News

As university campuses around the country shut down and move classes online in efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, chaplains and faith-based campus groups are stepping in to ease the transition.

Baptists in the neighboring countries of Germany and Poland are taking similar precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus, even as the two nations currently face drastically different situations from the global pandemic.

Responses to the number of people infected by COVID-19 (coronavirus) have effectively shut down many parts of the world. In Italy, restrictions led to a bathtub baptism of a new believer, streamed live on the internet.

As coronavirus spreads in the United States, many religious services are moving online to help prevent the spread of the outbreak. The decisions to cancel services at some Baptist and other Christian churches follow similar moves in recent weeks in other countries, including in Asia and Europe.

Although Jesus called us to care for the sick, the weary, those in prison, etc., he didn’t give specific guidance about how to do that in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic. And so we’re left to think that through.

With the whole nation of Italy essentially in quarantine as the coronavirus outbreak grows, the small Italian Baptist community has moved worship online and is seeking to minister in this difficult time. In the country’s epicenter of Milan, Protestant churches are working across denominational lines to create videos to replace in-person worship services.

Of the 10 religious traditions in the United States that have the oldest members, the top seven are mainline Protestant traditions.

Virtually every Protestant pastor and churchgoer believes a person with a disability would feel at home at their church, but fewer are taking active steps to make sure this is the case.

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted multiple religious faiths to change or cancel services as houses of worship try to help contain the disease. But some church leaders are also tackling another task: communicating a message that elevates both faith and science.

As coronavirus numbers grow across the globe, U.S. Baptists are weighing future events and recommending against international short-term mission trips until the outbreak is better contained. As of March 10, there are more than 116,000 cases and more than 4,000 deaths in more than 100 countries.