Mask Requirement Lifted

From Bro. Ricky and Bro. Kory to the saints at Hardin Baptist,  

We want to thank all of you for your faithfulness in following our leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s been over a year that we have had to make decisions that not only affected our spiritual health as the body of Christ but also decisions that influenced the physical health of our body, as well. To the best of our ability, we have tried to make decisions based on the guidelines of the CDC and the wisdom and medical expertise of several of our Hardin members who are medical doctors. 

Our decisions during this pandemic were never made out of fear of the virus, but out of respect for our people that were most vulnerable to it. We wanted to display the love that Christ had for others in sacrificing some of our personal freedoms to protect others who might have been more vulnerable. We thank God that, to our knowledge, there has been no transmission of the virus in our in-person worship services; however, we realize that many of our families have been forever affected by the virus. 

Because of the recent announcement of the CDC that vaccinated people do not need to wear a face mask for indoor gatherings, we are no longer going to require face masks at Hardin Baptist Church. The CDC is basing its decision primarily on the efficacy of the vaccines. We praise God for the wisdom that He has granted to the medical community in this area of vaccine research and production.  

This Sunday will be the first day of a brand new week!  And it will be the first time in over a year that we will get to see the faces of our brothers and sisters in Christ. On Sunday we will be taking our next step toward a new normal. 

We believe, as does our team of medical doctors, that for our body in Hardin this is the right decision. Those in our body who are the most vulnerable to Covid-19 have had the opportunity to be vaccinated for many months now. The vaccine is now available to anyone who wants to be vaccinated. 

As pastors, we realize there are many people in our community who are not going to get vaccinated, and we respect their decision. We also realize there could be some in our body who believe they are still vulnerable to this very real virus and we encourage you to wear a face mask if you so choose. 

We can’t wait to see your faces on Sunday!