Stillness

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March 29, 2023

I used to think silence and stillness meant God wasn’t speaking. Now, in the silence, he’s all I hear.

Stillness

As a young man I would look to the stars, overwhelmed by the beauty of the night sky. I knew from Psalm 19 that the heavens declared the glory of God. I could see his greatness, but could not hear his voice. Even in their majesty I would wonder why God was so silent. My prayers, especially at night, were filled with requests and concerns. I would list my needs one by one, unaware that my greatest need was stillness.

Of the many needs of North American believers, silence and stillness are among the greatest. Silence is the page on which God writes his word. Our noisy world scribbles on the page continually, overlaying sound and word on top of word and sound until the page becomes black. We cannot read what God has written unless the page is clean.

The pathway of modern life has been hardened, trampled by words. Back in the day you had to visit Times Square; now Times Square visits you. The sower sows the seed but it falls on the path and is carried away by SportsCenter, YouTube, NPR, FoxNews, and our ubiquitous earbuds. Quiet is an aberration. When Maxwell Smart uses the Cone of Silence, the point is that everyone simply has to shout louder. Drop any comedian into a monastery and he’ll have the monks doing hip-hop before it’s over. Even our Bibles are cluttered with sidebars and graphics, pictures and celebrity interpretations.

But what if God is in the stillness and silence? He wasn’t in the whirlwind or earthquake for Elijah. The “still, small voice” is still a whisper. Perhaps the Father has his reasons for not raising is voice. I suspect it’s for our good that we find him in the secret place, well away from Times Square. Why not create a secret place each day and give him just three minutes of blank slate? The Father doesn’t need a podcast to reach our hearts. We will find his presence in the silence, and it will be enough.

This article about stillness originally appeared here, and is used by permission.

Vape Detectors: How to Tell When Your Teens Are Vaping

By

Stephanie Martin

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March 28, 2023

Vape detectors are the latest attempt to combat vaping among U.S. teens. Vaping is now considered a health crisis among America’s young people. Nicotine presents a range of physical risks, and addiction to vaping also has mental health consequences.

Parents, teachers, youth leaders, and anyone who works with teens must stay informed about vaping. Manufacturers continue to create smaller, camouflaged devices, and many vape cartridges are odorless. But there are ways to detect vaping and to safeguard teens from this dangerous habit.

Read on for resources about the vaping epidemic among teens. Then share the information with your youth, their parents, and other church leaders.

Vape Detectors: How to Spot and Stop Teen Vaping

You may know that teen vaping is prevalent. But do you know how to spot it? More importantly, do you know how to prevent kids from getting hooked on vapes? And how to help them stop if they do?

1. Vape Detectors for Schools

In an effort to reduce vaping among teens, more school districts are installing vape detectors. These can be pricey, however, and their effectiveness varies. To push back, vaping manufacturers now instruct users how to evade or not trigger the detectors.

2. Clues That Kids Are Vaping

Here’s a helpful list of what to watch (and smell) for. You’ll also find slang phrases that today’s teens use for vaping and vape products. Click here for details about how vapes work, why vaping is so popular, and why it’s dangerous.

3. Help Kids Quit Vaping

If you do have youth group members (or their friends) who vape, you can help them quit. This site lists positive aspects of not vaping anymore. Plus, it guides parents and other caregivers on how to assist vape users who want to stop.

Childlike Faith: How to Help Your Students Have Faith Like a Child

By

Stephanie Martin

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March 28, 2023

Childlike faith isn’t just for kids. Throughout Scripture, Jesus tells his followers to have faith like a child. In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” And in Mark 10:14, he says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

What does it mean to have a childlike faith? And how can you nurture that type of lifelong trust among the kids at your church? Read on to discover helpful insights and resources for children’s ministry leaders. Then share them with Sunday school teachers and kidmin volunteers in your program. (Pro Tip: Christian adults can always use reminders about developing their own childlike faith!)

8 Resources for Building a Childlike Faith

At the website links below, you’ll find a variety of helpful devotionals, lessons, and tips. Use and adapt them as you share Jesus’ love with children in your church and community.

1. The Beauty of Children

An early-education expert shares the qualities that make children so receptive to faith. For example, they’re innocent, easily awed, curious, reliant, honest, and eager to learn. Use those qualities to introduce kids to Jesus, their lifelong best friend.

2. Childlike Trust

Children’s ministry leaders, teachers, and volunteers must fully rely on God. This brief devotional encourages church workers to assess their own childlike faith.

3. Embracing Childlike Faith

This site explores more Scriptures about having the faith of a child. It also features several quotes on the topic. For example, Bible teacher John MacArthur said: “You can’t confuse childlike faith with childish thinking.”

4. Children & Prayer

Learn more about the importance of prayer in the development of childlike faith.

When Tragedy Strikes Again

By

Greg Stier

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March 28, 2023

nashville_shooting — Three girls pay respects at a growing memorial for the victims of Monday' school shooting , Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at an entry to Covenant School in Nashville. (AP Photo/John Amis)

As a youth leader, teacher, or parent it can be difficult to know how to help our children and teenagers process something as tragic as a mass shooting, such as the one that happened this week at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Six people—three children and three adults—were killed, as well as the perpetrator. But when traumatic events happen, it provides an opportunity to speak into young lives in a deep and meaningful way.

It’s important to take time to help young people sort through their thoughts and feelings about tragic events. Whenever news of a school shooting spreads, our young people are impacted. Innocence ebbs away, and students—many who already struggle with anxiety—can spiral into confusion, fear, and even depression. Or, on the flip side but perhaps nearly as worrying, they can become numb and hardened to reports of evil and death.

The CDC recently reported that 57% of teenage girls in the U.S. feel “persistently sad or hopeless.” Around 30% of girls admit they’ve seriously considered taking their own lives.

As the father of a teenage girl, this breaks my heart!

Every report of every school shooting adds fuel to the fire and chips away at young people’s hopes. It steals a little more innocence. It adds a little more fear.

It was a school shooting that catapulted me out of being the preaching pastor of a church into leading Dare 2 Share, a ministry focused on reaching teenagers, full-time.

