The Iowa City Church building was destroyed in an early morning fire Saturday as a strong storm that produced lightning and caused flash flood warnings rolled through the area.
“Please be praying for our church,” Chris Coker, the church’s children’s and family life pastor posted on Facebook. “This morning at 4:20 a.m. Iowa City fire department was called to the church. When they arrived the building was totally engulfed with flames. The church is believed to be a total loss.” Coker is a 2000 Ozark Christian College.
The cause of the fire has not been determined. A fire marshal is investigating. The nondenominational Christian church met outdoors on Sunday morning.
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OTHER NEWS BRIEFS
Tonganoxie (Kansas) Christian Church celebrated their sesquicentennial over the weekend. On Friday the church met at their original location downtown to review and celebrate their 150-year history. On Saturday TCC’s present location was the site of a family celebration. And on Sunday, TCC combined all three weekly worship services into one larger service in the gym of the church’s Family Life Center.
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With 2022 reaching its midway point, Casas por Cristo shared this on Facebook: “So far, Casas por Cristo has built 115 houses for families in need across Latin America, and we are scheduled to build a total of 217 houses by the end of 2022. Praise God for providing this life change in each of these families’ lives!”
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Garfield Christian Church in Indianapolis celebrated their 100th anniversary on Sunday. After morning worship, the church hosted a lunch and then a celebration service that senior minister Fred Sigle—who has served GCC for 13 years—said would be a “big family reunion.”
The afternoon celebration included a brief overview of GCC’s history, the church’s present activities and ministries, and what they are asking God to help them accomplish for the future. Among those planning to attend were Tom Franklin, a minister who served at the church for 17 years, and former youth ministers Scott Davis and Randy Sparks.
Through the years, Garfield Christian Church has maintained “a strong commitment to the people of the community,” Sigle told the Southside Times. GCC “had opportunities to move, [but] . . . the whole purpose of the church was to be ministering to the neighborhood, even though the neighborhood changed. And that’s why we’re still here.”
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Hundreds of people sent happy birthday wishes to longtime Lincoln Christian University coach, teacher, and administrator Lynn Laughlin in recent days via the school’s Facebook page. Laughlin turned 80 late last week. Since retiring in 2020, Laughlin has served Lincoln as vice president of alumni services emeritus.
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled in favor of Joseph Kennedy, a former football coach for a high school in Bremerton, Wash., who lost his job after praying on the 50-yard-line following games.
The court ruled that the free exercise and free speech clauses of the First Amendment protect an individual engaging in religious expression. “The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike,” Justice Neal Gorsuch wrote on behalf of the 6-3 judicial majority.
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The presidents of Boise Bible College and Bushnell University, Derek Voorhees and Joseph Womack, respectively, co-presented on “Education and Spiritual Growth” last Thursday at the Northwest Christian Convention. The convention, sponsored by the Northwest Christian Network, took place on the grounds of the Oregon Christian Convention in Turner, Ore., June 21-26.
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In a recent article, Christianity Today studied the costs of paying ransoms to free kidnapped missionaries. That cost, CT wrote, “is a burden borne by local churches, fellow missionaries, ministers, aid workers, and the many people they hope to serve.”
The article included this informative paragraph, which referenced 17 Christian Aid Ministries missionaries kidnapped in Haiti in October 2021: “More than 100 people in Haiti were kidnapped the same month as the Christian Aid missionaries. . . . The total victims for 2021 came to around 800—a rapidly increasing number in the past few years.”
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College of The Albemarle (COA) and Mid-Atlantic Christian University executed a bilateral articulation agreement two weeks ago that provides graduates from COA’s Associate in Arts and Associate in Science in Teacher Preparation a seamless transfer to MACU’s elementary education program. Dr. Jack Bagwell and John Maurice, presidents of COA and MACU, respectively, signed the articulation agreement June 15. Both schools are located in Elizabeth City, N.C.
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A Christian couple who closed their bakery in Gresham, Ore., after being fined $135,000 in 2013 for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding are hoping to open a new bakery in Montana, the Christian Post reported. After the case was tied up for years in court, the fine by the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries recently was reversed. “It’s been 10 years since having my shop in Oregon and I greatly miss it along with all my sweet customers,” Melissa Klein said.
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Pearl Christian Church in Plantation Key, Fla. (on Islamorada in the Florida Keys)—which started this year—just finished their first Awana child and youth discipleship session. Forty-two children participated.
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