August 2, 2023
In the weeks since an assistant football coach's death, two dozen high school players and coaches have been baptized in Florida. "God has brought beauty out of ashes," wrote New Day Christian Church lead pastor Rusty Russell, who also serves as an assistant coach. . . .
April 10, 2023
Six months after Hurricane Ian devastated portions of Florida, the recovery effort continues. “There are short-term victories, and there are long-term challenges,” said Gary Cox, teaching pastor at First Christian Church in Fort Myers, Fla. . . .
January 30, 2023
Charlie Russell’s recovery from COVID-19 and multiple attendant health challenges during weeks of hospitalization in 2021 has gone better than expected—much better. . . .
Thirteen women, including eight prisoners, received Master of Arts in Christian Ministry degrees from Lipscomb University in mid-December after taking classes for years on Wednesday nights. Also briefs about Rusty Russell, Stanley Helton, a Gallup survey about chaplains, and more.
October 22, 2022
Christian churches in Cape Coral and Port Charlotte, Fla., are scrambling to help their congregations and communities recover from Hurricane Ian.
October 18, 2022
Gary Cox has been in Fort Myers, Fla., for 33 years. He’s been through a handful of hurricanes. But he’s never seen anything like the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. “This is just widespread devastation,” said the co-lead pastor of First Christian Church in Fort Myers. . . .
October 3, 2022
Much of Florida is recovering from a direct hit by Hurricane Ian last week. Here’s a sampling of what some Christian churches and agencies in Florida have posted on their websites and via Facebook in the past few days. (We are continuing to update this article.)
January 26, 2022
Not long after Charlie and Faith Russell celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary, and only days before the birth of their first child, Charlie came down with COVID-19. That was in late July 2021. Charlie was hospitalized for weeks; he calls his recovery "a miracle."
January 26, 2022
Rusty Russell thought his son, Charlie, would recover quickly when his boy was hospitalized with COVID-19 in August. That wasn't the case. Rusty, who preaches in Florida, traveled back and forth to Tennessee weekly to help during Charlie's long ordeal.
October 21, 2021
Thousands of people and scores of churches who have been praying for Charlie Russell during his two-month battle with COVID pneumonia received very encouraging reports in recent days.
April 28, 2020
Editor’s Note: This article was written for and will appear in our July issue, which will deal with politics and the church. We’ve decided the article will most benefit our readers now, however. We hope it helps you wisely plan as you make significant decisions over the next several weeks and months. _ _ _ By Rusty Russell Should we have canceled church during the COVID-19 pandemic? What if churches reopen, the virus rebounds, and we are asked to cancel again? What if there’s a less serious pandemic in the future? Will we be asked to cancel the next time
September 20, 2017
As Hurricane Irma spun through the Caribbean, Floridians boarded up houses and businesses, filled sandbags, and prepared for the worst. Some evacuated. Many prayed. New Day Christian Church in Port Charlotte, which is on the Gulf Coast, prepared to serve their community in the name of Jesus. “We have a relationship with the county,” said Rusty Russell, lead pastor at New Day. “They basically took over our building as a shelter for oxygen-dependent patients.” Charlotte County provided a big generator so that the people who require electricity for their lives and well-being could be cared for. Russell said, “We have
March 22, 2009
 By Darrel Rowland  On Long Island, fledgling True North Community Church is readily shelling out more than $2 million for a three-year-old building on four acres. In northeast Ohio, historic First Christian Church in Canton is meeting the payments for a $25 million relocation project from three years ago””for now. Along Florida”s Gulf Coast, rechristened New Day Christian Church faces an uncertain future because of its struggle to pay for a $5.5 million facility built about four years ago. While America”s economic woes are unquestionably hitting churches across the country, the varying experiences of this trio of growing
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