In a move that has critics split on whether it’s good marketing for churches or a way to segregate Christians online, the .church domain is now available for purchase.
The domain was first made available last week and many churches have been snapping up the domains.
“I saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of important geographic branding opportunities domains that immediately and easily identify my church with the Brookhaven and greater Atlanta area have long been taken,” said Pastor Wesley Sanders of Brookhaven United Methodist. “I had been planning on doing a redesign of our church’s website for a while, and the release of the new dot church domain names gave me a good opportunity to implement a new online presence.”
The domain is part of what is called “generic top-level domains” or gTLDs. As of Monday, Hover.com says .church is number 8 on the top 20 list of gTLDs.
Experts at Hover.com say it’s too early to tell if the new domain is a success. They say you will need to wait at least a year to see the number of .church domains in use before saying they were a success.
The domains are available from all domain registrars.
Sunday marked the sixth straight year that churches participated in the “Get Back To Church” Sunday event where those who had walked away from the church were invited to “come home.”
Churches across the country reported significant upturns in attendance as a result of the event.
“We had a wonderful service in Yuba City, CA,” wrote Greg Mansur on the event’s Facebook page. “Very high attendance, several visitors, many returned we had not seen in a while, and there was a tremendous spirit of fellowship and unity … Just a tremendous day. Appreciate all the tools and support from the BTCS team!”
“Second Baptist Church in Barnwell, South Carolina had an amazing worship service today!! We had an overflow of attendance with several visiting friends and family … a jam packed weekend! Beautiful…awe inspiring,” another poster wrote.
Scott Evans, CEO of Outreach, Inc. which started the “Get Back To Church” initiative, says the event started with 600 churches in 2009 and now is the largest such event in the country.
“We believe in this day because we know it helps people invite others to church. Back to Church Sunday really got its start from research that showed 82% of people said they would attend church if someone they knew invited them, but only 2% of church members were inviting others to come with them,” said Evans in a statement.
Even though over 200,000 residents of the Oklahoma City area have signed petitions asking the government to not allow a “Satanic Mass” aimed to mock the Catholic church and Christianity from taking place in the public Civic Center Music Hall, the city is not relenting in allowing the Satanists to mock Christians.
The Archbishop of Oklahoma City has released a scathing indictment of city leaders for allowing the event to continue, saying that they do not understand the spiritual forces at work when events like the black mass take place.
“Even though our city leaders apparently do not take this threat seriously, I do. As a Catholic priest and bishop I have witnessed in my ministry the battle between forces of good and evil in both ordinary and extraordinary ways,” Archibishop Paul S. Coakley wrote.
“It is not merely a struggle rooted in human weakness and ignorance, though these are certainly the source of much suffering and mayhem in our lives and in our world. Demonic activity and the chaotic forces of evil are very real. The madness of war accompanied by increasingly brutal acts of terror, the violence in our schools and communities are all evidence that something is terribly wrong.”
The group is planning a series of events including a “satanic exorcism” where they have agreed to modify the procedure to use vinegar instead of urine to stay in compliance with health codes. The action is to “pull the Holy Spirit” from the body of the subject.
A Missouri church is stepping up to help residents of Ferguson, Missouri whose businesses and homes were damaged or destroyed by looters in the wake of the Michael Brown situation.
The Episcopal Church said it will provide $40,000 in grants to help those in need.
“This joint effort helps restock food pantry shelves to feed the hungry today, but it also provides nutritional counseling and food preparation education for a more healthy future,” said Bishop Stacy Sauls. “… it helps local businesses get back on their feet, but it also partners with public and private groups to encourage entrepreneurship and sustainability; it provides a mechanism to deliver food and other assistance to shut-ins, but it does so by offering skills training to young adults and older youth that will help improve their lives for years to come.”
The Reverend Michael Dunnington of All Saints Episcopal Church told the Christian posts that he sees the grants helping multiple parts of the community.
“I think that this grant will go a long way to show the residents of Ferguson that the Episcopal Church cares about the immediate effects of the August troubles, and that we are interested in addressing longer-term needs in their community,” he told the Christian Post.
Dunnington added while protests are continuing in the town, they have been peaceful and not lead to further destruction.
A pastor whose church meets in a space that is about to be defiled by Satanists performing a “black mass” and mock exorcism is speaking out about his church’s place of worship being degraded with government approval.
Tom Mannin of Oklahoma City Community Church worships in the same Oklahoma City Civic Center where the Satanists will mock Christianity later this month.
“As a church, we want to respond as people of love, who are consistent with the teachings of Jesus and the ways he responded to those who rejected him and even hated him,” Mannin wrote. “So we will speak gracefully and peacefully of the people at the black mass gathering. We will pray for God’s love to abound in our city and among its people of varying belief.”
