March 19, 2020

Good News – How Refuge Church in Stevens Point, Wisconsin Is Responding to the Crisis

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“This is an example of what God’s people will do to step up to the plate to help in times of need.”

We’ve been reaching out to the churches we’ve served in recent years to get updates on how they are doing during the coronavirus crisis. We got this email response from Refuge Church in Stevens Point, WI, and they gave us permission to share it with you. 

Let this story encourage you to not give up while doing good!

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Hi Mark,

Thanks so much for checking in. We appreciate it. It is an interesting season.

The benefit of living in WI and experiencing blizzards and a few Sundays we couldn’t have service, gave us practice runs for times like this. So, tonight we filmed our music for Sunday. Volunteers have been amazing. We are so very thankful. 

Church Response  

  • Online service with special service pieces for Kids and Student Ministries 
  • Daily online encouragement 
  • Volunteer Private FB page for encouragement 
  • Contacting everyone in our recent database to pray with them throughout the week 
  • We were set to have “watch parties” with our small group leaders hosting, but with the constraints on group sizes, we now have small group leaders reaching out to their groups and having virtual small group gatherings! 
  • We also see this as a time to do our own “spring cleaning.” Focusing on the things we can accomplish because we don’t have the weekly services, or need to schedule volunteers for services, etc.

Childcare Response

With our child care and the dire need for school age care because of schools closing, we are doing what we can to help the community. It’s crazy to us how the state is allowing child care to remain open. With that, we are changing how we do things like:

  • Changing our hours of operation, so that we have more time for sanitizing and airing out the building at the end of the day. 
  • We won’t allow parents in the building, but we are at the door and bring the children in the building. 
  • Offering school breakfast and lunch to-go for the community’s children. 
  • Our state is reimbursing us as we provide food for school age children, but we will add the food for the parents as well at no cost. 
  • We are opening more sections of school age child care, using the school building for that so the “new” school age children aren’t mixing with the already enrolled children. 
  • Reducing all class sizes to 1 teacher to 9 students, keeping the class size to the state’s mandate of not more than 10 people… even though the state has basically taken the limits off class sizes just so students can have a place to be! (crazy!)
  • Instead of children going to and from other areas of the building throughout the day, they stay in their classroom for class time, nap in their classroom, eat lunch in their classroom BUT get to go outside more throughout the day too. 
  • We have changed our enrollment policies to be more fluid with the ever changing needs of the parents because of what employers are needing to do. 
  • We reduced the weekly fee for school age children from $155 a week to $25 a day, and it includes breakfast, lunch and snack!
  • Kids are sending letters to grandmas and grandpas in nursing homes and assisted living centers, where visitors are prohibited. 

I could share more, but this is an example of what God’s people will do to step up to the plate to help in times of need. The Scripture says in Psalms that people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power. This is a day where the power of God will be proven! In Jesus’ name! 

Deb Mallek, Refuge Church, Stevens Point, WI


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Tiffany Deluccia -

Tiffany is our Director of Sales & Marketing. She graduated from Clemson University, and before joining The Unstuck Group, worked in public relations with major national retail brands, nonprofits and churches on content creation, strategic planning, communication consulting, social media and media relations.

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