June 16, 2021
"Planted" is a six-part vlog that follows New Hope Church in Harlem, N.Y., as it emerges from COVID-19 restrictions. Jason and Jyothi James help lead the year-old Stadia church plant.
May 1, 2021
Bold People Exercising Bold Faith At a church as large and well-established as New Life Christian in Chantilly, Virginia, it might be tempting to get complacent. Prior to the arrival of coronavirus early in 2020, New Life helped create the Exponential Network, planted more than 300 churches, and regularly attracted thousands of people to worship services every Sunday. Still, senior pastor Brett Andrews was convinced the church needed something else: boldness. Andrews and the leaders at New Life wanted to get better at reproducing disciples, not just reproducing churches. For the last three years, the church has striven to increase
March 1, 2021
Truthfully, brothers and sisters, when did it become so easy to lie? “I am praying for you” (but have you been . . . really?). “I’m running late because there was traffic” (or maybe you just got a late start). “I am going to do that right away” (well . . . perhaps). I recently called our local butcher shop and ordered a 3-pound tomahawk steak for a family celebration dinner, but before I could pick it up, a friend who knew of the celebration plans called to tell me she picked up a standing rib roast for me. I
January 1, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating financial effect on many small businesses and nonprofit organizations in 2020. But Christian colleges and universities fared relatively well, due in large part to major government assistance programs and surprisingly stable support from churches and individual donors.
November 23, 2020
This “Application” column goes with the Bible Lesson for Nov. 29, 2020: Seek Reconciliation (Philemon 8-21) ________ By David Faust “I missed you.” I found myself saying those words a lot when the coronavirus pandemic began to ease early this summer. One by one, friends emerged from quarantine. Worshippers inched back to the church building for in-person services. Restaurants reopened. During weeks of lockdown in the spring, I stayed in touch with my granddaughters by phone, text, and Zoom, but I longed to see them face-to-face. I missed the servers at the local deli. I missed visiting patients in the
November 16, 2020
At least three Christian colleges announced changes to their fall semester plans in recent days due to the coronavirus pandemic. The most significant change occurred at Lincoln (Ill.) Christian University, where students were sent home about 10 days early, a main reason being the dwindling number of students receiving in-person instruction. “It is becoming increasingly difficult for our faculty to manage courses that have numerous students in quarantine,” LCU president Silas McCormick wrote on Nov. 9. “While we would all prefer to continue holding these classes in-person, the reality is that over the next week-and-a-half, a number of classes would
October 24, 2020
—This content is sponsored by The Solomon Foundation— A pastor recently shared with me that he never had a Bible college class that focused on ministering during a pandemic. I told him I never had a class in business school about how to cope with a pandemic, either. We are living in extraordinary times. When crises arise, Americans usually get to work to find solutions. This is certainly true with our church leaders; I have seen them rise to the occasion many times. Churches across our nation have been affected differently by the coronavirus. Some church buildings still are closed,
September 22, 2020
By Dave Ferguson On March 12, 2020, I made two different versions of a video, knowing only one of them would be sent to our entire church. In the first video, I said we would stick to our normal schedule with 26 services at 11 locations across Chicagoland. In the second video, I introduced a new reality by telling everyone our church facilities were closing and we were moving everything online. After I finished recording the videos, my wife and I headed to O’Hare International Airport to fly to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. We were planning to see our youngest son,
August 19, 2020
By Jim Nieman Jody Owens says senior ministers are feeling “under the gun” because of the stress of leading during the coronavirus pandemic. The ministers are working hard to conduct ministry in a form and fashion for which they were not trained and are not accustomed, says Owens, professor of Bible and pastoral ministries with Johnson University. These ministers are making hard decisions and are dealing with other stressors, and—due to circumstances—they are “not getting the feedback and the positive comments they are used to receiving.” INTENSIVE LEARNING RETREATSOwens gleaned some of this information from ministers and church leaders—about 20
August 19, 2020
Bryce Jessup, 85, who served as president of William Jessup University in California for 25 years— until his retirement in 2010—died of a heart attack July 30 during a fishing trip to Yosemite with his son Jim. Bryce Jessup was the son of the university’s founder, William Jessup. The school started in 1939 as San Jose Bible College, was subsequently renamed San Jose Christian College, became William Jessup University in 2003, and moved from San Jose to a much larger campus in Rocklin, Calif., in 2004. “During his presidency,” WJU shared, “the university substantially improved its financial position, achieved regional
August 15, 2020
Generosity, Responsibility, Humility: The Church’s Threefold Response to COVID-19 By Gary Johnson and Jared Johnson “History repeats itself” is a familiar phrase because it’s true. In the opening pages of Scripture, Egypt was a world superpower. That nation experienced prosperity like no other realm had ever known. The years of unprecedented bounty, though, were followed by seven years of famine. Is something similar occurring in America? In recent years, the United States has enjoyed an era of prosperity—from record low unemployment to record high returns in the financial markets. However, an insidious and destructive virus circled the globe and within