The mass reportedly has sold out in a theater space of 92 people. The event has received significant backlash from the community for their stated intent of mocking Christianity and the fact they had stolen sacred items from a Catholic church for use in the mass (that was later returned.)
The group conducting the mass is not even local; it is a New York City group.
After seven years of harassment, graffiti, sabotage and physical assaults by Muslims, a Christian church has left their building in East Jerusalem.
Calvary Baptist Church moved out of their building in the Shofat area of Jerusalem looking for a safer, permanent home. The Islamists went from threatening the church to threatening the landlord who allowed the church to meet inside his property.
“It was very emotional, because a lot of our people really started to grow there,” Pastor Steven Khoury said. “Most of the growth happened in Shofat because of the persecution.”
The pastor said within 10 days of moving in, a Muslim attempted to stab a church member outside a worship service.
Their playground area was destroyed when Muslims threw molotov cocktails in an attempt to burn down the building.
The church was Pastor Khoury’s second attempt to plant a church in Jerusalem.
The Southern Baptist Convention announced the election of a “radical” as the head of their International Mission Board.
Pastor David Platt, author of the book “Radical” and an fierce advocate for international missions, was elected to had the IMB for the denomination’s 16 million members.
“I believe Southern Baptists want to come together for the spread of the Gospel,” said Platt.
“While the world is becoming more hostile and anti-Christian in some places, it’s as if [young missionaries’] passion is growing equally to go to those hard places,” David Uth of the IMB presidential search committee told Christian Post. “That’s where we hear young couples saying they want to go, that they want to be radically obedient to what God has called us to do for the nations. The passion is there. How do we equip them and resource them? How do we incorporate strategy that’s effective? David is going to address that in a way that’s going to bring maximum impact.”
Pastor Rick Warren, whose church is non-denominational but is a member of the Southern Baptist Convention, said he was “thrilled and excited” by the appointment of Platt and LifeWay Research president Ed Stetzer called Platt “a leader whose private life matches his public face.”
“Even in a generation where religious pluralism, moral relativism, and biblical skepticism are increasing, there is still power in the Word by His Spirit so He is still drawing people to Himself,” Platt told CP. “I can’t think of anything particularly creative or innovative that I am or we are doing, apart from proclaiming His word and trying to authentically live it out. I believe that when we are faithful to do that then the Lord will draw people to Himself. I think God has designed this whole picture so that only He can get the glory for success in bringing people to Himself.”
The New Boston First Church of the Nazarene could be without a building for up to a year after a drunk driver crashed his truck through a wall.
“I was notified about this about four o’clock this morning,” Pastor Mike Percell told reporters. “We’re waiting on the state to come with structural engineers and insurance companies adjusters to decide what to do. Right now the (New Boston) Fire Department has condemned the sanctuary so we’re moving next door to the (New Boston) Community Building for our services starting Sunday. The rest of the building is intact – no problems.”
The Portsmouth-Daily Times said the accident happened around 3:15 a.m. Friday.
The driver, 21-year-old Samuel Gibson, reportedly tested .13 for blood alcohol level, well above the point for Operating a Vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The truck was reportedly traveling so fast that it went airborne before striking the church and landed on its roof.
Gibson and his passenger suffered only minor injuries and were treated and released from a local hospital.
Pastor Percell said the damage inside is more significant than outside because the walls and roof are now unstable.
Matthew 24:12 tells us one of the characteristics of the last days will be that the “love of many will grow cold.” I don’t know about you, but when I thought of that verse before, I always thought Jesus was talking to those who were outside the Church; those that were in the ‘world’. But of recent days, I have begun to see how this verse may apply to those who are within the Church, or appear to be in the Church.
In the last days, churches will contain both, wheat (the real deal Christians) and tares (pretenders). Within their ranks, there will be those who are ruled and motivated by many things; some by a search for significance, some by a need for control, some by a need for recognition, and some are motivated by love. Jesus said not to try and separate them because only He knows the heart – and if you try to uproot the tares, you may pull up and destroy some wheat with them. But be assured, there is a Church within the church. Continue reading →
Meriam Ibrahim’s long journey to freedom has finally ended.
Ibrahim, her husband Daniel Wani and their children arrived in New Hampshire Thursday. The family arrived at the airport in Manchester to a huge, cheering crowd consisting of many of the Sudanese-American population of the city.
The family is going to be living in Wani’s home in the city near his brother and family.
The members of Sudanese Evangelical Covenant Church held signs saying “God Bless You” and cheering the family all the way to a waiting car. The church has been preparing Wani’s home for the family and providing all the necessary items for the family to start a new life.
Rev. Joel Kruggel, pastor of Bethany Covenant Church which sponsors the Sudanese church, says he wants the family to “absorb the fact that they are safe in New Hampshire, where life can be closer to normal.”
