Tag Archives: Church

Seattle Church Converting Strip Club To Church

A Seattle strip club that was once a center for prostitution and routinely the subject of FBI stings is being born again.

Bethany Community Church bought Sugars, the infamous strip club, and is turning it into their central offices and a coffee shop.

“When we first entered the building it had a very dark feeling; smoke filled carpets, black painted ceilings and walls, and mirrors everywhere,” associate pastor Scott Sund told The Christian Post. “Before we started demolition, we met on Easter weekend and prayed and sang in the space to usher in the new story God was going to write through this place. It’s God’s story, we just get to play a small part.”

The church had been initially looking for a permanent location for services because they meet in a gym for weekly services.  Then the children’s director, who serves children in the neighborhood of the club, approached the leadership about buying the building.

The church’s volunteers have stripped the inside of the club by getting rid of the carpets and wall mirrors that defined the club.  The church hopes to have their community center open in the fall.

True Friends and Family Give Strength

My friend, John Shorey, has just spent several days here with us taping shows. I appreciate John because he always keeps me in mind when he thinks about preparing for Times of Trouble. It’s not unusual to get an email from him advising Lori and me that we need to do X, Y and Z to update our preps, always for our own good and in our own best interests. John is a master at prepping, and I’m glad to have him in my circle of friends.

It’s important who you have around you in these Last Days when we can almost count on going through at least some kind of difficulties as the prophecies of Matthew 24 come to pass. Good friends and family (including Church family) should come together and support each other with prayer and practical things. Continue reading →

Pastor Mark Batterson Says The Power of Prayer Is Underestimated

The lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. says that Christians have been losing sight of the power of a single prayer.

Mark Batterson was speaking at LiderVision, a Christian leadership conference for Hispanic pastors, when he shared with the pastors how his church exploded because of the power of God working through a consistent, single prayer.

Batterson said he and his wife started the church with 20 people during a 1996 blizzard that shut down the nation’s capital for days.  For the next five years, he preached every Sunday and the church’s faithful members prayed for one thing:  for God to provide the growth in whatever way He saw fit to do.

Then a reporter from the Washington Post came to attend a service and asked if she could do a quick interview with Pastor Batterson.  He expected it to be buried in the religion section but hoped a few people could see it and visit.  Instead, the article appeared on the front page of the Washington Post.

Immediately, the church’s attendance doubled.

“God can do more in one day than we can accomplish in a thousand lifetimes. One day, God is going to show up and He’s going to show off His power in our lives,” Batterson said.  “The more I pray, the more coincidences happen and I don’t believe they’re coincidences, they’re providences because there’s a God that orders my footsteps and when I pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on me, look out!”

Batterson says Christians need to remember the power of a single prayer and take steps of faith to allow God to answer those prayers.

“If you want God to do something, you’ve got to do something different; you’ve got to take that step of faith. Here’s the challenge, we want God to reveal the second step before we take the first step because that doesn’t require any faith. In fact, we wish the Lord ‘s Prayer said, ‘Give us this year, our yearly bread’ but He gives the one day and one step revelation.”

Boko Haram On Killing Spree of Christians

While the international community has been focused on a group of almost 300 girls kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram, the same terrorists have quietly been conducting a killing spree of Christians in northern Nigeria.

The terrorists killed at least 29 Christians in the last two days in assaults on both churches and Christian communities in Borno state.

At least 21 people are dead from an attack on the Church of Christ in Nations church in Gwoza.  The church was in the middle of a worship service when the Islamic terrorist invaded and began to systematically gun down anyone inside the sanctuary.  Rev. Moses Thliza of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria in the same village said that several dozen were injured and the death toll is likely to rise.

The next day, the terrorists attacked several Christian villages.  At least six churches were burned to the ground, eight Christians killed and several dozen seriously wounded.  One Christian leader said the number of burned homes of Christians could not be counted.

Thank You For Being a Friend!

Whether it’s just a casual “how are you?” or a heartfelt, “sit down and tell me what’s going on in your life,” or a caring comment on Facebook… friends can bring you great joy and comfort. I’ve never needed friends more than now as I go through this health crisis – and I have old and new friends that have been so comforting and supportive.

Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves you all the time, and a brother helps in time of trouble.”  That goes for sisters, too!

When I think of our new friends like Rabbi Cahn or John Shorey, or perhaps YOU, I am overwhelmed with gratefulness to God for enriching our lives with such wonderful people!  Continue reading →

Pope Francis Says Families Are Under Attack

Pope Francis told a crowd at a Rome stadium that Satan is attacking the family.

