A Michigan sheriff is receiving national attention after questioning the governor’s lockdown orders and saying his office doesn’t have the resources to enforce restrictions on non-essential businesses and citizens leaving their homes. 

The comments by Shiawassee County Sheriff Brian BeGole, made in a press release but also posted on Facebook, have gone viral – especially in light of a barbershop in his county that is defying orders of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer by opening.  

Sheriffs’ offices in at least six Michigan counties have said they won’t enforce Whitmer’s orders, the Detroit News reported. 

“The women and men of the Shiawassee County Sheriff’s Office have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Michigan,” BeGole said. “Through this period of uncertainty, I continue to remind myself that we derive our authority from the consent of the governed, the great people of Michigan.”

The legality of Whitmer’s orders, he said, is a “judicial branch determination.” The state legislature, he said, “did not extend the state of emergency beyond April 30 as required by law.” 

“I have decided, within my authority, that our office cannot and will not divert our primary resources and efforts toward enforcement of Gov. Whitmer’s executive orders,” BeGole said. “I want…

Close to 500 California pastors are planning on re-opening their churches regardless of whether they have the state’s approval.

“The churches are not asking for permission,” said religious freedom attorney Bob Tyler, who is advising the pastors, CBN News reports. 

“The governor is sitting here as a dictator, trumping the Constitution and is kind of hanging on to this state of emergency for as long as he can hold it,” he added.

Tyler noted that several of the pastors have already signed a petition asking California’s Governor Gavin Newsom to allow churches to meet if they commit to adhering to social distancing regulations.

According to the petition, the pastors are committed to opening up by May 31st as it is “The Day of Pentecost … also known as the birthday of the Christian church.” This year on May 31, marks “the 1,990th anniversary of the original Day of Pentecost that occurred in the year A.D. 30.”

“We declare that on May 31, 2020, or sooner, we will resume corporate worship as instructed in Hebrews 10:24-25”, the petition asserts.

According to Tyler, the pastors are “committed to opening regardless of what the governor decides.”

The petition also stipulates that the pastors also plan on advising Gov. Gavin Newsom on their plans to respect social distancing guidelines while still meeting in-person for church.

Pastor Matt Brown of Sandals Church in…

Christian music artists and leaders are linking up to partake in a special simulcast in an effort to help small churches financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Two Christian organizations, the AND campaign and PULSE, will host the online simulcast called “Churches Helping Churches” on May 15 to raise money for the churches. 

The event will feature chart-topping Christian music artists like Lecrae, Lauren Daigle, TobyMac and For King & Country,

“We are rallying with churches and men and women of God from across the nation,” Pulse founder and evangelist Nick Hall said. “Preachers, athletes, and artists are coming together to raise awareness for ‘Churches Helping Churches,’” he added.

The AND Campaign has created a Coronavirus At-Risk Church Relief Fund which aims to provide $3,000 grants to churches facing closure due to the significant decline in church giving, CBN News reports.

“Specifically during this COVID-19 pandemic, there are churches in the urban and immigrant communities that are at risk of not making it,” Hall noted in a statement.

“We are rallying together to raise money and awareness to help our brothers and sisters in Christ,” he added.

A Barna Group survey conducted in the last two weeks of March revealed that 5 percent of churches are not very confident or not at all confident that they will survive the COVID-19…

I don’t know about everyone else, but when I see the VBS (vacation Bible school) initials, so many memories come up in my mind, from the countless Bible stories I learned to the simple but rewarding experience of having juice and cookies for refreshments. VBS is as iconic to the American church as apple pie and the 4th of July are to our country. However, amid the current global pandemic, the way VBS looks is having to undergo many changes.

Group Publishing, which serves 2 million children yearly with its VBS curriculum, is hoping to guide churches through the ever-changing landscape by providing resources that will help them meet the needs of even their youngest members.

