News features from a Biblical perspective.
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Todd Gallagher is a Parker, PA native who has spent nearly 20 years as a missionary to Ukraine and Romania. He talks about his unexpected path to that ministry, as well as the current turmoil in Ukraine.
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The people who are served by the ministry agency Door International cannot hear this Family Life news feature.
Which is all the more reason why you should listen to this.
Rob Myers and Door’s other workers and volunteers are active in an evangelism effort to reach out to a people group in which only 1 of every 50 people are followers of Jesus. The outreach is to deaf individuals and communities. In this conversation on our “Missions Pulse” program, Myers explains why it is so hard to share Good News and provide Scriptures to deaf people. Door seeks out non-hearing believers who become church planters and evangelists who share the same circumstances as other deaf people. The ministry also is active in translating 110 Biblical narratives into sign languages. This is a massive task — if you are thinking only about ASL (American Sign Language), you are forgetting about the other 375 sign languages around the world.
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Prominent Christian speaker, author (and advisor to presidents) Max Lucado is sharing a message of reassurance to anyone who feels they have strayed far from God:
Hear new comments from Max Lucado — for people who find themselves discouraged or hopeless, be that from personal situations, or exasperation about the tone of today’s culture. Using the Biblical story of God’s continual presence and grace in Jacob’s life, Lucado finds assurance that God relentlessly offers constant presence and new beginnings for all of us.
During this conversation, Greg also asked Lucado if he would offer a prayer for Family Life's listeners and web visitors, especially those who feel like they are facing the doubts and despairs which his Bible study addresses. Here is that prayer for you.
Family Life’s Greg Gillispie also interviewed Max Lucado when his book on Jacob was first released. We had that interview on the air in September 2023, and it is available among the podcasts of our News Features. You can listen to, download, or share that discussion here.
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A five-year research project on congregational vitality began just before the Covid shutdowns began in 2020. (The timing gives informative snapshots of the effect of the closing of church buildings, and the move of church life to electronic connections. It also gives us a long-view of how congregations have rebounded, and why some churches are seeing grow in the new era.)
That research has data from across the U.S. on how local churches fared during the pandemic, and analysis on how congregations have bounced back. Although local situations obviously vary, the national average is that overall worship attendance has nearly recovered to pre-pandemic levels. When those who worship online or through social media are included, the average church which offers at least one virtual option is seeing increased participation.
Allison Norton of Hartford International University joins Family Life to talk about the Religion Research Project, how various kinds of congregations are faring now, and what lessons church leaders can take from the Covid era, and what “next steps” seem to be most effective for churches and church networks.
Allison Norton is a faculty associate at Hartford International, and oversees its Covid Religion Research project.
She also directs the Pastoral Innovation Network of New England.
The Covid Religion Research website offers insights from this survey of 15,000 congregations, a research library, and information guides for congregational and denominational leaders. You will find those resources here. The Lilly-funded project also offers a newsletter for past results and future updates.
