Christian News Bulletin

CLOSING THE GAP A gap between churches and other forms of gatherings in NSW has been closed. From 1 June up to 50 people will be able to gather in churches, just like in a club and other places. The government initially eased the regulations for hospitality venues – clubs, pubs and restaurants, but left the limit on places of worship at ten. But this gap has now been closed, even before it came into effect by another announcement. Eternity News reports that Vic, WA, SA, ACT can have up to 20 seated patrons in any enclosed space, increasing to 50 on 21 June. BALCONY TO BALCONY Christian World News reports that a church in Kenya has taken its services on the road. A team from the church travels to apartment blocks delivering sermons and music from the street below. The Sunday services, nicknamed B2B for Balcony To Balcony, is led by Rev Paul Macharia from All Saints' Cathedral in Kiambu County. FEEDING THE MULTITUDES According to New Life, the Barnabas Fund is feeding more than 500,000 Christians in desperate situations due to Covid-19 lockdowns in 29 countries. In some countries people were already facing food insecurity due to swarms of locusts destroying their crops. The fund has also provided hygiene products for more than 21,000 Christians as well as support to almost 7,000 struggling pastors.

CHURCH ONLINE According to The Christian Post, nearly half of churchgoers haven't watched an online service in the last four weeks, and among those who have, only 40% say they've been watching services from their regular home church, according to recent polling data from the Barna Group. The survey noted that 48% of churchgoers reported that they had not watched any church online in the last four weeks. Less than half of the remaining 52% who did watch church online said they watched the service of their own church, with a “surprising 23%” reporting that they streamed a different church online. PERSECUTION IN CHINA Christian Headlines reports that the coronavirus that devastated China’s population hasn’t stopped the communist government from shutting down and even razing churches across the country. The persecution has impacted state-run churches and underground house churches alike, according to the watchdog Bitter Winter, which monitors religious freedom in China. “The Communist Party’s persecution of house churches is increasingly severe,” a member of a house church told Bitter Winter. “This is mainly because more and more people believe in Christianity.” FAVOURITE HYMNS A new poll carried out by a Catholic international aid charity has found that the hymn "How Great Thou Art" is the favourite hymn to inspire hope at this time of crisis. Premier Christian News reports that the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development used a Twitter poll to ask just over 500 people about their favourite piece of Christian music. 'How Great Thou Art' garnered 37.7% of the vote, closely followed by 'Christ, Be Our Light' with 30.2%. The song 'Be Not Afraid' took 20% of the vote, while Matt Redman's ‘10,000 Reasons' came in with just 12.6%.

ONLINE CHURCH SERVICES As Covid-19 restrictions are eventually lifted for churches, pastors should not return to an inhouse-only church format says Rev Brad Kirk, who believes churches must keep their services online. He told OneNewsNow the internet is a powerful outreach tool, that is not only reaching a congregation, but many more people outside the church. WORLD VISION’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE ASSIST News Service reports that World Vision has dramatically scaled up its emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The international aid agency reports they are now aiming to reach 72 million people across the globe, investing more than four times the original planned budget. Andrew Morley, World Vision International President and CEO says they will mobilise 37,000 staff, 400,000 faith leaders and 220,000 community health workers to combat the virus. QUIZZES AND THE GOSPEL Sporting quizzes are becoming a mission field reaching thousands of people. A Christian sporting charity is reaching tens of thousands of people with the message of Jesus through the launch of its weekly online quiz. Premier News reports that Christians In Sport has utilised the trend to engage with sporting fans across the world.