While this year’s VBS will undoubtedly face some new challenges, Group Publishing believes that churches are up to the task of providing safe and quality programming for children. Christian Headlines interviewed Group Publishing’s VBS chief editor, Jody Brolsma, to gain some perspective and understanding regarding the new landscape churches and church leaders will need to navigate in a post-covid-19 culture.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Jody, could you speak to how many churches you guys typically serve each summer?

We don’t have an exact program count as many of our programs are sold through primary and secondary resellers. However, we estimate Group…

With an estimated 3 million viewers having watched TBN’s Easter weekend broadcast of Sight & Sound’s JESUS stage production, the network is set for an encore.

TBN will broadcast JESUS Wednesday (May 13) at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, giving viewers another opportunity to watch the Broadway-like musical about Christ’s life. It was filmed in front of a live audience. The encore presentation comes two days before it releases on DVD and digital home video platforms (May 15).  

“We’re thrilled to share this special encore television broadcast of JESUS on TBN,” said Sight & Sound Chief creative officer Josh Enck. “You may not be able to attend a theatrical event just yet, but audiences can still witness the greatest rescue story ever told as it comes to life on screen.”

JESUS follows the ministry of Christ – from the streets of Jerusalem, to the raging Sea of Galilee, to his death, resurrection and ascension.

Sight & Sound Theaters, with locations in Lancaster, Pa., and Branson, Mo., produces Bible-themed musicals with massive sets, special effects and live animals. Nearly 1.5 million audience members attend the live productions each year.  

JESUS was originally scheduled to appear in theaters but was broadcast on TBN Easter weekend after cinemas around the country closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

An estimated 3 million people watched JESUS Easter weekend when combining both…

A parade of cars gathered together earlier this month to thank New York pastor Francisco Fernandez.

According to CBN News, Fernandez, who leads Iglesia Sol De Justicia in Brooklyn, received a parade of car horns and applause from riders in cars last week in front of the church.

“I always tell everybody, you know…to God be the glory of all things, you know, it’s not about me. It’s all about Him,” he said.

“I’m no hero. I’m just God’s hands and feet where he needs me.”

Fernandez worked with Christian aid group World Vision to help pass out emergency kits that would feed a family of five for one week. The work started in early April.

“The community’s greatest need right now is food,” Fernandez said. “They’re crying out for food. They’re hungry. This is a time we need to step out of the four walls.

“A lot of people lost their jobs, they’re having a harder time getting food, some of the places, the lines are so long, everybody that’s calling me are people that no longer have any money, some people just can’t make it,” he said.

Fernandez said he was homeless before and understands the need for food.

“I know the need. I know what hunger is. I know what it is to go without food, without a place,” he said.

World Vision manager Sandy Aguila-Rosa said Fernandez even delivered meals to families who were unable to visit the distribution site.

“So many people were…

A kidnapped seminarian was murdered by a Nigerian gang leader earlier this year because he would not stop preaching the gospel to his Muslim captors, the gang leader says.

Michael Nnadi and three other seminarians were kidnapped from the Good Shepherd Seminary in Kaduna, Nigeria, in January and held for ransom.

But Nnadi, who was studying to become a priest, preached to the gang members from the first day he was kidnapped. Sun News Online interviewed gang leader Mustapha Mohammed, who said Nnadi “kept preaching and told him to his face to change his evil ways or perish.”

Nnadi “did not allow” Mohammed “to have peace as he continued preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to him even when he knew they were not of the same faith,” Mohammed told Sun News Online. Mohammed “did not like the confidence displayed by the young man” and killed him.

The gang members initially demanded a N100 million ransom ($250,000 USD), although that later was reduced to N10 million ($25,000 USD). They targeted the seminary because they believed it would have lots of money.

Nnadi was the only one killed.

He was kidnapped Jan. 8, and his body found on the side of the road Feb. 1.

“These kind of kidnappings are becoming very common in Nigeria,” International Christian Concern reported.

Despite making ransom demands, gang members “still often end up killing the victims or holding…