On April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School massacre took place in Littleton, Colorado, a suburb of my hometown of Denver. The news hit me hard, because not only did I know a lot of the students who attended Columbine at the time, but my wife was (and still is) a public school teacher in the same school district.

I’ll never forget heading down to Clement Park, right next to Columbine High School, to reach out to the teenagers and parents who had gathered there to pray and to mourn. Amidst the massive amount of reporters, I did my best to speak into the lives of terrified and traumatized teenagers who had gathered there.

Hearing the stories of the survivors and watching their tears impacted me to the point that I eventually resigned from the church to lead Dare 2 Share full-time.

It’s been almost 24 years since the Columbine shooting. Sadly, school shootings have increased, not decreased, over the last few decades. During this time, I’ve spoken to hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of teenagers at our Dare 2 Share gatherings and other events. I’ve had the privilege to personally connect with students, parents, teachers, youth pastors, and school administrators who’ve been affected by school shootings and other mass shootings in one way or another. Even my own son had a shooting take place on the grounds of his school campus 15 years ago.

Pastor’s 9-Year-Old Daughter Was One of the Victims in Covenant School Shooting

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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March 28, 2023

Among the six victims who died in the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday (March 27) was Hallie Scruggs, the nine-year-old daughter of Covenant Presbyterian Church senior pastor Chad Scruggs and his wife Jada.

“We are heartbroken. She was such a gift. Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again,” Hallie’s father told ABC News.

The Covenant School, where the shooting took place, is a private elementary school operated by the church.

At approximately 10:13 a.m., 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a former student of The Covenant School, entered the school by shooting out locked doors. Hale, armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun, then walked through the school, shooting victims until being apprehended by Metro Nashville Police Department officers.

Hale shot and killed Evelyn Dieckhaus (9), William Kinney (9), Hallie Scruggs (9), custodian Mike Hill (61), substitute teacher Cynthia Peak (61), and Head of the School Katherine Koonce (60).

Authorities have reported that Hale “identified as transgender” and had a manifesto and map of the school. On the morning of the shooting, Hale messaged friend Averianna Patton through social media to warn her that “something bad” was about to happen.

Hale said, “This is my last goodbye. I love you. See you again in another life. I’m planning to die today.”

When Patton saw the message, she replied, “Audrey! You have so much for life to live. I pray God keeps and covers you.” Patton then called the suicide prevention helpline and the police.

Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake told reporters that Hale was “under doctor care for an emotional disorder.”

The Covenant School said in a statement, “We are grieving a tremendous loss and are in shock coming out of the terror that shattered our school and church.”

The school expressed gratitude for the “outpouring of support” they have received, adding that they are “tremendously grateful to the first responders who acted quickly to protect our students, faculty, and staff.”

Body camera footage released by the Metro Nashville Police Department showed just how quickly officers reacted after arriving on the scene and entering the building. Officers can be seen running toward the sound of Hale’s gunshots without hesitation in order to subdue the assailant.

Hannah Williams, a former babysitter for the Scruggs family, described the family’s love for Jesus as something that isn’t just displayed on Sundays, but every single day.

“They are a family that has impacted more people than they will ever know,” Williams said, going on to express that no one ever thinks that these kinds of tragedies can “happen to you or someone you know…until it does.”

‘Worship Probs’ Creator Speaks Out About ‘Worship Leader’ Trademark Controversy

By

Jessica Lea

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March 28, 2023

“Rogue Worship Leader,” who recently had his Facebook account suspended due to a trademark infringement over the term “worship leader,” has had his account restored—but the dispute between accounts like his and Worship Leader magazine is ongoing. Now, one of the accounts involved, “Worship Probs” (formerly “Worship Leader Probs”), is speaking out.

‘Worship Leader’ Trademark Dispute Continues

As ChurchLeaders reported a little over a week ago, many were shocked when the worship director behind “Rogue Worship Leader” announced that his Facebook account had been suspended and that the reason was he had been reported for a trademark violation for using the term “worship leader.”

The account that had reported at least eight of Rogue Worship Leader’s posts for a trademark infringement is Authentic Media LLC, which is an umbrella company for several brands, including Worship Leader magazine. While Worship Leader resources worship leaders with articles, podcasts, classes and coaching, Rogue Worship Leader posts worship leader memes, often from the Star Wars franchise.

“The company Worship Leader is essentially reporting me for violating trademark laws because I have the term, ‘worship leader,’ in my name,” said Rogue Worship Leader. “How crazy is that?” In a follow-up video, he called for Authentic Media LLC to “cancel or amend” its trademark, saying:

Today I stand and hopefully speak for a large part of the worship community that is outraged by this. A worship leader is not a company. It’s not a corporation. That is a title given to those who week in and week out are responsible for ushering the bride of Christ into his presence to worship him in Spirit and in truth.

A petition calling for Authentic Media to change or amend its trademark has garnered over 10,300 signatures as of this writing. Other meme accounts, such as Memes for Jesus and Pastor Humor have voiced their support for Rogue Worship Leader. “The internet is MAD 😂😂😂 but are not here to be a mob,” said the creator of Epic Christian Memes. “We are not here to just make noise or make drama. We are here to help the little guy and those who long to equip worship leaders. Sign the petition in my bio to bring some change.”

Since this news gained traction online, Worship Leader has removed a June 2022 article on its site explaining the reason why it had trademarked the term, “worship leader.” On March 23, the company posted an article on the controversy, titled, “Worship Leader’s Trademark Dispute Statement.” The post, credited to Worship Leader’s editorial team and updated March 25, addresses “misinformation,” “sensationalized controversy” and “click-bait fodder.”

According to the editors, Worship Leader had been communicating with “one company” about that company’s logo and brand being similar to Worship Leader’s. When that company “went silent,” Worship Leader “issued a trademark form with Facebook which resulted in seven accounts being taken down.”

“We admit this was an emotional reaction to a very real issue,” say the editors. “It was not coordinated with our legal representation, and the result was the unintentional shutting down of several unrelated accounts. We worked quickly to see these profiles restored, making direct requests to the social providers for the same. We are sincerely sorry that any of our actions around this situation created confusion, disappointment, and disunity.”

