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COVID-19 Response

Updates from Free Chapel

Service Updates

August 9, 2020



Free Chapel Family,

We are continually reviewing up-to-date guidelines and best practices for gathering our church in a safe way.


AUGUST 16 ORANGE COUNTY, CA
On August 16th at 9am we will be having an outdoor service with Pastor Jentezen at our OC Campus.


AUGUST 30 EAST COAST
On August 30th at 9am we will be having outdoor services with Pastor Jentezen at our Gainesville, Gwinnett, Spartanburg, Midtown and Cumming Campuses.

Please subscribe to our email list here and follow Free Chapel on social media for updates and more information about these and upcoming services.

Join Us Online Anytime!

You can join us Sundays and Wednesdays live for church online at freechapel.org/live, YouTube and Facebook or you can enjoy services on-demand anytime at freechapel.org/watch.

Kidpak & FC Youth are now online! Join us each Sunday morning for brand new KidPak services and resources, then join us live at 5PM every Sunday for FC Youth!

Livestream Channels

FreeChapel.org FC Facebook FC YouTube KidPak FC Youth

Pastor Jentezen’s “Faith Over Fear” message during the National Day of Prayer

National Day of Prayer Service

The President’s Coronavirus Guildelines for America - 15 Days to Slow the Spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Download PDF from White House

Learn more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

(COVID-19) Information

Steps to Take if You're Concerned About Paying Bills

Budget

  • If you haven’t looked at a budget in a while, now’s the time to do so. Every Dollar is a great free app to use to get a budget together.
  • Get clarity from your income sources as to what the reality will look like over the coming weeks.
  • Cut spending to bare necessities. If you can’t pay all of your bills, Dave Ramsey recommends you spend your money on these four items first and in this order:
    • Food
    • Utilities
    • Shelter
    • Transportation

Defer Payments

  • If you’re still not able to cover all of your expenses, identify payments that can be deferred:
    • Call creditors to explain your situation. You can ask for temporary relief on your monthly payments. If you offer to still send some money, even if it’s a smaller amount than your typical payment, they might be more willing to work with you.
    • If you have federal student loans, you can forbear (interest accrues) or defer (interest doesn’t accrue on subsidized federal loans) your loan payments.
    • For student loans, use this questionnaire to understand what options are available to you.
  • If you’re paying extra on debt(s) right now and have less than one to two months’ worth of expenses in an emergency fund, it might not be a bad idea to temporarily stop extra payments and then restart them once things settle down.
  • Enroll for health insurance, if you can.
  • Use this week to get a game plan together and gather information, as there may be more changes coming.
  • Reach out to the MoneyWise team using an email address listed above if you want to talk.

National Relief Measures

Broad Measures (Updated: 3/29)

  • Free COVID-19 testing to anyone, regardless of insurance status.
  • The tax-filing deadline has been moved from April 15 to July 15 for both Federal and Georgia.
  • Send stimulus checks directly to American households. Use this calculator to estimate how much your family will receive.
  • Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Ally Bank have all said that if customers are having trouble making payments on loans (mortgages, credit cards, personal loans, auto loans, etc.) to call them to find out what options are available.
  • Foreclosures and evictions will be suspended for 60 days on all HUD-owned properties and mortgages backed by the FHA, Fannie Mae, or Freddie Mac. Additionally, homeowners are eligible for a forbearance plan to reduce or suspend their mortgage payments for up to 12 months. Borrowers should contact their loan servicer to ask about this.
  • Suspend Federal student loan payments through September 30 with no accrual of interest on these loans. Borrowers should contact their loan servicer to ask about this.
  • Individuals that apply for unemployment insurance will receive an additional $600/week for up to four months on top of what they would normally receive from unemployment benefits. Self-employed workers and independent contractors are eligible for this program.

Other Measures (Updated: 3/29)

  • Emergency paid leave for up to three months if you are sick, quarantined, or taking care of a sick family member. It would be 2/3 of your normal salary and doesn’t apply if you receive unemployment compensation (employers with fewer than 500 employees).
  • Paid sick leave for two weeks (employers with fewer than 500 employees).
  • $350 billion small business loan program to provide companies with 500 or fewer employees access to funds to continue paying employees.
  • For funds taken out of retirement accounts like 401(k)s or IRAs, the 10 percent tax penalty is waived for people who are experiencing economic hardships.

Local Relief Measures

Rent

  • City of Atlanta is calling upon their partners (various housing authorities) to halt evictions over the next 60 days.

Utilities

  • Atlanta and Smyrna have suspended water disconnections for the next 60 days.
  • Georgia Power and Cobb EMC have suspended disconnections and collections for 30 days.
  • Atlanta Gas Light Co. will stop service disconnections for customers who haven’t paid their bill for up to seven days. Atlanta Gas Light’s marketers include local companies such as Gas South and Georgia Natural Gas.

Cell Phone/Internet

  • Xfinity will not disconnect or add late fees for customers who contact the company. Customers will have unlimited data for 60 days, and Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots will be free for anyone. New customers will also get access to 60 days of free Internet Essentials service (25 Mbps).
  • AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint will not terminate or add late fees for the next 60 days. Public Wi-Fi hotspots are also open and customers will receive unlimited Internet data. 
  • T-Mobile advises customers with past-due amounts to set up payment arrangements online. 

Unemployment Insurance

Small Businesses

Financial and Food Assistance Resources

Sites to Find Financial Assistance Resources

Food Pantries/Rent and Utility Assistance

Student Meals

Additional Resources

Get Help

If you are vulnerable, sick or in need due to school or business closures the following resources are available to help.

Give Help

1. Sign up to be notified of opportunities to serve the community as they arise.

Click Here to Sign Up

2. Donate non-perishable food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies to any of the following organizations:

3. Give Blood

4. Online food drive

Click Here to Sign Up

Financial Accountability

Free Chapel is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). Founded in 1979, ECFA has more than 1,500 leading Christian nonprofit organizations as members. When a ministry has the ECFA seal, its donors can know that the organization’s “financial house” is in order and can see where their resources are going. We believe that our ECFA membership offers accountability and proves that donors can give with confidence to this ministry as we partner together to win souls for God’s kingdom.

For more information, visit ECFA.

Free Chapel's ECFA Profile