Local church preps for Easter Sunday

MERIDIAN, Miss. - As Sunday draws near, Northcrest Baptist Church is preparing for their expected crowd of members for Easter Sunday. Executive Pastor Wade Phillips says last year the pandemic only allowed them 10 people in the building, but this year they are expecting about 1,000 people for 2 services.

“We’ve seen over the last several months our attendance has begun to come back up," said Phillips. "Last Sunday there were around 700 people in here--which 65 or 75% of those were our pre-COVID attendants.”

Phillips admits that does present a challenge for the church in keeping members safe, but guidelines will be enforced from wearing a mask and social distancing. If the sanctuary does become crowded, members can view from the chapel.

“We’ll be able to move people in there and they can watch a live stream of service instead of coming in here with all the people. So we’re trying to do everything we can to make sure people feel comfortable and safe.”

The church is complying with guidelines set by the Mississippi State Department of Health that were updated yesterday.

“For the most part, we’re trying to do what the Mississippi State Department of Health says. We’re also trying to understand the realities of our particular situation in churches in general, but we want to sure as best we can to follow those guidelines.”

Services will also be live streamed on the Northcrest Baptist Church website, Facebook and YouTube.