The editors write that their trademark does not pertain to the title “worship leader” generally speaking, but rather “relates to business activities in a few specific categories.” They also state that Worship Leader did not file for a trademark in 2016, but that its trademark dates back to 1992. Worship Leader has no plans to retract its trademark.

Pastor Who Survived Plane Crash Speaks Publicly for First Time Since Accident That Claimed 4 Lives

By

Dale Chamberlain

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March 28, 2023

On Sunday (March 26), Tennessee pastor Kennon Vaughan took the stage at Harvest Church in Germantown for the first time since narrowly surviving a plane crash that tragically claimed the lives of four other church leaders.

On Tuesday, Jan. 17, a plane owned and flown by church elder Steve Tucker, on which Harvest Church executive pastor Bill Garner and Harvest Church staff members Tyler Patterson and Tyler Springer were passengers alongside Vaughan, crashed as it was preparing to land at the Yoakum Municipal Airport in Texas.

Vaughan, the lead pastor of Harvest Church, was the only person on board to survive the crash, sustaining significant internal injuries that required surgeries followed by a lengthy recovery process.

Though he did not deliver the Sunday sermon and is still in the process of recovery, Vaughan did deliver some words of encouragement and gratitude to his church this past weekend.

“It was obviously just a miracle of his sovereign goodness that he saved me from the crash site and the surgeries that ensued and to this day, so I just want to start by saying praise God,” Vaughan said from the stage on Sunday as he stood beside his wife.

Vaughan went on to thank the congregation for their continued prayers. He further expressed that once he has made a full recovery, he wants to eulogize the four men who died in the crash with the church community.

The cause of the crash has not been publicly disclosed, but at the time, residents reportedly said that conditions were foggy.

A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has described the crash, saying, “The airplane came to rest upright, and both wings were found separated from the fuselage due to the impact sequence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage.”

Lauren Daigle Cancels Preview Concert To Hold Prayer Vigil for Victims of Nashville Shooting

By

Jessica Lea

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March 28, 2023

After the Nashville shooting that took place Monday morning, Christian artist Lauren Daigle canceled the album preview concert she was scheduled to hold Monday night and instead held a prayer vigil for the community.

“Today’s shooting is truly heartbreaking for our Nashville community and all of those impacted,” said Daigle in a statement posted Monday. “I’m going to postpone my performance tonight, and in its place, host a community-wide Prayer Vigil. To everyone who was planning to come out, please continue to come join us as we share in a time of prayer and worship to honor the victims and everyone in need.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lauren Daigle (@lauren_daigle)

No ticket was required to attend the vigil. Daigle concluded:

To those in the local Nashville area, if you need a safe place to come pray, mourn, and be with your community, please join us. The doors are open for all.

Same location. Same time.

With all my love and support,
Lauren Daigle

Nashville Shooting Devastates Community

Yesterday morning in Nashville, Tennessee, a shooter armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun opened fire at The Covenant School, which educates children in preschool through the sixth grade. Three 9-year-old children and three adults in their 60s were killed. Officers shot and killed the shooter at the scene of the crime.

Lauren Daigle is set to release her next, self-titled album on May 12 and had been scheduled to perform the entire album Monday evening at Marathon Music Works in Nashville. In a March 25 announcement on Twitter, Daigle said she would be playing her album from beginning to end and sharing stories behind the songs. Those who could not make it in person would be able to stream it at K-LOVE On Demand.

Daigle’s preview concert is now rescheduled for April 5. An update on K-LOVE On Demand’s website says, “Please join us next week for her show and remain in prayer for our city.”

ChildFund International spokesperson Jeremy Willet tweeted Monday evening, “Was supposed to be here tonight for Lauren Daigle’s New Album Preview Show, but in light of the tragic school shooting in Nashville this morning, she replaced the event with a prayer/worship vigil for the community instead. Proud to stand with her tonight!”

Was supposed to be here tonight for Lauren Daigle’s New Album Preview Show, but in light of the tragic school shooting in Nashville this morning, she replaced the event with a prayer/worship vigil for the community instead. Proud to stand with her tonight! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/bYGZ0xCPMu

— Jeremy Willet (@jeremywillet) March 28, 2023

‘Purple Church’ Pastors Mull Leadership Strategies in Polarizing Times

By

Yonat Shimron

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March 28, 2023

Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was the site of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina’s Annual Gathering on March 23-24, 2023. RNS photo by Yonat Shimron

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (RNS) — Each Wednesday evening, a group of congregants from First Baptist Church of Mt. Olive, located about 65 miles southeast of Raleigh, gathers for a Bible study called “Tackling Tough Topics Together.” The 10 to 20 regulars have discussed race, human sexuality and mental illness.

Those kinds of conversations are rare and becoming rarer at churches like First Baptist, which is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a network of congregations that offers a moderate alternative to the Southern Baptist Convention.

CBF-affiliating churches generally allow for women’s ordination and view the Bible as authoritative but not literal. They are distinguished these days by the diversity of their congregations, mostly white, but tending to be split nearly equally between Republican-leaning and Democratic-leaning voters.

They are, as the CBF of North Carolina likes to call themselves, neither red nor blue churches, but “purple.”

In an era of increasing polarization, when a deeply acrimonious partisan divide has permeated nearly all aspects of American life, including church, that’s a tough spot to be in.

A recent survey of 467 local pastors by two University of North Carolina political scientists found that of seven Christian groups surveyed in the state, Cooperative Baptist churches were the most evenly politically divided, ahead of Methodists, while, at the other end, Pentecostals and Southern Baptists were least divided.

That makes political discussions in the country’s 1,800 or so CBF-affiliating churches particularly fraught, because pastors risk alienating half the church’s members.

“It’s constraining the kind of debates on moral issues that pastors in purple churches feel comfortable addressing,” said Liesbet Hooghe, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who authored the study along with Gary Marks and Stephanie N. Shady.

For First Baptist’s pastor, Dennis Atwood who attended the leadership forum for CBF pastors in Winston-Salem last week, the effort to reach members about the moral issues of the day is worth the effort.

