General Assembly of the United States (USGA)

I will say to the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence." (Ps 91:2–3)

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we would like to share about the COVID-19 situation in the United States (US) and offer our thanksgiving to God for His grace and mercy and to brethren worldwide for your care and intercession.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first US COVID-19 case on January 21, 2020. After a national emergency was declared on March 13, 2020, forty-five out of the fifty states have since issued statewide stay-at-home orders. As of late April 2021, the number of confirmed cases in the US has grown to more than 31 million cases[1] (around 9.4 percent of the US population), which according to World Health Organization statistics, is by far the highest of any country.

With the stay-at-home orders, church services, religious education classes, and spiritual convocations were moved online. Although some states declared religious activities as essential activities not long after, permitting places of worship to open even during the stay-at-home orders, other states maintained the ban on religious gatherings. Eventually, non-essential indoor activities were allowed to resume on a gradual scale (e.g., 25 percent capacity, 50 percent capacity, and so on.) So, depending on the state, some of our church locations have remained closed until now, while others reopened in the summer or fall of 2020. When there were subsequent spikes, some states reimposed varying degrees of suspension on religious services, forcing some churches that had reopened to shutter again in response. Consequently, most national and regional church events were moved online, and the remaining few were canceled.

Many of our US churches started regular online prayers throughout the week to strengthen members' spiritual growth in lieu of in-person services and fellowships. The USGA also adopted the theme of “Life of Prayer” in 2021, encouraging every member to make living a life of prayer a priority. Additional church efforts include setting up group communications (e.g., group email lists, LINE chat groups) for the whole church, conducting online or phone fellowship and visitations, delivering care packages and groceries, and establishing charity funds to help members in need. Furthermore, the four regional coordination centers in the US have been consolidating and sharing resources, such as facilitating joint Sabbath services, evangelistic services, and spiritual convocations online during the stay-at-home orders. Local churches have also been sharing online resources and working with one another, such as holding joint gospel classes and testimony sessions.

By February 2021, the US churches had around twenty families (of the roughly four thousand members) that had reported cases of COVID-19. From some of their testimonies, we see how God's peace and love are deeply felt among us, that our God is the true and living God who listens to prayers. The pandemic underscores the yearning and joy we look forward to in worshipping God together and having fellowship as one body in Christ! We pray to the Lord to comfort and strengthen the families that have been affected, to keep everyone safe in His grace and mercy, and that we all continue to seek and do the Lord's will during this challenging period.                                  

May all glory be unto His name, and peace to all with whom He is pleased!

[1] United States of America, World Health Organization, https://covid19.who.int/region/amro/country/us.