Joel Osteen’s Lakewood church held its first in-person service since March, The Christian Post reports.

It was at 25% capacity and masks were required in addition to social distancing, but for the first time since March, the church met in-person and not online.

Joel Osteen preached his sermon on being conquerors in Christ and spreading hope in this time of uncertainty. “I felt like God put in my spirit it was time to come back… God has raised up Lakewood for this time. Hey, when does the world need hope any more than now?” He said in his sermon.

Joel Osteen told the congregation that his reach grew more than ever under quarantine, and that on easter the church reached 12 million people.

The service started with a praise and worship song and the auditorium was filled with people. Osteen stepped up to the front of the stage and greeted the audience saying how thankful he was they could all worship together. “It’s better when we’re together,” he said.

In his sermon, Osteen preached about how we are currently in a time where doing the right thing and following God is important.

“You don’t have to be perfect. We’ve all made mistakes. It’s not so much about your performance. It’s about your heart. Keep God first place. Do the right thing when it’s hard. Say no to things that are pulling you down … God is saying to you what He’s saying to Joash (2…

Last month, U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr announced that more than $100 million in federal grants will go to fighting human trafficking, according to the Associated Press. Task forces, as well as nonprofits helping survivors, will receive the grants to continue their work.

“This is one of the top enforcement priorities of the department and we’re on the forefront of this fight,” said Barr in Atlanta with presidential adviser Ivanka Trump and Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

The announcement came only a few months after the Trump administration awarded the Justice Department with an additional $35 million to provide safe housing for trafficking survivors.

Georgia’s governor and his wife, Marty Kemp, have made the abolition of sex trafficking a priority in their state.

“The governor and the first lady here have been second to none in the nation in taking this fight on and working closely with the federal government and I really appreciate that,” Barr said.

Already, grants have allowed states to hire agents to investigate trafficking claims. Michael Yeager, U.S. Marshal for northern Georgia, praised the work of his fellow agents who recently rescued 26 children and located 13.

“We’re trained to hunt fugitives, so we’ve changed that and parlayed that into now hunting these children,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, officers rescued 35 missing children, according to

Chicago-based megachurch Harvest Bible Chapel has awarded its former pastor, James Macdonald, $1.45 million and the right to continue his ministry, Walk in the Word, following a contentious falling out between both parties last year.

As Christian Headlines previously reported, MacDonald, who founded Harvest Bible Chapel, was fired last February for making “inappropriate” comments as well as “harmful” conduct amid a financial investigation of MacDonald and the church. MacDonald had led the megachurch for 30 years.

According to Christianity Today, in separate statements last week, both parties addressed the arbitration process, which went through the Institute Christian Conciliation. While an attempt at “relational reconciliation” was made between MacDonald and the Harvest elders, it would later fall through.

MacDonald, however, would be able to retain his teaching ministry, Walk in the Word, under James MacDonald’s ministries, and not under HBC’s oversight.

The church elders explained in a statement that MacDonald will also receive $1.2 million along with a parcel property in Crystal Lake, Illinois. Additionally, the former pastor will have access to the ministry’s equipment, books, and digital resources.

MacDonald will also be reimbursed an additional quarter-million dollars for selling his former home and will receive…

A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday revived a Kentucky pro-life law by ruling it is not unconstitutional for the state to require that abortion clinics have agreements with a local hospital and a local ambulance service in the event medical complications arise.

The case involves a 1998 Kentucky law that requires abortion facilities to obtain transfer agreements with a local hospital and transport agreements with a local ambulance service. Planned Parenthood joined a Louisville abortion clinic in suing the state to strike down the restrictions, and a district court in 2018 sided with abortion providers, saying the law places an undue burden on women and has few “medical benefits.”

But on Friday, the U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, reversed the lower court.

“We cannot say that laws requiring abortion facilities to have transfer and transport agreements with a local hospital are not reasonably related to a legitimate government end,” Judge Joan Larsen wrote in a majority opinion joined by Judge Chad Readler. Both were nominated by President Trump. Judge Eric L. Clay, who was nominated by President Clinton, dissented.

The state’s purpose in passing the law, Larsen wrote, was to treat “patients with unforeseen complications related to an abortion facility procedure.” Larsen further noted the 1998 law was passed due to…

A pastor of a Christian Reformed Church congregation in Michigan has left the ministry due to his belief that the church is too supportive of President Donald Trump.

Pastor Keith Mannes preached his final sermon at East Saugatuck CRC on Oct. 11, telling the Holland Sentinel that he felt the church had “abandoned its role” in not holding Trump more accountable.

“There’s a quote from Martin Luther King where he said, ‘The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state,’” Mannes told the Sentinel.

“The question of the church largely and how it’s functioned in this moment has been really disturbing. That’s been troubling enough that I need to lay it all down.”

According to the pastor, he had to be “very careful to not speak about” his issues with Trump with members of the congregation, adding that it was “tearing me up.”

Mannes, who said his dislike of Trump over his rhetoric and actions had been…