BILLINGS - With the reported cases of COVID- 19 in Montana, a Billings church has found a creative way to hold services.
"One of the things I love for about the first 350 years of the Christian Church is that they didn't have buildings," said Fiath Chapel Lead Pastor Nate Poetzl. "Churches thrived with or without buildings. So we firmly believe that the building itself could disappear over night and I think a healthy church maintains itself. It stays and flourishes. The church indeed is people, it's not a facility. I think that could prepare us to navigate this very very difficult time."
Around 5,000 people are members at Faith Chapel.
Faith Chapel has moved its services strictly online under the advice of medical professionals.
The church has put its services online for about ten years.
Poetzl says the online option makes it possible to reach a lot of elderly individuals, and will change them up a little to accommodate current circumstances.
Poetzl says he's focusing this week's sermon on quelling a lot of fear existing right now.
In addition, there is an app where notes on the sermons can be found at any time.
"I think in Yellowstone County, our best response is to be cautious, let's do what we can to protect the vulnerable," he said. "So if we miss a couple of weekends, or a couple events on TV I think that's worth it. Even it's just a few people who are vulnerable who could have maybe suffered extensively because of this."