CHURCH REPAIRS MASKS A Californian church has organized an army of volunteers to repair 263,000 protective masks and deliver them to local healthcare workers. Masks have become an essential piece of personal protective equipment for frontline workers in the fight against coronavirus. According to a Press Release sent to Christian Headlines, the enormous project, which involved over 4,200 volunteers, was coordinated by the Rock Church in San Diego. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE HONOURED Born to an upper-class family in 1820, Florence Nightingale was expected to live a typical, domesticated life of a 19th century woman. However, after what she described as a call from God, Nightingale rejected these expectations and decided to pursue a career in nursing. Eternity News reports that in honour of Nightingale’s life, the World Health Organisation has named 2020 the first International Year of the Nurse and Midwife. “I STILL BELIEVE” FILM Filmmaker Jon Erwin didn’t anticipate his new film would be released during a global pandemic that would lead to the rapid closure of movie theatres nationwide, but it was. Despite the setback, however, he says the movie is still leading many people to Jesus. “Life is full of things that you can't control and things that don’t go according to plan,” Erwin, the film’s co-director, told Christian Headlines in a recent interview. “The whole theme of the movie is ‘I Still Believe even when I can't see.’ It's sort of fitting.” “The film is designed to give people hope and give people a glimpse of the power of the Gospel and the change that it can have in your life,” Erwin said.

CALL FOR PRAYER IN UK New Life reports that more than 50,000 people in the UK have signed a petition asking Boris Johnson to call the nation to prayer in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The online petition takes inspiration from King George VI's call to the nation in 1940 to join in prayer, when hundreds of thousands of Allied troops risked annihilation at the hands of the Nazis. Susan Hawkes, who created the petition, says, ‘The country is in crisis. We need to call upon God for help’. BISHOP T.D JAKES In a Facebook Live broadcast last Sunday, Bishop T.D. Jakes slammed Christians who flout social distancing guidelines as a demonstration of how their faith will protect them from the coronavirus as “foolishness” and “dumb.” “I believe in faith, I believe in God, I believe in the Bible, I believe in the Word of God, but I also believe in common sense,” said Jakes, senior pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas. POLICE IN GUATEMALA According to GODTV.com, police in Guatemala are taking to the streets for regular inspections to see whether citizens are following rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Guatemala police are also preaching the Gospel. A video posted to social media showed a line of National Civil Police cars in the streets of Guatemala. An officer used a microphone so that quarantined residents could hear his message. He encouraged them to believe in God who makes impossible things possible.

VIRTUAL EVANGELISTIC EVENT Christian Headlines reports that more than 130,000 individuals around the world made the decision to come to Christ during a Good Friday virtual evangelistic event that was hosted by Pulse and featured well-known Christian leaders and singers, according to new data. The service was viewed in nearly 100 countries, including China, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Russia and Ukraine. It was translated into 40 different languages. MISSIONARY AVIATION FELLOWSHIP This year, 2020, marks 75 years of Missionary Aviation Fellowship using aircraft to deliver medical care, emergency food and Christian hope to remote communities. MAF’s mission to use aircraft to transform lives came right on the heels of the death and destruction of WWII. What began with a few Christian airforce pilots is now - 75 years later - the largest humanitarian airline in the world. BIBLE SALES SOAR According to Premier Christian News, new sales figures indicate that the Bible has experienced a dramatic surge in sales as readers search for hope amid the current coronavirus pandemic. Book sales data provider Nielsen BookScan said that Biblical and liturgical texts had been rapidly climbing the charts in recent weeks, noting that the clear uptick in purchases was an "unusual pattern in comparison to the same period in recent years."

VISUAL AIDS FOR VIRTUAL CHURCH As many churches are now presenting church services online, some people are turning to resources such as  The Visual Commentary On Scripture which has a comprehensive collection of art works that could help those involved in producing church services over the internet. ZOOM The video-conferencing platform ZOOM is enabling churchgoers from different denominations to participate in prayer meetings, training sessions such as Alpha, praise and worship singalongs and even communion without leaving home, thus adhering to government mandated social distancing laws. Other cyber software apps such as Skype and GoToMeeting are also being used to maintain contact amongst believers. MICHAEL YOUSSEF SPEAKS OUT According to The Christian Post, prominent pastor and author Michael Youssef has cautioned against the idea that tragedies like the coronavirus pandemic currently sweeping the world will spark a “revival,” emphasising that revival will not happen unless “the people of God remove idols from their lives.” “I’m taking the blame as much as anyone else,” Youssef said. “But we’re attached to sports and entertainment. We spend hours on entertainment and very little time in the Word of God. Until we start removing these idols, I don't see how revival can happen.”