“We’re pushed into dualistic thinking where we have to have either/or,” he said. “My approach is to model a big tent approach. We can have unity without uniformity.”

Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez, whose bestselling book “Jesus and John Wayne” traces the rise of militant masculinity in evangelical churches, spoke at the retreat about the difficulty of leading an evangelical congregation in polarizing times.

“Most white evangelicals were not marching with neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, nor were most evangelicals storming the Capitol on Jan. 6,” Du Mez told some 200 church leaders at the leadership forum, sponsored by CBF of North Carolina, on March 23. “But it’s also true that underlying affinities make it difficult for mainstream moderate evangelicals to unequivocally condemn these acts.”

Judge Rules Immigration Officials Violated Pastor’s Religious Freedom Rights

By

Jack Jenkins

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March 28, 2023

Judge-Rules-Immigration — The Rev. Kaji Douša. Courtesy photo

(RNS) — A New York pastor and immigrant rights activist has won a protracted legal battle against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with a judge ruling last week that federal agents violated her religious freedom and retaliated against her following a 2019 incident along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Todd W. Robinson said the Rev. Kaji Douša had established that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection had “unlawfully retaliated against her for her protected First Amendment activity, violated her Free Exercise right to minister to migrants in Mexico, and violated” the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Douša, the senior pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church, celebrated the ruling in a statement to Religion News Service on Monday (March 27).

“I am overwhelmed with gratitude for Judge Robinson’s sound, fair and just ruling,” Douša said. “The government’s approach — stalling, gaslighting, even lying — was entirely unconvincing to the court, and I am thrilled for the vindication. Judge Robinson cleared my name, and I thank God for it.”

The case dates back to January 2019, under former President Donald Trump’s administration, when Douša was stopped and questioned for roughly an hour and a half by federal agents while crossing from Tijuana, Mexico, back into the U.S. Douša had been participating in a 40-day “Sanctuary Caravan” assisting Central American asylum-seekers on the Mexican side of the border, one of several similar faith-based efforts at the time designed to aid migrants.

Two months later, a San Diego NBC affiliate published documents from a secret U.S. government database of activists, journalists and others connected to the migrant caravan that showcased, among other things, Douša’s name and photo with a yellow “X” across her face. The documents suggested the pastor’s SENTRI pass — which allows for expedited screening along the Southwest U.S.-Mexico border — had been revoked.

Douša eventually sued the government, kicking off a lengthy trial that stretched more than three and a half years. Additional documents unearthed over the course of the lawsuit revealed evidence the U.S. government surveilled and investigated Douša for her activism, at one point tying her to Antifa.

“To be honest I don’t even know what antifa is,” Douša said in 2020 when RNS asked her about the designation.

The government’s actions appeared to focus on marriages performed for asylum-seekers by Douša while she visited the caravan, although the pastor noted in a brief that she made no promises and “no representations regarding the legal impact our religious ceremonies would have in any application for asylum” and pointed to a document she helped create that encouraged clergy to “make sure the people understand it is a religious ceremony and certificate.”

What’s more, Douša and her lawyers accused the government of targeting her “because she engaged in ‘acts of devotion commanded by the core tenets of her Christian faith’ — namely, advocating for and ministering to migrants in New York and at the Southern Border by blessing their marriages, dedicating their children to Christ, hearing their confessions, and providing them other forms of pastoral care.”

Such actions, Douša and her lawyers argued, are protected under the Constitution and the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Judge Robinson ultimately reached a similar conclusion, noting that other documents revealed during the case included a December 2018 email from a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol official to Mexican authorities. The communique asked Mexican officials to bar more than a dozen U.S. citizens from entering the country — including Douša — insisting they “lack(ed) the proper documentation to be in Mexico.”

In his ruling, Robinson noted CBP officials admitted the email was “creative writing” without “any basis,” and concluded the government had violated Douša’s right to freely exercise her religion as well as her rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by “restricting her ability to minister to migrants in Mexico.”

The pastor received support from her fellow faith leaders throughout the lawsuit, with a coalition of more than 850 ordained clergy from around North America signing a letter in support of Douša in 2019. Her denomination, the United Church of Christ, also issued a statement of support, calling the government’s actions “abusive assertions of political power.”

This article originally appeared here.

Faith-Based Volunteers Show Up to Help After Mississippi Tornadoes

By

Bob Smietana

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March 28, 2023

Faith-Based-Volunteers-Show-Up-to-Help — Debris is strewn about tornado-damaged homes, Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi. At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm ripped through several towns late Friday. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

(RNS) — When volunteers show up after a disaster like this past weekend’s deadly tornadoes in Mississippi, some bring chainsaws, tarps and heavy equipment.

Donnie Wedgworth and his friends bring catfish.

On Monday (March 27), Wedgworth and a group of church friends — who call themselves the Catfish Navy — were frying up catfish, French fries and hush-puppies, planning to serve about 600 meals to local residents and first responders in Silver City, Mississippi, one of the small, rural towns affected by Friday’s tornado, which killed 26 people.

The volunteer group, which hails from Greensboro, Alabama, a town of fewer than 3,000 people, served another 500 meals on Sunday before a thunderstorm forced them to shut down.

Wedgworth, an elder at a Presbyterian church, said most of the folks in the group knew each other from working in the catfish industry. There are also Baptists and Methodists in the group of senior citizens.

“The youngest person with us is 60,” he said.

Faith-based volunteers like Wedgworth are often among the first on the ground to help clean up after major disasters. Many are senior citizens who have devoted time and energy to getting prepared to lend a hand. For Wedgworth and his friends, that meant getting a 24-foot trailer a few years ago to carry their cooking equipment.

Volunteers with Catfish Navy prepare meals for local residents and first responders in Silver City, Mississippi. Courtesy photo

They set up in Silver City after talking with other faith-based disaster-relief groups. Wedgworth said that other groups are often set up to help larger communities and stay long-term. The group he’s part of works best in small towns and shows up as soon as they can.

For Wedgworth, responding to a disaster feels like the right thing to do.

