Author: Patti Hopkins

As the case counts of Covid 19 continue to decline in San Luis Obispo county the CDC has reduced our risk assessment level to low this week. We believe this is the time for our kids to be transitioning back indoors this week.

Here is where to check in your children starting March 13.

KidsMin Check in
• BIRTH – Preschool : During both Sunday morning services check in upstairs of Education Center, room 16

• Kinder -6TH GRADE: During both Sunday morning services, . Check into Life Center, through the door closest to the large parking lot. (5th and 6th Grade will be picked up upstairs in rm LC-1)

KidsMin Update from Dana Hutsko, KidsMIn Director

Hello everyone, I just wanted to touch base and let you know some of the changes that we have been making in Kids Min this week. We all know that children under 12 are not able to get vaccinated and COVID has been spreading pretty rapidly in this age group in recent weeks. So, because we know the numbers are going up, we are keeping an eye on how we can best keep our kiddos healthy each and every Sunday:) Most of you know that I am not only the Kids Min Director at New Life but I am also a Medical Assistant at Bravo Pediatrics. Therefore, I am constantly in touch with not only pediatricians but also health departments and others working on Covid prevention options. I have seen first-hand the rapid uptick in pediatric COVID cases in our local community.  Before Covid was ever a factor, Kids Min’s goal was, and always will be…Creating a safe and inviting environment where parents will feel comfortable leaving their children so we can create fun and exciting ways to learn about Jesus! So, we have been continually working on ways to make sure we can offer a safe environment where we can fulfill this goal. I am so grateful for and impressed by the support and flexibility from our New Life families and teachers as we’ve continually tried new things and pivoted time and time again! So I want to thank you for that as well as ask for your continual prayer and support!

Even as case numbers continue to rise in our community, when it comes to children, we think the most important goal is to do what we can to keep our kiddos in school (and Sunday Kids Min)! The overwhelming responses we have heard from our families is that COVID has brought stress on the family by kids not being in school… causing 1) parents being unable to go to work, 2) kids not getting social interaction with their peers, and 3) the stress of daily uncertainty and lack of consistency that a typical school routine seems to bring. Obviously, there are many other ways that COVID has impacted our families… this just was the majority answer we have received. At New Life Kids, we want to do our part to help keep our kids in school, which means making some changes to our Sunday Kids Min structure in order to keep our kids (and teachers) healthy.

I have decided the best way for us to do this is to try to focus more on our NEEDS and less on our WANTS! We did this same thing with Main Event this year. When we decided to hold Main Event entirely outside, we knew it would mean sacrificing some of the bells and whistles and comfort of being indoors with all the technology available to us. We had to think outside the box and strip some things down…but you know what we observed? Kids STILL had an amazing time and learned so much about Jesus! With this being said, we do know it is safer for the kids to be outside together verses inside. Plus, when we are outside, we have the ability to let families make decisions when it comes to face-coverings for their children. We also acknowledge that for teaching, it is much easier to do it inside in a more controlled environment and with the perks of using technology. However, as we learned through Main Event, being outside verse inside does NOT hinder our ability to love on the kids and to instill our core values, which are… teaching them that they are Loved by Jesus, creating ways for them to be Shaped by Jesus, and equipping them to Do what Jesus Did! 

So here is the plan. Right now our amazing staff and Kings Crew has been planning and working on creating us shaded outdoor classroom spaces. This will be finished and ready to launch the following Sunday, August 22nd. We are putting together a 12-week fun fall curriculum unit that will have the kids excited to come to their new space and hear about God and His love for them. There will be music, skits, Bible teaching and activities that help them with life application so that they can learn to incorporate what they learn in the Bible to their everyday lives! We are excited to see how God is going to use these next 12 weeks to grow the kids in their faith!

STARTING AUGUST 22ND, ALL KIDS, meaning babies through 6th grade, will be checked in by the Life Center parking lot by the BBQ pit. You won’t be able to miss the Check-In tent:) The lower cross parking lot will be blocked off and there will be designated classrooms for Preschool-1st, 2nd-4th, and our older and wiser 5th-6th graders! Our two and under crew will still be inside, BUT we are creating an area inside of the Life Center where there is plenty of room to spread out and lots of doors and windows to keep air flow moving. We will also have the outside gated area available by the patio for families that want to keep their little with them and they can have room to walk and play while parents are still able to watch service on the Patio.

