mandate

COVID Vaccine Mandate Resources

The recent California Department of Public Health directive to mandate the COVID vaccine for all health care workers in the state has caused many to question what they are to do. If they don’t receive the vaccine, they risk losing their jobs. For some, taking the vaccine just feels wrong. Perhaps it is because the vaccine is not fully FDA approved, the reports of side-effects, the use of new mRNA technology in the vaccine, or other reasons entirely.

Koinonia Church does not have an official position on the right thing to do. We view this as a “disputable matter” as described in Romans 14:1-4:

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.
One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.

The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not,
and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

This is a personal decision that should be undertaken very seriously and with lots of prayer. Some may be convicted to stand and refuse and lose their jobs. Others may be convicted to receive the vaccine.

Let the Holy Spirit direct you and not the media, your friends’ opinions, or your fears. Follow your God-directed conscience and do not judge or malign others that feel convicted differently.

Religious Exemption Letters
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If you feel convicted that you should not take the vaccine, you may pursue requesting a religious exemption from your organization. A religious exemption request should be supported by Scripture in a deep way and also lived consistently in the individual’s faith walk. Many organizations are simply approving ANY request for a religious exemption and not even requiring additional documentation. Some are requiring a letter. Others require a letter AND a pastor’s signature. You will need to investigate the process in your particular organization.

If you would like to request a pastor’s signature, please contact us. Please note, we cannot sign requests from people who are not a part of our church family.

Our hope would be to help you make a Scripturally sound argument. It is possible to use Scripture to support almost any position. This is not ever how we want to use the Word of God. Whether we are talking about a vaccine, angels, the Trinity, or any other subject, we want to make sure that we are taking into account the whole counsel of God and not proof-texting (using one verse out of context to support a view). We have seen many examples of less than consistent use of Scripture and Scriptural ideas when arguing against the vaccine. As believers, we owe it to our Lord to do this well.

Here are two examples of the best religious exemption letters we have seen so far that could be used as a good starting place. We are not endorsing either letter as representative of our views nor are we verifying the studies or data cited. But we do find these to be well thought out and reasoned positions.

Please feel free to share other letters with us that you believe might be helpful to others! We will review them and add if we believe they could also be useful.

Here is a useful resource page put up by Alliance Defending Freedom

As a pastoral staff, we are honored when we are consulted about these issues. And our door/phone/email/social media is open to all who are sincerely wrestling with these issues. We are not medical professionals. Our authority is Scripture and we take the Word seriously. We will do our best to deepen the conversation and assist you in this.

As you work through these issues, please be careful not to make absolute moral claims about the vaccine that are based on personal conviction. Please do not attack your Christian brothers and sisters who are differently convicted. Please endeavor to love, respect and honor even those who see things differently than you.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 ESV