August 15, 2020
An Ancient Commentary on the Corona Quarantine from Joseph and the Famine By Mark E. Moore The most difficult thing about the coronavirus pandemic has been the quarantine. Call it “stay at home,” call it “shelter in place”—regardless what you call it, it is forced “waiting.” Waiting is hard work. It feels passive, stifling, a waste of time. However, the “waiting room” in God’s healthcare system is where much of the heart surgery takes place. Waiting is where our character is solidified so opportunities can be maximized. There is a pattern for waiting and then working that is as ancient
August 15, 2020
5 Strategic Ministry Shifts During the Pandemic Changed Our Perspective By Matt Summerswith Janice Summers Just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness wondering when they might go back to Egypt, we have found ourselves wondering when we might go back to the way things were just a few months ago. Our wilderness is Joliet, Illinois, in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic. Joliet is the third-largest city in Illinois, home to 150,000 residents. Some think Joliet is a suburb of Chicago, nestled just outside the sprawling metropolis, but she is her own community. Both cities were founded in
August 15, 2020
The Coronavirus Crisis Provided the Church with New Opportunities and Approaches . . . Will We Take Them? By Trevor DeVagewith Mark A. Taylor Ask the typical Bible study group, “How are Christians like us persecuted today?” and you usually get blank stares. Some might remember being bullied at school or ignored by the party crowd at college. Maybe one will tell about being disowned by her family when she decided to get baptized. You might even come across someone who got fired because he wouldn’t lie for his boss. But more often Christians in America apply Bible passages about
August 12, 2020
By Jim Nieman Two staff members of Dallas Christian College embarked on a 2,511-mile road trip in July to connect with as many current and future students as possible. “We were all in quarantine,” said director of student services Karla Kuhl, “and I was seeing stories of [public school] teachers who were going out and seeing their students. And I thought, Well, I have students. I could do that.” Because Dallas Christian College had switched to an online-only format in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, there hadn’t been many “connections” between students and staff for several months . .
August 3, 2020
By David Faust It’s unfortunate that expressions like “pro-choice” and “the right to choose” have been co-opted by abortion advocates. When properly understood, the ability to choose is one of God’s greatest gifts. We don’t get to choose our birthdays, our height, or the color of our skin. But we decide what we believe, what we value, and who our friends will be. Faith, hope, and love are choices more than feelings. At age 20, I decided to ask a young woman named Candy to marry me, and I remain grateful she chose to say yes. ROCK OR SAND? What
July 15, 2020
By Michael C. Mack We planned the articles for this issue on March 20, the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 916 points and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the nation’s largest city was “now the epicenter of this crisis” in the U.S., with 5,151 coronavirus cases and 29 deaths at that point. We were a nation looking for some sense of hope in the midst of a crisis we didn’t even understand. People’s anxiety was palpable and pessimism itself took on pandemic proportions. On that day, publisher Jerry Harris and I talked on the phone
By Chris Moon The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a major financial blow to Joplin, Mo.-based Christ In Youth, which hosts dozens of popular student ministry conferences across the country each year. CIY has canceled all of its high school MOVE and middle school MIX conferences this summer—56 events in all—because of the impossibility of holding those large events during the pandemic. The organization also had to cancel dozens of weekend events in March and April because of the outbreak. Those events represented virtually all of CIY’s revenue stream for the year. Ninety percent of CIY’s revenue comes from fees churches pay
April 1, 2020
By Renee Little Churches are eligible for economic relief related to the coronavirus pandemic, and the time to apply is NOW! The Paycheck Protection Program was approved through Congress and signed by the president. Approximately $349 billion in forgivable loans will be given out to small businesses (under 500 employees). Nonprofits, including churches, are included. Now is the time for church leaders to strongly consider whether to seek relief through this program and to take action. Here are the next steps: 1. See this page on the Vanderbloemen website that includes videos and other information providing the most recent updates
March 18, 2020
(This article was updated on Wednesday morning, March 18.) Johnson University is suspending face-to-face classroom instruction for one month. Hope International University has tacked on an additional week of spring break. Great Lakes Christian College will be teaching all classes remotely from March 16 through April 3. And Milligan College is extending its current spring break until March 20 and transitioning to online classes through April 5. These are just a few of the actions Christian universities have announced in response to the COVID-19 (or coronavirus) pandemic. Several of these announcements have been issued just today. Below are short excerpts
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