“I do like helping people, and we do like serving God,” he said.

Baptists from Mississippi and Arkansas have set up disaster-response sites in Rolling Fork, where much of the town was destroyed by the tornado, and in the town of Armory. Hubert Yates, director of Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief, said the group will likely continue to work in both areas for at least six weeks. Volunteer teams will bring chainsaws and heavy equipment to clear trees, he said, and they’ll also be helping residents get tarps on their roofs.

“We’ll also see what needs develop,” said Yates, who said that Baptists may also set up mobile kitchens and other forms of assistance in the weeks to come.

Other faith-based groups, like Mennonite Disaster Services, are currently talking with their volunteers and assessing whether or not to get involved with the immediate response in Mississippi.

Darin Bontrager, a regional operations coordinator of Mennonite Disaster Services, said that the group already has 10 long-term projects going in other parts of the Eastern United States. Some of those projects, like rebuilding in Mayfield, Kentucky, and Lake Charles, Louisiana, are about to go on hold due to a lack of volunteers during the summer months.

He said Mennonites may wait until the initial clean-up and response — that disaster-aid groups like the Southern Baptists excel at — is over before beginning any work in Mississippi. Mennonites tend to focus on long-term rebuilding but do have some volunteers who are trained in cleanup efforts.

Bontrager said that the number of disasters in recent years has left relief groups stretched thin.

Still, he said, disaster relief is one place where different faith groups as well as secular groups work as partners — coordinating their efforts and playing to their strengths.

“There’s nothing like a disaster to bring people together,” he said.

This article originally appeared here.

Does Having a Savings Account Mean I Don’t Trust God?

By

Randy Alcorn

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March 28, 2023

Someone sent me this question:

I was asked a question about saving money. Can you help me answer it?

“And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21, ESV).

This was the question: “This passage makes me view savings in a negative light. I don’t know where I land on it but how is this passage true, yet saving money not against it? Is saving money not trusting that God will provide in the future?”

Here are the thoughts I shared in response:

In His parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16), Jesus warns against excessive savings, not against all savings. He also warns against loving money and placing our faith in money, and the presumption that our self-care and self-provision is worthy of our trust.

In the parable in Luke 12, the rich man foolishly failed to consider his mortality (God calls him not “you evil man,” but “you fool”). He didn’t understand that his earthly treasures would either be taken from him, or he would be taken from them. He’s guilty of presumption, and of not recognizing God’s complete power over his life, or his own powerlessness to preserve or extend his life.

Jesus says, “so is the one who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Clearly this parable calls for the followers of Jesus to obey Him by storing up treasures in Heaven, not on Earth.

But that doesn’t mean God forbids us to have anything of value on Earth. Indeed, in order for the rich man to own and tend a farm and herds, and have a roof over his head, or, in the case of Joseph and Jesus, to have wood and tools with which to do carpentry, keeping SOME treasures on Earth is necessary!

Scripture clearly calls us to give generously (see 1 Timothy 6:18-21), a call that few Christians seem to take to heart. Only in isolated cases does Jesus ask someone to give away everything. Yet, He didn’t tell Lazarus, Martha and Mary to give away all they owned. And in fact, He stayed at their estate which had enough room to house, feed, and take care of His whole band of disciples.

When Zacchaeus told Jesus he was going to sell what he had and give half to the poor (see Luke 19), Jesus did not say you shouldn’t give away half, you should give it all. He instead recognized that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’ heart and house, as demonstrated by his willingness to give away so much. We see no condemnation of Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and the women who had sufficient wealth to fund Jesus and the disciples.

I think it’s fair to assume that they had savings from which they drew for their giving as well as their living. Indeed, anyone who owns more than they need, which most people do, has assets they can liquidate in times of financial downturn. This is the equivalent of savings. If someone didn’t have a dime in the bank, but owned land, house, barn, plough, furniture, and farm animals, they could sell any of those assets to meet a need.

3 Tough Questions Kids Ask About God (and How To Answer Them)

By

David Jennings

-

March 28, 2023

thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

How would you answer tough questions kids ask about God? Sometimes in children’s ministry, kids ask hard questions. So today I’d like to tackle three tough questions kids ask about God. Hopefully these will help guide you the next time a child asks a stumper.

***

Three Tough Questions Kids Ask About God

1. Why does God let people die?

Preschooler:

Preschoolers are learning to deal with separation—Mommy comes back when she leaves me—and may not understand the permanency of physical death. They do understand sadness and someone going away. Explain that God is sad when we’re sad and that people who know Jesus go to heaven to be with God.

Elementary-Age:

Following a death, elementary-age children may be scared they will die, too. Reassure your child that although death on earth means the person is absent from us, he’s present with God. It’s hard when we can’t be with someone we love, but one day we’ll be together in heaven. It’s okay to be sad or even angry at God.

Preteen:

Preteens can understand that God never wanted death. Death is a result of sin and, since we’re all sinners, God sent Jesus so we can have eternal life. People who know Christ go to heaven. Although we’re sad when someone we love dies, we have to trust God. It’s hard to understand that our time on earth is insignificant compared with our eternal life in a perfect place forever.

After Easter: 3 Steps to Launch New Groups

By

Mark Howell

-

March 28, 2023

post-easter-bible — With Easter 2015 just about as early as it can possibly be (April 5th), there is still plenty of spring left before summer to launch another small group.

With Easter 2023 just about as early as it can possibly be (April 9th), there is still plenty of spring left before summer, and it makes a lot of sense to launch new groups right after the holiday.

3 Steps to Launch New Groups

1. Step One to launch new groups

As you know, we’re coming into a season (regardless of your hemisphere!) where many people are thinking, at least a little bit, about spiritual things. Regardless of one’s religious background, there are a number of noticeable references to Lent and Easter over the next 40 days.

The week leading up to Easter can be a good opportunity to cast vision into existing small groups about opportunities to invite unchurched neighbors, friends, co-workers and family to Easter services. A simple video of your senior pastor speaking directly to group members about the opportunity could be played in every group.

