Like It or Not – Churches Plunge Into Online Ministry
Churches across the country are grappling with an immediate need to provide online ministry at a time when meeting face-to-face is considered risky at best and life-threatening at worst.
Worthy News
Coronavirus cases top 200,000 worldwide, death toll passes 8,000
The total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus worldwide has now surpassed 200,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, while the death toll has topped 8,000.
Ex-Terrorist Leads Indonesia’s Christian Convert Movement
The married-father-of-three has come a long way since he nearly blew up a Protestant church in Jakarta. Author Ahmad Quraisy, which isn’t his family name, was a commander of the feared Islamic State of Indonesia (NII), an Indonesian militant group. But the former Islamic terrorist now leads an underground movement in Indonesia converting Muslims to Christianity or, in his words, ‘personal faith in Christ.’
Gospel Spreads as Coronavirus in Indonesia’s Jungle Villages
They suggest their faith in Christ spreads as fast as the new coronavirus. Pentecostal pastors of several Muslim dominated jungle villages in Indonesia’s South Sumatra province report church growth. That’s despite local protests, poverty, and occultism. ‘I even received one hundred boxes of tiles from the village chief to complete our church building,’ explains Pastor Frani Pondaag.
Biden blowout victory in Florida leaves Sanders with no path to nomination
Joe Biden crushed Bernie Sanders in Florida, adding to a series of decisive wins that leaves the Vermont senator with no realistic path to securing the Democratic presidential nomination.
Mississippi House passes bill banning abortions on the basis of race, sex, genetic abnormality
The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a bill that, if enacted, will ban abortions performed due to an unborn baby’s race, sex, or possible genetic abnormalities.
UK: Churches make national call to prayer for coronavirus pandemic
Church leaders are calling on people across the UK to “light a candle of hope” by praying in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
South Korea threatens to shut down churches not complying with coronavirus measures
Churches in South Korea could be shut down for failing to implement preventative measures amid the spread of the coronavirus in the country’s most populous metropolitan region.
Fed relaunches crisis-era lending program to aid companies facing pandemic credit crunch
The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced that it was setting up a special entity to purchase short-term debt issued by corporations to help keep afloat companies facing a credit crunch because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus Ravages Middle East as Iran Warns of ‘Millions’ of Deaths
From Jerusalem’s Western Wall to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca, the coronavirus is changing the Middle East and people in the region are adjusting to a new normal.
Senate Approves 77-Day Extension of FISA Court’s Surveillance Powers
The Senate on March 16 agreed to a 77-day extension of a set of FBI surveillance tools under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that had expired March 15, to allow lawmakers time for further negotiations on necessary reforms to the powerful domestic eavesdropping program that saw wiretapping of individuals in the Trump campaign.
From field hospitals to respirator masks, Pentagon wades into coronavirus support role
The Pentagon on Tuesday laid out how the U.S. military would support the medical response to the coronavirus, from using its stockpile of respirator masks to potentially building field hospitals and perhaps even deploying Navy hospital ships to reduce the stress on U.S. emergency rooms.
DOJ abruptly drops once-heralded prosecution of Russian troll farm initiated by Mueller
In a striking and unexpected abandonment of a once-heralded prosecution initiated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the Justice Department moved Monday to drop charges against two Russian companies that were accused of funding a social media meme campaign to further their ‘strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 presidential election.’
IDF says Hezbollah, Syrian army behind attempted sniper attack on border
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday accused the Hezbollah terror group and the Syrian army of being behind an attempted sniping attack against Israeli soldiers in the Golan Heights earlier this month, which was thwarted by an Israeli strike on the suspects’ car.
Pentagon Preparing Navy Hospital Ships Mercy, Comfort for Coronavirus Response
The Pentagon is starting the process of activating Navy hospital ships USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) as part of the Defense Department’s domestic response to the spreading COVID-19 virus, USNI News has learned.
Wall Street bounces after Monday’s selloff as Fed boosts liquidity
The S&P 500 rose 6% on Tuesday, a day after its steepest decline since the 1987 crash, as the Federal Reserve took further steps to boost liquidity and stem damage from the coronavirus outbreak that has gripped the global economy.
China plans to disbar three major US news organizations
China is revoking the press credentials of three major US media organizations, in a move that has been censured by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a further step toward secrecy by the communist administration of Xi Jinping.
White House seeking multi-billion dollar coronavirus stimulus package
The White House proposed an $850 billion stimulus package Tuesday for an economy that has been rocked by coronavirus fears, the Trump Administration expecting bipartisan support for a move that may involve sending Americans $1,000 checks.
African locust swarm headed for Middle East
An ‘unprecedented’ locust swarm is forming in the Horn of Africa, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and is expected to cause major food shortages across Africa and the Middle East later this summer.
EU will close borders for 30 days to slow coronavirus outbreak
The European Union announced that member nations will close the EU’s external borders for the next 30 days to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.