Black Churches Play a Key Role in Connecting Communities to Broadband Internet
‘There are churches near, and people near, places where there are no internet carriers at all,’ said the Rev. Barbara Williams-Skinner.
Physical Media, Streaming, and Ministry as Metaphor
Contributing writer Greg Mamula delves into the Blockbuster vs. Netflix analogy that is often utilized by speakers at conferences and retreats to motivate church leaders into embracing new ministry models. Where this metaphor falls short, he proposes a new one: Redbox.
Vaccine Convictions
In this bonus edition of A Public Witness, editors Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood look at vaccine hesitancy among Christians, especially White evangelicals, and consider its causes and ways of addressing it. With the spread of the Delta variant raising alarms, time is short for
Let the Mutant Church Arise
Columnist Sarah Blackwell writes about “beneficial mutations” that allow organisms to thrive in a new or changing environment. She proposes two areas where churches need to embrace such mutations.
Louisiana Man Gets 25 Years for Torching 3 Black Baptist Churches
A Louisiana man who admitted to burning down three predominantly African American churches to promote himself as a “black metal” musician was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay the churches $2.6 million.
Churches Report Giving Boost Months after Pandemic Started
Giving to congregations has shifted upward after churches closed their buildings earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, a survey shows. The new State of the Plate research finds that close to two-thirds (64%) of churches across the country reported in August that giving is
How Churches can be Advocates, Not Partisans, During Election Season
BJC has put together a one-page guide for churches and nonprofits during election season, listing permissible activities like assisting with voter registration, offering candidate forums, and talking about a variety of issues from a theological perspective, rather than candidate or political party-driven perspective. Read full piece
Two COVID-19-Ravaged Churches Take Different Recovery Paths
The paths of two New York City churches diverged this week — one reopened and one stayed closed. But they have shared a tragic fate, together losing at least 134 members of their mostly Hispanic congregations to the coronavirus.
Trump Deems Churches ‘Essential,’ Calls for Them to Reopen This Weekend
President Donald Trump said Friday (May 22) that he has deemed churches and other houses of worship “essential" and called on governors across the country to allow them to reopen this weekend, even as some parts of the nation remain under coronavirus lockdown.
Houses of Worship Around the Country Are Struggling to Reopen
Around the country, houses of worship are reopening, some after fighting to do so. But it could be a long time before services are back to anything like normal.