plan was approved by our Impact Church Board and Staff on September 9, 2020.

PROCEDURES

Starting November 1, the following procedures will be followed:

For Impact Team Members:

• Every Impact Kids Team Member will wear a mask the entire time they are serving (including set up and tear down)

• Each area will be sanitized prior to kids arriving and sanitized after kids leave

• Each Team Member will answer a series of questions before serving, including:

  • In the past 24 hours, have you had any of the following symptoms: cough, chills, shortness of breath, fever of 100 degrees or higher, shivering, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, loss of taste or smell, or gastrointestinal symptoms?

  • Are you currently waiting for a COVID-19 test result?

  • Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19?

    • If so, have you been cleared by a medical professional?

  • In the last 14 days, have you been instructed by any health care provider or the health department to isolate or quarantine?

  • In the last 14 days, have you had close contact (within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes) with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 or suspected of having COVID-19?

• Each team member’s temperature will be taken before service

• A team member will take home the toys after service each week to be sanitized

For Kids and Families:

• Mask are mandatory for children ages 4 and up unless in designated “mask free” area or during “socially distanced mask breaks.”

• At check-in, we will ask the parents to answer the following questions:

  • In the past 24 hours, has your child had any of the following symptoms: cough, chills, shortness of breath, fever of 100 degrees or higher, shivering, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, loss of taste or smell, or gastrointestinal symptoms?

  • Is anyone in your household currently waiting for a COVID-19 test result? 

  • Has anyone in your household been diagnosed with COVID-19?

    • If so, have they been cleared by a medical professional?

  • In the last 14 days, has anyone in your household been instructed by any health care provider or the health department to isolate or quarantine?

  • In the last 14 days, has your child had close contact (within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes) with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 or suspected of having COVID-19?

• At check-in, each child’s temperature will be taken.

• No parent will be permitted to walk to the Impact Kids area. A designated team member will escort your kids to their area. 

• We will not share any toys, crafts, or materials during service. We will have a designated bucket for toys that have been used to prevent sharing.

• We will schedule multiple “hand cleaning” times.

• No diaper bags or other items from home will be permitted in the Impact Kids Area. We will provide zip lock bags for families to put any necessary items in. 

Our number one priority is the safety of our team and our families. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at info@impactchurchmd.com. 

An update from Pastor Eric - 4/2020

Hello Impact Church,

I wanted to give you an update on what we at Impact Church are doing to continue to be the church that makes a difference during this time. I first wanted to remind you that we are here for you. Just because we are not meeting in person does not mean that we have stopped being a church family. If you are in need of anything, please email us. 

With that being said, here are our most recent updates:

• We will be launching our brand new online church services this Sunday. For the foreseeable future, we ask that you tune in live on Sundays at 10:30AM. 

• Each week, we will have Impact Kids available for you to do at home as a family. You can find each week’s discovery guide, videos, and more here. 

• Starting next week, all of our groups will begin meeting online. 

• All upcoming events (Family Brunch, Ownership Class, and Easter egg hunt) are postponed. 

• We have been in communication with organizations such as Bemorecaring, Human Service Programs of Carroll County, Together We Own It, and more about needs that they have. We will update you on ways you can be a difference maker on Sunday. 

Lastly, we have created a special fund to help those in need during this time. 100% of what is given to our "Giving Fund" will be used to help families in need with bills, necessities, and more. If you are able, please consider donating by clicking here (make sure you select the "Giving Fund” dropdown on the “Give To” option).

Although in person church has been cancelled, our call to be the church has not. It is more important now than ever to continue to fellowship with each other, worship together, learn together, and pray together. Let’s continue to be the church together. 

Eric Valenstein
Lead Pastor