The challenges and struggles Dave Empson and the International Conference on Missions (ICOM) have faced this year were the subject of the Face > Fear podcast hosted by Mike Schrage of Good News Productions International (GNPI) on Monday.
And the challenges have been many—physical, financial, logistical, and organizational.
GNPI wrote on their website: “The table seemed set for the International Conference on Missions’ biggest year yet. They had a popular location in Indianapolis, a talented president in Jeff Vines, and a remarkable main speaker in Ravi Zacharias. And then, a few weeks ago, they made a change. ‘We decided to switch from our normal conference to more of a hybrid virtual experience with a few live elements in Indianapolis [because of COVID-19],” Empson said. (We wrote about this change to a hybrid conference in an article posted Aug. 5.)
Zachiarias—a renowned Christian apologist—passed away in May. Additionally, Empson had his own health scare, undergoing a heart procedure earlier this year. Beyond that, Empson’s 95-year-old mother battled COVID-19 for two months.
And ICOM, the organization, has lost every traditional source of income or seen it greatly diminished, Empson said.
Yet, despite everything, he said, the church continues to show up . . . and not just for ICOM, but for many of the mission groups ICOM works with.
The 25-minute interview is available on GNPI’s Facebook page.
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News Briefs
Compiled by Jim Nieman
IDES (International Disaster Emergency Service) has been working in Lake Charles, La., for the past few days as that area recovers from Hurricane Laura, which reached land Aug. 27. IDES is partnering with all three local Restoration Movement churches and has volunteers working onsite right now. Interested volunteers, and those who desire more information, may email IDES’ volunteer coordinator at [email protected]. Donations are being accepted two ways: online at www.ides.org/donate, and via checks (with “Hurricane” written in the memo line) mailed to IDES at P.O. Box 379 Noblesville, IN 46061. One hundred percent of donations will be used to help with hurricane recovery in Louisiana.
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Gareth Reese, emeritus professor of New Testament with Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, Mo., has completed a commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians. The self-published book is available via the CCCB bookstore or at www.reesecommentaries.com. Cost is $29.99.
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Plum Creek Christian Church in Butler, Ky., is sponsoring daycare at its building that complements the local school system’s rotating schedule. The church is accepting 30 children on Mondays and Tuesdays, and a different set of 30 children on Thursdays and Fridays, fox19.com reported. Wednesdays are for cleaning. Multiple safety measures are in place and retired teachers are assisting with the church program, executive minister Jared Perkins told the station.
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Outreach Magazine has posted a two-part interview with Dave Ferguson “to discuss church multiplication and planting in our quickly changing day.”
Ferguson serves as lead pastor of Chicago’s Community Christian Church, a multisite missional community. He is also an award-winning author and the visionary for the international church-planting movement NewThing and president of the Exponential Conference.
Click to read Part 1 (“Collaboration Is the Future”) and Part 2 (“The Reproducible Life”).
By the way, Ferguson’s article “Four Opportunities for Every Church in the New Reality” will be featured in the October issue of Christian Standard.
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Milligan University in Tennessee recently received a grant from the National Football League and announced it will add women’s flag football as a varsity sport beginning in the spring. Milligan is one of the first 15 NAIA schools to declare their intention of participating in the sport in the inaugural season.
Women’s flag football becomes the 29th sport sponsored at Milligan and the 16th with opportunity for female student-athletes.
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An article titled “The Bible Isn’t Primarily a History Book” by Dr. Joe Gordon, associate professor of theology with Johnson University, recently was published in Church Life Journal.
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Southland Christian Church is offering free testing for COVID-19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at 2349 Richmond Road, Lexington. The site is for drive-through testing; no appointment is necessary, wkyt.com reported.
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