Churches across the United States are holding a drive-thru version of Vacation Bible School this summer in response to social distancing safety guidelines meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 and are reporting more family involvement in response.

One of these congregations is Owosso First Church of the Nazarene, located in Owosso, Michigan, which began its drive thru VBS program on Monday.  

Brett Meyer, head of Discipleship Ministries at Owosso, told The Christian Post about how they adjusted VBS programming in light of canceling indoor mass gatherings.

“During a normal VBS inside the church, children would travel around to different stations where they would get a Bible story, learn a verse, do a craft, eat a snack, and then worship together,” explained Meyer.

“We created stations in our parking lot for worship with our songs being transmitted to the car using an FM transmitter, Bible story…

A theologically progressive congregation in New York has decided to donate around a tenth of its budget to help with housing and anti-racism programs, which the church views as being an act of reparations.

Middle Collegiate Church, a New York City-based congregation that’s co-affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Reformed Church in America and has approximately 1,600 members, will give $200,000 for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Rev. Jacqui Lewis told The Christian Post on Wednesday that the church leadership felt it was “what God is calling our church to do in this moment.”

“Amid grotesque, systemic racism and police brutality, God demands we educate and act to build an anti-racist world,” said Lewis.

“When the federal government is putting millions of people in our community in risk of eviction, God demands we provide people with money so they can stay in their homes.”

Half of the money will go to grants for those who require financial assistance regarding rent while…

As the 2020 presidential election draws closer, President Trump’s evangelical outreach is rallying believers to get Trump re-elected in the name of religious freedom.

In late July, an event called “Evangelicals For Trump – Praise, Prayer and Patriotism” was held in Alpharetta, Georgia. The event featured special guests including, Pastor Paula White, Pastor Jentezen Franklin, Dr. Alveda King, Bishop Harry Jackson, Dr. Richard Lee, and Ralph Reed.

Christian champions for the President praised his support for conservative values while simultaneously warning of the Democratic Party’s anti-religious agenda, the Associated Press reports.

Paula White-Cain, who is considered to be Trump’s personal faith adviser, told his supporters that Joe Biden is “a Trojan horse for a very radical left agenda that is behind him that wants to take down our churches.”

She added that Christians should the President over the “very deceptive media.”

Dr. Richard Lee, founding pastor at First Redeemer Church in Atlanta, also spoke accusing several governors and mayors of “bossing the churches around … to see what you will do in case (Biden) gets in office and they can come after you.”

Lee called the current Democratic Party “an evil party” that has been seized by the “the spirit of the anti-Christ.” Lee distinguished, however, that he does not see…

On Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that it would award more than $35 million to organizations fighting human trafficking, according to the Associated Press.

Daughter of President Trump and presidential adviser, Ivanka Trump, as well as Attorney General William Barr, explained at a White House event yesterday that the Justice Department grants will provide safe housing for survivors.

Over 70 organizations in 33 states will receive funding that will allow victims 6 to 24 months of help for transitioning or short-term housing, as reported by CBN. The grants will also cover rent, utilities, and security deposits. Organizations may also use the money to help survivors find jobs or receive counseling.

Ivanka emphasized the importance of housing, particularly during the COVID pandemic. Many survivors were forced to live with their traffickers when stay-at-home orders were issued.

“COVID has really underscored the urgency,” said Ivanka. “Housing assistance is the number one need.”

Barr applauded the President for his initiative, stating that Trump has done “so much for victims that frankly, were inspired at the Justice Department.” The Attorney General also pledged to “investigate, prosecute and punish” traffickers.

Several survivors also joined Trump and Barr at the event to express their gratitude and share their stories.

“My aspirations, my personal vision for my…

An MSNBC television producer says she quit her job in late July to escape a network news cycle that is a “cancer” amplifying fringe voices and causing “national division.”  

Ariana Pekary was a producer at MSNBC and a key member of the team for The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell. Formerly, she worked at NPR.

But her last day at MSNBC was July 24, she wrote on her blog. 

“I don’t know what I’m going to do next exactly but I simply couldn’t stay there anymore,” she wrote. “My colleagues are very smart people with good intentions. The problem is the job itself. It forces skilled journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis.” 

Industry leaders, she said, “will admit” behind closed doors “the damage that’s being done” to the country and to the news industry. 

“We are a cancer and there is no cure,” she said a “successful and insightful TV veteran” once told her.

The “cancer,” Pekary said, impacts all Americans, even if they don’t watch MSNBC.  

“This cancer stokes national division, even in the middle of a civil rights crisis,” Pekary wrote. “The model blocks diversity of thought and content because the networks have incentive to amplify fringe voices and events, at the expense of others … all because it pumps up the ratings.

“This cancer risks human lives, even in the middle of a pandemic. The primary focus quickly became…

Pastor John MacArthur is facing legal action after openly defying California’s restrictions on church gatherings. Now the embattled pastor is receiving special counsel from President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Jenna Ellis, and religious freedom expert Charles LiMandri.

“I stand firm with Grace Community Church, its Elder Board, and Pastor MacArthur in biblical truth and the protections American churches are provided by our Constitution,” Ellis told The Christian Post. “I look forward to advocating on their behalf and hopefully encouraging other pastors and churches to also have the courage of Pastor MacArthur to stand firm that church is essential.”

The legal support comes as Grace Community Church received a cease and desist letter from the City of Los Angeles, threatening the church with a daily fine of $1,000 or arrest, if they continue to meet for indoor worship services. 

Last month, California issued a measure that banned indoor operations, including at…

(RNS) — The White House’s deputy liaison to the U.S. Agency for International Development is leaving her post after just two months in the job, calling lawmakers who she said had criticized her views on sexuality and gender identity “radical anti-Christian leftists.”

On Monday (Aug. 3), shortly before Politico reported that Merritt Corrigan was exiting USAID, Corrigan chided her critics on Twitter, saying she planned to hold a press conference on Thursday to “discuss the rampant anti-Christian sentiment at USAID.”

In a tweet, she also outlined her views regarding gender identity and sexuality: “Let me (be) clear: Gay marriage isn’t marriage. Men aren’t women.”

She also singled out several prominent Democrats, including Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

“Senators (Kaine) and (Booker) have demanded my ouster from USAID, purely because of my Christian beliefs,” she tweeted. “I WILL NOT be bullied into submission by radical anti-Christian leftists like Cory Booker(.)”

Booker and Kaine — who are Baptist and Catholic, respectively — have been very public about both their faith and their support for LGBTQ rights.

Kaine told Religion News Service that he had a conversation with USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa on June 24, during which the official assured the senator “that bigotry would not be tolerated” at…