2. Step Two to launch new groups

Easter (April 9th) is quite early in 2023. With over two months left before school is out for summer (at least in the United States), there is plenty of time for a connecting event and enough weeks to allow new groups to have a chance of solidifying.

If a study was selected that would appeal to infrequent attenders (who will be attending this Easter) as well as friends and neighbors, it could lead to an easy opportunity to connect unconnected people. (See also, Design Your Connecting Event with Unconnected People in Mind and Four Secrets of Connecting Unconnected People.)

Promotion of a connecting event could begin the week before Easter. The event itself could be scheduled for April 16th.

3. Step Three to launch new groups

Choosing the right study will make it easier to promote the connecting event and encourage unconnected people to join “a six week group.” Of course, you’ll be doing everything you can to make it such a good experience that they will want to continue, but you’ll also be leveraging the power of a test-drive.

The right study will also make it easy for those who have invited friends and neighbors to host a group in their home that will do the study. Also, if you want to connect unconnected people, you must select topics that will actually appeal to unconnected people. See also, Preoccupied With the Needs and Interests of the Right People.

Shooter at Christian Nashville Elementary School Kills 3 Kids, 3 Adults

By

Jesse T. Jackson

-

March 27, 2023

Children from The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., hold hands as they are taken to a reunification site at the Woodmont Baptist Church after a shooting at their school, on Monday, March, 27, 2023. (George Uribe via AP)

UPDATE: The victims have been identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus (9), William Kinney (9), Hallie Scruggs (9), custodian Mike Hill (61), teacher Katherine Koonce (60), and Cynthia Peak (61).

Police have identified the shooter as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a former student at the school. Nashville police chief John Drake said the shooter “identified as transgender,” had a manifesto, and a map of the school.

According to reports Hale’s completed rampage was thwarted after Hale was shot dead by Officer Rex Englebert and Officer Michael Collazo of the Metro Nashville Police Department.

Hale messaged friend Averianna Patton on social media the morning of the shooting informing them that “something bad” was going to happen.

Hale told Patton, “I’m planning to die today,” and “This is my last goodbye. I love you. See you again in another life.”

Patton replied, “Audrey! You have so much for life to live. I pray God keeps and covers you,” and called the suicide prevention helpline and the police.

On Monday morning (March 27), an assailant armed with two assault-style rifles and a handgun entered The Covenant School located at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Burton Hills Blvd. in Nashville, Tennessee, killing three students and three adults.

The Christian elementary school teaches preschool through sixth grade and has the motto of “Shepherding Hearts, Empowering Minds, Celebrating Childhood.”

“The beauty of a PreSchool-6th school is in its simplicity and innocence,” the school’s website reads. “Students are free to be children—they can feel fully and safely known by our faculty and become leaders under their guidance.”

That simplicity, innocence, freedom, and safety was violently violated after a 28-year-old white female entered the school through a “side entrance and [traversed] her way from the first floor to the second floor, firing multiple shots,” according to a Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson.

At approximately 10:13 a.m., the Metro Nashville Police Department was notified that the school was dealing with an active shooter situation. After officers arrived at the scene, a five-member team entered the building. As they were clearing the first floor, they heard shots coming from the second floor.

The department spokesperson reported that the officers proceeded up the stairs toward the gunfire. Two of the members of that team then engaged with the shooter, shooting and killing her just before 10:30 a.m.

At the time of the shooting, emergency dispatchers issued a mass causality alert to first responders and the local hospital to prepare for the worst.

Police investigations are ongoing, but Nashville police chief John Drake told reporters that he believes the shooter was a former student at the school.

The six victims, including the shooter, have been identified. Their names will not be disclosed to the public until the appropriate time.

“Right now I will refrain from saying the ages other than to say I was literally moved to tears to see the kids as they were being lifted out of the building,” Drake said.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Roush voiced his “heartfelt prayers to the families [and] to this community of these victims. Now I know there’ll be people who want to criticize us for prayers, but that’s the way we do it in the south. We believe in prayer. We believe in the power of prayer. So our prayers go out to these families.”

The Covenant School is located in a wealthy part of Nashville’s Williamson County.

As news of the shooting spread throughout the nation, Christian leaders asked followers of Jesus to pray for those involved.

Evangelist Franklin Graham tweeted, “Please join me in praying for the students, faculty, staff, and families of The Covenant School in Nashville, TN, in the wake of a shooting this morning where at least three children and three adults are reported dead. May God comfort and uphold these families.”

Candace Cameron Bure, Trevor Lawrence Among Celebrities Who Attended Tim Tebow’s Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic

By

Jessica Lea

-

March 27, 2023

Candace Cameron Bure, Jessie James Decker, Trevor Lawrence, and Shawn Johnson East were among the celebrities that turned out this past weekend for Tim Tebow’s 12th annual Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic. Over the years, the event has raised money for the different outreaches that the Tim Tebow Foundation supports.

“God is good,” said Tim Tebow on his Instagram page. “There’s so much to be grateful for after [the] 12th annual @timtebowfoundation Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic. All the celebrities who came and loved on our kids and our family — Thank you, the way you selflessly serve alongside us is so encouraging! I’m so grateful for every one of you!”

“We had a beautiful weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL supporting @timtebowfoundation,” said Candace Cameron Bure on Instagram. “The work Tim and Demi are doing to lift up the most vulnerable is so important and beautiful. Thank you @timtebow @demitebow for including us to help make a difference .”

Tim Tebow Foundation: Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic

Tim Tebow started his foundation in 2010 “to bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.” It flows directly from his belief that followers of Jesus are called to serve others.

The Tim Tebow Foundation fights human trafficking, serves orphans, and supports children who have significant medical needs. It also serves children with special needs and is known for its annual Night to Shine event, a prom night for children with special needs where every attendee is celebrated and crowned king and queen. In February, the first in-person Night to Shine events were held since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Celebrity Gala & Golf Classic traditionally begins with the gala on Friday evening and the Golf Classic on Saturday. “What an incredible 24hrs,” singer and author Jessie James Decker posted on Instagram. “Thank you to @timtebowfoundation @demitebow @timtebow and their wonderful team for having us❤️ please learn about their foundation and how you can help.”

