Articles for tag: COVID

Conferences & Gatherings Organizations & Events

Interview: David Empson Discusses ICOM’s Roller-coaster Year

By Jim Nieman The International Conference On Missions’ executive director, staff, and this year’s president have had to overcome monumental challenges in planning this year’s event in the age of COVID-19. Work for the November conference essentially had to begin anew over the summer when ICOM announced it was switching to a hybrid format—both online and in-person. ICOM officials have promised the in-person portion will be safe and comfortable, but limited mainly to the popular exhibit area where so many friends and mission agencies connect. The virtual aspect, meanwhile, will be robust and comprehensive, so that as many as possible

October 27, 2020

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Canadian Christian Colleges Find Unique Solutions to Disparate Challenges

By Jim Nieman Two Canadian Christian colleges have undergone major changes over the course of the last several months. At Alberta Bible College in Calgary, the disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the school to deliver its classes via an online method since the springtime. “We weigh the information we receive from Alberta Health Services weekly and are trying to determine if beginning some physical classes in January is prudent,” president Stanley Helton said. Maritime Christian College also has seen disruption, but those changes were in motion even before the coronavirus began dominating the world’s headlines. MCC—located in

October 24, 2020

Job 1 Is Still Job 1

A global pandemic brought many changes to how we carry out our international ministry, but it hasn’t changed our mission. By Jeff Metzger The international mission sending agency I lead had lots of crisis plans. We prepared for many emergencies. We had a plan for hurricanes. We had a plan for kidnappings and political unrest. We had a plan for emergency evacuation. We had a plan for sudden illness or death. But we didn’t have a plan for a global pandemic or its ongoing consequences. Now we do! Our plan continues to grow and evolve. By God’s grace, we are

October 24, 2020

Laura McKillip Wood

Ministry in Post-Christian England

Leslie sat in the dorm lobby on her Christian college campus thinking about the last question on the get-to-know-you survey she and the rest of the girls in her dorm were completing. Her sophomore year had just begun, and Leslie had been considering where God was leading her. The last question asked, “What is something you have dreamed of doing?” She scribbled her answer in the blank: “missions in Europe.” Leslie Hall had been learning about the decline of Christianity in Europe, and she wondered what God might be doing there. “I guess God paid attention to what I wrote,”

October 24, 2020

The Pandemic’s Impact on International Missions (and What We All Can Learn from It)

By David Empson The church in America could learn much from how foreign missionaries persevered during the coronavirus while continuing to advance the cause of Christ. In early April, I received an email update from sisters Megan and Michelle Moss, missionaries serving in Tanzania. At the time, most Americans were still homebound and wrestling with internet issues, virtual meetings, and restaurant withdrawal. Mostly, we were wondering how long this pandemic would last. The Mosses wrote: ________ Many times, as missionaries, we really need you to be there for us. But right now, we’re seeing how God has equipped us in

October 24, 2020

Kent E. Fillinger

The Future of Evangelism, Missions, and the Church

The headline “51% of Churchgoers Don’t Know of the Great Commission” from a Barna report in March 2018 caught my eye and caused me great concern. The report said that for 25 percent of churchgoers, the term “Great Commission” sounded familiar, but they could not remember the meaning of it. Only 17 percent of churchgoers said they had heard of the Great Commission and knew what it meant. Although not even half of any age group knew the term Great Commission well, the youngest adult generation was the least likely to recognize it. Only 10 percent of millennials (those born

October 24, 2020

Short-Term Shutdown

When the pandemic suspended their short-term mission trips indefinitely, churches responded at home and abroad. Here are three alternatives they’ve discovered. By Justin Horey Just weeks into the new year, Riley Weaver sensed that 2020 might be an unprecedented year for his ministry. He didn’t have a premonition about the pandemic—quite the contrary. Early in the year, Weaver thought 2020 could be the first year on record that he didn’t have to cancel, postpone, or reschedule a single short-term mission trip. It was an exciting thought for Weaver, the global and local impact minister at Plainfield (Indiana) Christian Church. Plainfield

October 20, 2020

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Dozens of CCCB Students In Quarantine Or Isolating Due to COVID-19 Outbreak

By Jim Nieman Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Mo., has switched to online-only instruction for the next two weeks due to a spike in COVID-19 cases among residential students. The change in format will enable the school to reduce the risk of exposing more students to the virus. The school announced its decision Monday morning. After the first residential student tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, another seven students tested positive on Sunday and Monday, president David Fincher and vice president of student development Darryl Ammon said via email. As of Tuesday afternoon, about 45 percent of

October 14, 2020

Michael C. Mack

Conferences & Gatherings Organizations & Events

2020 SpireConference Goes Off Virtually Without a Hitch

By Michael C. Mack Spire Network leaders pivoted from their planned in-person, three-day conference in Orlando, Fla., to a one-day virtual event held Sept. 30. The online event proceeded smoothly except for a couple technical glitches that were fixed quickly and actually became opportunities for participants to build some community and tell jokes in the comments section. “Even though it was a shift from the three-day conference we had planned in Orlando, the one-day virtual conference turned out to be a great step forward for this gathering, and for Spire Network and hopefully everyone that attended,” said Rick Rusaw, who

October 7, 2020

Colleges & Seminaries Organizations & Events

Christian College Presidents Share Enrollment Numbers, Describe Challenges

By Jim Nieman Christian colleges and universities were already under significant stress even before the COVID-19 tsunami came crashing over our nation. In fact, two of them—Cincinnati Christian University and Nebraska Christian College—have closed during the past year. We decided to take the temperature of institutions across the United States by asking college presidents to share their year-over-year attendance figures and to describe the challenges they are facing. It might surprise some to learn that a handful of the 16 colleges and universities that shared their data with us actually saw their enrollment increase from fall 2019 to fall 2020.