Last IMPORTANT info for THIS SUNDAY 8/15…

This will be our last week inside before we start our Fall Outdoor Adventure! So, we are asking that all our kids and teachers that are physically able, to please wear a face-covering while inside this week.

Thank you all again for your time as well as your flexibility!! I know this was a lot of information but thank you for your support!

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Thanks again,

Dana Hutsko

Kids Min Director

Here is all the information on our current services.

Sunday Services

We are so pleased to see COVID cases continue to drop rapidly! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and we are excited to continue to move forward! We want to make sure that our community crosses the finish line and makes it all the way through that tunnel. So for that reason, we ask you to still be mindful when you’re interacting with those outside your household. We ask you to keep three seats in-between you and the next party. As more and more people feel comfortable gathering in-person and indoors, we may adjust these distancing measures to increase our capacity. Face coverings are welcomed indoors.

On Sunday, May 23rd we will return to indoor services for both 9 am and 11 am. If you are not comfortable indoors yet, we will have the service live streamed to our patio with bright new  weatherproofed screens and an improved sound system. Our indoor seating will be open in every other row to allow for social distancing. As we gather inside, we ask that you offer grace to everyone; those who choose to wear masks, and those who don’t choose to wear masks. Thank you, together we will work our way back through this transition as the people of God.

As our county has moved into orange tier restrictions for Covid 19 we are now able to expand our capacity to 50% indoor seating during our 11 am service starting Sunday, May 2nd. We will continue to require masks while walking throughout the building. Our 9 am service remains outdoors and outdoor patio seating is available at the 11 am service as well.

Thank you all for your response to our survey. We have plans in place to resume an indoor service option starting Sunday, March 7th. On that Sunday our 9 am service will remain in the parking lot, as it has been. Our 11 am service will have both an indoor seating option for up to 250 people (25% capacity) and a patio seating option if you prefer to remain outdoors. If you wish to join us indoors, we ask that you wear a mask throughout the service and stay 6 feet apart from those outside your household or established Covid circle. We will be live streaming the 11 am service only on our website, Facebook and Youtube.

Covid update: December 3, 2020

As you probably have heard by now, a new regional stay at home order has been issued and SLO county is incorporated into the “Southern California” region which is currently experiencing record hospitalizations. You may be asking yourself, how do these new regulations affect New Life. Well the quick answer is: actually not that much. Within the guidelines, outdoor religious services are exempt from these stricter mandates.

With that being said, we also acknowledge that these regulations are going to be hard for many of our friends and local businesses. We think that the best way we can help our neighbors is to do our part to keep each other healthy. So we’re going to continue our outdoor and online services as usual...with a little extra mindfulness to keep our distance from those outside our households and to wear our masks as much as possible. Also, if there’s any question about an exposure you may have or any sickness you’re feeling, please just watch from home.

We look forward to seeing you tonight at our tree lighting! Please do your part tonight to adhere to the safeguards we’ve put in place, and remember to bring your mask. As a reminder, the Christmas Walk will be lit every night so if you’d like to experience it with less people, you’re welcome to come any other night after tonight.

We love you! Thanks for partnering with us in showing love to our community as we continue to safely gather as the people of God!

The New Life Team

Due to our county’s latest standings and health guidelines, we’ve decided to offer three different options for weekend worship services: outdoor, indoor, and online. We are also adding a second Sunday Service time.

SUNDAYS • 9am + 11am
starting October 4

Here are some important things to know about how this gathering will work best.

• We are continuing to offer our outdoor service in the parking lot near the Cross. No registration required.
• With our county officially being in the red zone of the COVID recovery process, we’ve decided to add an indoor option to our weekend services. Seating is limited to 100 and we highly recommend you pre-register to reserve a seat. Masks will be required as well as social distancing.
• We are holding a KidsMIn service for 1st – 6th grades at 9 AM only on the basketball courts at the Student Center across the street. Please pre-register you kids for this. We plan to expand our kids’ services soon.
• You will still be able to watch our services live-streamed at 9am or view them anytime thereafter on Facebook, YouTube and at newlifepismo.com/live