One photo shared by Candace Cameron Bure showed her posing with her husband, Valeri Bure, along with Decker and her husband, Eric Decker, and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East and her husband, Andrew East. Eric Decker and Andrew East are former NFL players, and Valeri Bure is a former NHL player.

Tim Tebow’s wife, Demi-Leigh, who was the 2017 Miss Universe and who has attended the gala in the past, played in the Golf Classic for the first time. She practiced leading up to the event and made an impressive shot at the 17th hole.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tim Tebow (@timtebow)

“This weekend will contribute to impacting many lives all around the world,” said Demi-Leigh Tebow on Instagram. “So grateful to everyone who attended and who showed up to show their support to fight for the most vulnerable people around the world.”

Animated Movie ‘David’ Raises Nearly $50M, Surpassing ‘The Chosen’ for Crowdfunding Record

By

Janna Firestone

-

March 27, 2023

“David,” an upcoming animated film depicting the life of the biblical character, has set a new crowdfunding record, raising nearly $50 million. The previous record was held by “The Chosen.”

The faith-based project has $10 million more to go to reach its $60 million production goal by March 31.

Nearly 10,000 people have financially backed the film. Investments have ranged from the minimum amount of $100 to thousands of dollars.

An Epic Biblical Story — ‘The David Movie’

“There is no better story of faith and courage than that of David, who not only defeated a giant but inspired a nation!” the film’s website boasts. “Throughout David’s life, he was a warrior, poet, shepherd, and king whose life was full of energy and adventure. DAVID portrays the possibility of a living and breathing relationship with God.”

Executives for “David” credit the online community surrounding the film for this record-breaking support.

“In partnership with Angel Studios, and as an expression of faith, we set the goal of making DAVID the most-watched theatrically released animated film of all time,” shared movie executives. “This is not a goal driven by ego, but rather by a stretch of vision. We know that God is ‘able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine’ (Ephesians 3:20).”

Angel Studios also produced “The Chosen,” a multi-season TV drama telling the “story of Jesus through the eyes of those who followed him.” Millions of people have watched and shared the series with friends and family.

Artists, animators, filmmakers, and musicians from “David” have also worked on successful projects such as “Finding Nemo,” “Moana,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “The Lord of the Rings,” and “Zootopia.”

Executive Producers Phil and Jacqui Cunningham have kept their faith at the center of their lives and careers through the creation of Sunrise, a computer animation studio. Together, they believe in building teams of talented people in a community rich with mentoring relationships.

Sunrise Studios and Angel Studios have come together for the monumental project.

As David authored many of the Psalms, it makes sense for this movie to be a musical, and the film’s music is produced by Grammy Award-winning Jason Halbert. Halbert is known for his work on The Kelly Clarkson Show and as a keyboardist for DC Talk.

The David Movie will also have film-related merchandise available even before the movie releases. A plush doll of Tali, a lamb featured in the film, is now available.

Kanye West Credits Jonah Hill for Helping Him ‘Like Jewish People Again’

By

Jesse T. Jackson

-

March 27, 2023

24-time Grammy Award winning rapper, producer, and fashion designer Kanye West posted on Instagram over the weekend (March 25) that watching actor Jonah Hill’s performance in “21 Jump Street” has made him “like Jewish people again.”

In a movie that was released in 2012, Hill plays an undercover police officer who, along with his partner played by Channing Tatum, is assigned as a student at a local high school to stop the spread of a synthetic drug.

“Watching Jonah Hill in ’21 Jump Street’ made me like Jewish people again. No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people. No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill. I love you,” West wrote under an image of the 21 Jump Street movie poster.

After publicly converting Christianity, West released “Jesus Is King” on October 25, 2019. Unlike West’s previous albums which often featured provocative themes and profane language, “Jesus Is King” praised Jesus, spoke about West’s transformation, and pointed people to God.

“Jesus Is King” was nominated for a Dove Award at the Gospel Music Association’s 51st awards ceremony, won multiple 2020 Billboard Music Awards, and received a Grammy for Best Contemporary Music Album in 2021.

While campaigning to be the next President of the United States in 2020, a remorseful West revealed that he had considered asking his then-wife Kim Kardashian to get an abortion when she was pregnant with their daughter North. The couple were married in 2014 and share four children together.

West’s public comments didn’t sit well with Kardashian, eventually leading to a series of events that caused them to separate and eventually divorce in 2022.

West followed up “Jesus Is King” with the release of “Donda,” an album named after his late mother, on Aug. 29, 2021. West continued to speak about Jesus and Christianity, but the album also featured lyrics reflecting his estranged relationship with Kardashian. The album included guest appearances by Jay-Z, Andre 3000, The Weeknd, Travis Scott, and Marilyn Manson.

“Donda” received two Grammy Awards for the songs “Hurricane” and “Jail.”

In addition to acknowledging his newfound faith with his albums, West started a contemporary Sunday morning worship service he called “Sunday Service,” which traveled to select towns, festivals, and invite-only events across the nation.

The “Sunday Services,” which would often times draw celebrities like Justin Bieber, Brad Pitt, Dave Chappelle, Bradley Cooper, and the Kardashians, featured West’s Sunday Service Choir and would frequently include preaching times, with some sermons delivered by well-known pastors like Joel Osteen and Rich Wilkerson Jr.

A 2021 “Sunday Service” that took place on Halloween turned heads when Satanic shock-rocker Marylin Manson appeared alongside of West and Bieber following allegations that Manson had sexually assaulted past girlfriends.

On Oct. 4, 2022, West ignited a social media blaze when he and Candace Owens appeared at a Yeezy fashion show in Paris wearing shirts with the phrase “White Lives Matter” on them.

“Everyone Knows Black Lives Matter Was a Scam. Now It’s Over. You’re Welcome,” West said in an now-deleted Instagram post.

Days later, West told Tucker Carlson that he “performs for an audience of one, and that’s God” while discussing his pro-life stance and his decision to wear the now-infamous “White Lives Matter” shirt.

Four days after Carlson’s interview aired, West’s social media tirades came to a halt after Twitter and Instagram blocked him for posts including a declaration that he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.”