September 23, 2020

Ministries & Nonprofits Organizations & Events

Deaf Missions Completes American Sign Language Version of Bible

By Jim Nieman Deaf Missions has completed the American Sign Language Version (ASLV) of the Bible—a 38-year project that started in 1982. CEO Chad Entinger said the feeling upon completing the project was something like “a runner crossing the finish line of a marathon. We are beyond exhilarated . . . that now, finally, Deaf people have all of God’s Word in our native, heart language.” “Words in printed English cannot explain the depth of the Bible to Deaf people,” explained Renca Dunn, a Bible translator with Deaf Missions, Council Bluffs, Iowa. “For many in the Deaf community, written English

September 22, 2020

Michael C. Mack

Church & Ministry Leadership Development

The Pandemic’s Leadership Lessons

By Michael C. Mack Great leaders have a blend of humility—they know that they don’t know everything—and a curiosity to discover answers. They are constantly learning from a variety of sources, beginning with God’s Word, but also through books, mentors, failures, crises, and personal struggles, to name just a few. Perhaps John F. Kennedy summarized it best: “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” The pandemic and all of its interconnected effects have provided a wellspring of important learning opportunities for us. In this issue, our writers highlight many of these. Here are four I believe are especially worth

September 22, 2020

Different Environments, Different Approaches (Ministering in the Midst of COVID-19)

Urban, Suburban, and Rural Church Leaders Share Their Experiences of Leading Through a Pandemic By Chris Moon No two churches are the same, even in how they have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the virus has left a mark on Restoration Movement congregations and pastors across the country. For some churches and pastors, especially in rural, conservative areas of the country, the pandemic seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The major difficulty was figuring out how to get the internet to cooperate during a brief closure. “There’s a lot of things you face like that

September 22, 2020

Jim Estep

What COVID-19 Taught Rural Churches

By Jim Estep State by state, county by county, the COVID-19 pandemic led to limitations, shelter-in-place orders, and essentially a shutdown of “normal.” In rural congregations—which are often smaller, singular in focus (worship), and fairly stable in ministry programming—this became an impetus for reflection, reevaluation, renewal, and a reenvisioning of ministries across the country. Theology of the Church We all know the church is made up of people—it’s not the building or the worship service—but our everyday theology would say otherwise. Whether we like it or not, our default theology turns church into a place or time. (“We are going

September 22, 2020

The Challenge: What Do In-Person Services Look Like Upon Reopening?

By Justin Horey In Manhattan, Kansas—“The Little Apple”—a church of about 1,000 regular attendees has resumed in-person worship with no serious complications. Though the average Sunday attendance is lower than its pre-COVID-19 norm, Crestview Christian Church has found reopening to be a blessing. Elsewhere, three other churches found that resuming in-person worship wasn’t so simple. One church reopened successfully but the state forced it to “reclose,” another church opened partially, and the other reopened but then closed again after a church employee tested positive for the virus. These are their stories. _ _ _ Reopened and Staying Open: Crestview Christian

September 22, 2020

The Waiting Place: What Does Church Look Like When Your Doors Are Closed?

By Justin Horey Trying to summarize how churches are resuming in-person worship after the 2020 quarantine feels a bit like a tribute to Dr. Seuss: Some are meeting, some are not. Some are indoors, some are out. But while reopening plans vary across a wide spectrum, churches that have decided to postpone in-person worship, even as local municipalities began to lift restrictions, have much in common. Most of them are large, with attendance of 1,000 or more. Many of them minister in cities with left-leaning political ideologies. And all churches—regardless of their reopening plans—are eager to minister face-to-face again. Despite

September 21, 2020

News & Updates

Ozark Lifts ‘Self-Quarantine’ Order

Ozark Christian College has lifted a weeklong “self-quarantine” order that had asked students to remain in their dorm rooms as much as possible. In-person classes resumed today after a full-week of remote learning. In-person chapel also is slated to resume. “Our numbers of isolations and quarantines have improved,” Damien Spikereit, executive vice president of administration, wrote on OCC’s website late last week. “This is an answer to many prayers, and I’m proud of the self-discipline and wisdom you’ve shown this week.” Ozark’s “COVID Dashboard” as of noon Monday listed 6 students in isolation, meaning they are either symptomatic or have

September 15, 2020

News & Updates

Ozark Students Under Weeklong Self-Quarantine Due to COVID-19

Ozark Christian College has instituted a one-week, campuswide self-quarantine of students because of a high number of COVID-19 cases. The self-quarantine runs through this Saturday. Additionally, all fall sports have been suspended for the semester. Last Wednesday, the Joplin, Mo., school reported that 10 percent of its residential student population was in quarantine or isolation. As of this 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, Ozark had 12 total active cases—11 students and 1 employee—of people who are either symptomatic or had tested positive for COVID-19 (that was down from 21 active cases—18 students and 3 employees—on Monday morning.) The students are in isolation

August 26, 2020