The Pope was holding a special mass and rally at Olympic Stadium in Rome that featured over 50,000 people raising their hands and praying in unison for the Pontiff who has repeatedly asked the public to pray for him since assuming the office.

Pope Francis said that the family was the “domestic church” and that Satan would love nothing more than to destroy the stability of the family.  He announced that he will have bishops from around the world to the Vatican in October to discuss ways the church can help rebuild and reinforce the families of the church.

The Pope also brought a lighthearted moment to the event when he shared a story about his early days as an archbishop in Buenos Aires.  He said that he didn’t “share” the way charismatic Catholics prayed there, dancing and singing, but later realized the “charismatic renewal is a great force.”  He said that he thought the actions of the charismatics reminded him of salsa dancing.

Anti-Christianists In Hawaii Lose Lawsuit Against Churches

A Hawaiian court has dismissed the majority of a lawsuit that a pair of anti-Christianists brought against area churches saying they were defrauding local public schools of rental fees.

Mitchell Kahle and Holly Huber had filed a lawsuit claiming that five churches had defrauded school districts by coercing them into lower fees on rents and utility charges by submitting false records.

The complaint filed in the First Circuit Court of Hawaii said the churches owe the government $5.6 million because of discounted rates and for use of the facilities longer than allowed by contracts.  The anti-Christian duo filed under the state’s False Claims Act.

Judge Virginia Crandall said that there was insufficient evidence that the churches violated any laws.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the churches, says that the churches were facing frivolous claims from people who just want to harass Christians.

“The only thing these churches have done is serve the schools and bring great benefit to their surrounding communities,” ADF Senior Counsel Erik Stanley said in a written statement. “No one benefits from this suit except the two atheists bringing it, who stand to gain financially if they are successful.”

Alabama Church Plants Flags To Honor War Dead

An Alabama church spent Memorial Day planting one flag in their front yard for every soldier who died during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Grace Place Church of Enterprise, Alabama said that each of the 6,809 flags was paid for from donations from private citizens and church members who wanted to remind the community of the true and heavy cost of freedom.

“Freedom isn’t free,” Pastor Donny Thrasher told The Christian Post.  “It often is paid for with the lives of our military.”

Thrasher said that churches should be leading the way in honoring the families of those men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom to worship Christ openly by making sure their loved ones left behind have their needs met.  All funds raised for the flags above the actual cost was donated to a charity that provides for the widows and families of slain soldiers.

“No people in the world are as free as we are to worship without fear of reprisal,” Thrasher said.  “That freedom to worship and serve our Lord and Savior is protected and paid for by our military.”

Texas Church Wins Injunction To Have Bible Studies In School

A Whitney, Texas church has won a temporary injunction against a school district that had refused to allow the church on their grounds for a Bible study.

Judge F.B. McGregor ruled that Prairie Valley Baptist Church has the same rights to rent the school for after-school clubs and meetings because other community groups are given the opportunity.

The church’s associate pastor and youth minister had contacted the school district last December to hold an after-school Bible study at Whitney High School.  The school’s Superintendent, Gene Solis, contacted the church before the application was even formally submitted, saying he was rejecting the request because if the church was allowed to use the facilities then “fringe groups” could also use them.

Pastor Drew Tucker said he asked the Superintendent to reconsider and then presented the request to the school board.  Superintendent Solis then urged the board to reject the request because the Bible study would be illegal and violate school board policy.

After the Liberty Institute contacted the school, the pastor applied again only to be denied because the school claimed it would cause a traffic congestion problem.

The court ruled the Bible study could take place while the case moves through the court system.  The Liberty Institute praised the court’s decision, saying that it follows well-established federal and state laws on the free exercise of religion.

Church’s “Drive Thru Prayer Box” Stirs Community

An idea to reach people who were illegally cutting through a church’s parking lot to avoid an intersection is causing a stir in a Tennessee town.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church of Jackson, Tennessee set up a “drive thru prayer box” where drivers who were cutting through their parking lot could stop and write a prayer request on a 3 by 5 note card.  The church was hoping it could be a way to advertise the church to those in the area and also to pray for their community.

Now, the church is receiving attention from the entire community and churches around the country.

“Now that [an] article has been published in the local newspaper, the number [of prayer requests] has grown substantially,” Barry Matthews of the church told the Christian Post. “We’re seeing requests that just grab your heart.”

Matthews says the church has also been flooded with calls from other churches facing the same problem of drivers cutting through their parking lots wanting to know how to set up their own “drive thru prayer station” ministries.

“They’re telling us this is an answer to their prayers,” Matthews said.