Miami Basketball Players Drop to Knees in Prayer Following Victory Advancing Them to Final Four

By

Dale Chamberlain

-

March 27, 2023

As the University of Miami Hurricanes overtook the Texas Longhorns on Sunday (March 26) to advance to the Final Four, the team knelt to express gratitude through prayer.

Beating the Longhorns by a score of 88-81, the Hurricanes will be making the first Final Four appearance in the school’s history. The victory is significant, especially given that the team lost in this same round of the NCAA March Madness tournament last year.

Immediately after recording the victory, a number of the Hurricanes players gathered in a circle and dropped to their knees to pray. The prayer of gratitude was led by Nicaraguan-born third-year sophomore Norchad Omier.

“Thank you for bringing us here,” Omier prayed. Following Omier’s prayer, the team stood and cheered to celebrate their victory.

Omier, who is an Arkansas State transfer, contributed 11 points and nine rebounds in the game.

A video clip of the prayer was posted to Twitter, with the team receiving praise online for their expression of faith.

“It was a beautiful moment. What I noticed was how quickly they all knew to drop to their knees in prayer,” one person wrote. “I wonder which player is the spiritual leader of these young men? What a great witness and leadership from college athletes!”

Another said, “Noticed this and loved it!!”

Others pointed out how quickly CBS diverted camera coverage away from the prayer huddle, including former NFL star and outspoken Christian Benjamin Watson.

“I saw that! And they moved that network camera shot with the quickness,” Watson remarked. Others commented that they had noticed it too.

The Hurricanes will face off against the University of Connecticut Huskies on April 1. Notably, UConn is the only team among those remaining in the tournament that has been to the Final Four in the past.

The other two teams that will face off on April 1 are Final Four newcomers Florida Atlantic Owls and San Diego State Aztecs.

Members of the @CanesHoops team knelt in prayer to thank God following their win today. 🙏

Final Four bound!

🎥: @MarchMadnessMBB pic.twitter.com/pxvytznsNS

— The Athletes’ Corner (@AthletesCorner_) March 27, 2023

Terrorists Kill 27 Christians in Kaduna State, Nigeria

By

Morning Star News

-

March 27, 2023

ABUJA, Nigeria (Morning Star News) – Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists killed 27 Christians in two attacks this month in Kaduna state, Nigeria, local sources said.

Both attacks took place in Zangon Kataf County, where 10 Christians were killed on March 14 in Langson village and 17 slain in Ungwan Wakili village on March 10, residents said.

Residents of Langson said dozens more were wounded in the attack that began at 9 p.m.

“I urge the government to match words with action by arresting the perpetrators since the government knows them and where they are,” said Sam Achie, president of the area community development association. “I appeal to Nigeria government to as a matter of urgency deploy more security agents to Zangon Kataf Local Government Area in order to arrest the recurring attacks on innocent Christians whose lives and property are being destroyed for no justifiable reason.”

In Ungwan Wakili, residents said Muslim terrorists attacked the village and nearby Christian communities at about 9 p.m. for about 40 minutes before retreating.

“My family house in the village was attacked by the terrorists and armed herdsmen,” resident Joshua Solomon told Morning Star News in a text message. “The house was burned down, and no one is left alive. They killed all my family members.”

Solomon identified 16 of those killed as Daniel Soji, Emmanuei Ibrahim, Jummai Gajere, Aaron Thomas, Rahila Sunday Ishaya, Blessing Zakaria, Felicia Zakaria, Gloria Zakaria, Gaji Tonak, Elizabeth Tokan, Peace Tokan, Favour Patrick, Peace Patrick, Chinwe Patrick, Ruth John and Emmanuel John.

He also identified six Christians receiving hospital treatment for wounds received in the attack as Precious Timothy, Sunday Ishaya, Jessica Zakaria, Chison Ikechukwu, Patience Matthew and Jessica Tokan.

Area resident Barnabas Tonak said his mother and an in-law with her two children were among those killed.

“Our attackers were Muslim Fulani herdsmen who came along with terrorists to invade our community,” Tonak said in a text message to Morning Star News. “In all, 17 Christians were killed during the attack. Five members of my family were among those killed, and another family member was injured. Aside from the killing of our people, these herdsmen have in the past deliberately destroyed our farms and crops.”

Christians from southern Kaduna who have fled to Europe condemned the attacks.

“We are concerned with the recent killings in Ungwan Wakili and other villages that resulted in the loss of over 17 lives, with innocent citizens injured,” Casimir Biriyok and Janet Nale, president and secretary respectively of the Southern Kaduna People in Diaspora (SOKAPDA), Europe, said in a statement. “These attacks are coming barely three months after the mass murder of 38 harmless Christian villagers in Malagum, Kamuru-Ikulu and Abun (Broni Prono) communities in southern Kaduna on Dec. 18, 2022.”

They said that they have heard no statement from authorities on the attacks, much less visits by officials to the survivors.

“The governments of Nigeria and that of Kaduna state have shown little support to either the victims or issued a simple statement of condemnation of the killings,” they said.

Christians from southern Kaduna living in Europe find it difficult to comprehend how human lives seem to have little or no value in Nigeria in general and in Kaduna state, they said.

“It is essential to hold those who have sworn to protect us to do the needful, for we in diaspora are frustrated that in the 21st century, technology like phone tracking, geo orbits satellite, drones and old-fashion spying, etc., have not been fully utilized,” Biriyok and Nale said. “The peaceful Kaduna state that we once knew is no more, and we sincerely hope that somewhere within the political class, someone will take security of lives seriously, for it is absolutely too tragic that our state has become a killing field.”

Muhammad Jalije, spokesman for the Kaduna State Police Command, said in a statement only that, “I can confirm that there was an attack, and people were killed.”

Nigeria led the world in Christians killed for their faith in 2022, with 5,014, according to Open Doors’ 2023 World Watch List (WWL) report. It also led the world in Christians abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married or physically or mentally abused, and it had the most homes and businesses attacked for faith-based reasons. As in the previous year, Nigeria had the second most church attacks and internally displaced people.

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