OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Christians throughout the metro celebrated Easter in a number of ways.
Many heard sermons from their cars as local churches hosted drive-in service.
Despite Sunday's cold and rainy weather many families gathered at Ambassadors Worship Center from the safety of their vehicles.
"It's one thing to FaceTime but it's a totally different thing to actually see that person literally 6-feet away from you," Associate Pastor Josh Williams said. "[To] see that they're okay, you see the children (the kids see each other), you see your grandma, you see your aunties that you haven't seen in a minute ... so I think that when the human spirit is able to see and feel the other human spirit it causes us to thrive."
With large social gathering restrictions in place due to the coronavirus, Ambassadors found ways to worship beyond its four walls.
Visitors could listen to the sermon on the radio during the drive-in service, and they could also stream the service online, on Facebook live.
Senior Pastor Martin Williams says this year's Easter service took about a year of planning.
"One of our big goals for Easter this year was to have the whole parking lot like full of troughs and offer to the entire city to come and be baptized and just be blessed," Martin Williams said.
COVID-19 changed their original plan, but the church says it was still able to meet its ultimate goal, bringing people closer to God.
"In this climate we're in being outside whether it's in the rain or the snow, we hope that people will come just because we're making the effort to be close to them," Martin Williams said.
And they did.
About 100 cars filled with families showed up to the drive-in service.
Cars honked their horns and flashed their lights as the praise team sang songs.
Associate Pastor Josh Williams says being together in a time of social isolation is crucial for believers.
"This word essential keeps being used, like essential personnel, essential services and I think even more essential than food and water, is faith and worship," he said. So it's the F and the W, food and water-faith and worship is even more important."
And with all of Sunday's success, the church plans to continue reaching people across all platforms.
"We know that there's a group of people that church isn't in a purple seat it's on their phone, it's on their 15 minute break," Josh Williams said. "It's on their way from their desk to the watering hole, so it's extremely important because Jesus didn't just meet people in his word, but he met them on foot, he met them in their homes and he met them in transitions going places."
Ambassadors will continue live streaming its service on Facebook as well as on their app.
You can learn more about the church, here.
