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Coronavirus Updates & Stories

180 Churchgoers Exposed to COVID-19 by Asymptomatic Member

“I would never with knowledge put anyone in [harm’s] way,” Pastor Jacobsen writes. “I am fully aware that some people may not understand that it is essential for our church to be together in community.”

Essential Guide to Reopening Your Church Post-COVID-19

As you pursue reopening your church, we desire to help your church navigate into this “new normal” in a manner that will strengthen your ministry impact. This Essential Guide to Reopening Your Church Post-COVID-19 provides resources to help you prayerfully do just that.

Tony Spell: Church Will Comply With Orders When ‘they sell popsicles in hell’

While Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has moved the state into phase one of its reopening strategy, allowing churches to operate at 25% of their capacity, Pastor Tony Spell is digging in his heels.

This Is Why Choirs Might Need to Stay Silent for a While

A CDC study on a chorale group in Washington state where an alarming 87% of members became sick and two died after two rehearsals holds a cautionary tale for churches hoping to restart their choirs.

Not All Christians Believe Bill Gates Is the Anti-Christ (and Other End-Time Theories)

Christians are definitely drawn to doomsday theories because a central teaching in the Bible is that Christ will someday return to Earth in a doomsday setting. However, not all Christians believe Bill Gates is the anti-Christ.

Sign of Hope: Central Park Field Hospital to Close in 2 Weeks

Samaritan’s Purse is preparing to close its field hospital in New York City’s Central Park. The field unit has treated 315 patients so far and won't be admitting anymore.

GRACE: How to Protect Children from Abuse During the Crisis

GRACE panelists offer specific, practical advice for church leaders on how to go about protecting children and others vulnerable to abuse during the global pandemic.

J.D. Greear Answers: Is the Virus a Judgment from God?

Is the coronavirus a result of God’s wrath against individuals or nations? Is it ever valid to see the virus as a judgment from God?

Children’s Ministers Determined to Make VBS Happen This Year

Churches consider virtual VBS, neighborhood VBS, and delayed in-person VBS as they plan for one of their biggest evangelism events of the year in the midst of a pandemic.

Kentucky AG Has ‘faith’ in Church Leaders to Resume Church at the Right Time

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is threatening a lawsuit against Governor Andy Beshear over the ban on mass gatherings, including church services. Cameron calls the ban on churches unfair when other institutions are allowed to stay open.

The Things You Need to Think About Before You Reopen Your Church

As churches plan for reopening their buildings, one Texas pastor believes communicating your cleaning policies is going to take on more importance than communicating the theme of your next sermon series. 

20 Churches, TN Governor Get Together for Drive-In Service

Pastors with more than 20 local churches in Tennessee held a drive-in service last Sunday called Beyond Our Walls. Hundreds attended the event, including Governor Bill Lee. 

Justin Welby: There Are ‘wonderful’ Things Emerging From This ‘very dark time’

Though he describes COVID-19 as “unmitigated evil,” Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says the locked-down church is experiencing renewal and “making a huge impact.”

100,000+ Salvations Linked to ‘Great Quarantine Revival’

Nick Hall and the Pulse team say they have received over 100,000 responses to an invitation to accept Christ given during two virtual events the ministry facilitated over Holy Week.

Most GA Pastors Don’t Want to ‘put God to a foolish test’ by Reopening

Although Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has given churches the ok to reopen, many pastors are choosing to remain online-only for the near future. Some go so far as to call Kemp's decision "reckless and irresponsible."

Jim Bakker Needs Your Money, but Only If It’s Cash or Check

Jim Bakker is asking people to send him money so that his ministry does not go bankrupt. He emphasized people should send the money by cash or check since credit card companies are now refusing to do business with him.

Care With a Prayer Matches Pray-ers With Health Care Workers

A group of Israeli women have launched Care With a Prayer, an initiative to match those inclined to pray with those in need of extra prayer right now: the masked heroes we call health care workers.

Embattled Pastor Arrested for Aggravated Assault

Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana has been arrested, but not because he is repeatedly defying the governor’s ban on gathering in groups of more than 50 people.

Benjamin Watson Wants You to Know About $3,000 Church Grants

Could your church use a $3,000 grant? Could your church help another church in need? Former NFL tight end Benjamin Watson is using his platform to help spread the word about the Churches Helping Church Initiative.

Candace Cameron Bure, Kirk Cameron Host Star-Studded ’Hope Rising’ Benefit Concert for COVID-19 Relief

While Candace Cameron Bure and Kirk Cameron say they’ve enjoyed benefit concerts in the last few weeks, the siblings wished the performances had included contemporary Christian artists.

‘Understanding Precedes Refutation’—Preston Sprinkle’s Exiles in Babylon Conference Is Curious

The Exiles in Babylon conference, which is an outgrowth of Preston Sprinkle's “Theology in the Raw” podcast, “aims to help believers think Christianly about theological and cultural issues by engaging in curious conversations with a diverse range of thoughtful people.”

Steve Robinson: How To Create a Culture of Service in Your...

Steve Robinson joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to talk about how church leaders can foster a culture of serving in their churches, raise up new leaders, and help people discover their giftings.

Coronavirus Updates & Stories