COVID-19—'A HUMAN TIME BOMB' The Leprosy Mission is warning of a ‘COVID-19 human time bomb’ across Africa and South Asia. Cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in all 10 countries where the charity works in these two regions. The Leprosy Mission is working with partners across Asia and Africa to provide clear messaging, medical and practical assistance to leprosy sufferers. 'FOCUS @ HOME' According to Christian Headlines, Focus On The Family has launched a free streaming service for families stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic through their new platform, called Focus@Home, which includes well-known video content, such as Adventures In Odyssey and McGee And Me. CROSSES REMOVED IN CHINA The Christian Post reports that China’s communist government removed numerous crosses from church rooftops during the country's coronavirus epidemic under the pretext that religious symbolism cannot be “higher” than the national flag. 'AMAZING GRACE' IN LONDON Premier News reports that a church vicar in London plays an amplified Amazing Grace from his car to bring people some communal joy while in isolation. Rev Patrick Allerton drives the streets in his parish inviting people through a loudspeaker to join in singing the classic hymn.

GOD'S HOSTAGE Andrew Brunson, the US missionary held in a Turkish prison for more than two years, challenged media outlets at the recent National Religious Broadcasters Christian Convention in Nashville (USA), to be ready to play their role in ‘discipling a harvest of souls in Turkey and throughout the Middle East’. In his recently released book, God’s Hostage, Brunson recalls how he overcame the big challenges he faced during his captivity on false charges. He told Evangelical Focus that 'it’s not just a book about struggles, negativity. Actually it’s a story about how God took me in my weakness and rebuilt me and strengthened me to take me through a very difficult test and emerge on the other side.’ INTERNATIONAL RELIEF New Life reports that Samaritan's Purse was the first international organisation to provide emergency medical relief to families impacted by the deadly COVID19 outbreak in northern Italy. The international Christian relief organisation deployed its Emergency Field Hospital and more than 60 disaster response specialists outside Milan. SOLAR-POWERED SCRIPTURES World Mission works with nationals to engage with people in their own language and culture. The mission in Bangladesh provides practical and spiritual help as they they send in solar-powered audio Scripture. Printed Bibles are not helpful for the Shaikh people as most of them are oral learners, but audio is proving an effective way to teach families about Jesus.

BUSHFIRES IN QUEENSLAND During recent bushfires in Queensland, Hillsong Noosa Pastor Jamie Coyle spent time at  “The J” Theatre, the community facility his church meets in for Sunday services. The J was being used as an evacuation centre for those affected by the bushfires in Peregian Beach and surrounding suburbs. Coyle told Eternity News that he walked into the evacuation centre trying to figure out what the greatest need was; he was ready to mobilise his church to meet that need. But instead of practical needs such as food, accomodation or bedding, he found what was most needed was a listening ear and the offer of prayer. SCOTTISH CHURCH OPENS DOORS A Scottish church is opening its doors to a new support centre to help those going through hard times. St John's Parish Church in Largs has launched The Living Room - a drop in space where people can have someone to talk to. Rev Jonathan Fleming told Premier News that the church felt they needed to take action. He said "We hope that people know that it is our motivation and our call from Jesus Christ to love our neighbour and that people will hear the good news that he offers." CHRIS TOMLIN JOINS COUNTRY DUO ON STAGE At a concert in Atlanta, Georgia, country duo Florida Georgia Line invited internationally renowned worship leader, Chris Tomlin, on to the stage. The show took a unique turn when the pair paused between songs before announcing that they would be trying something new. Tomlin joined the duo on stage to lead the audience in singing two worship songs, "How Great Is Our God" and “How Great Thou Art.”