Georgia law protects churches from COVID-19 liability

To protect businesses, including churches, from claims and lawsuits related to COVID-19, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed the Georgia COVID-19 Pandemic Business Safety Act, which became effective Aug. 5. In order for an entity, defined by the bill to include “religious and educational organizations,” to avoid liability, a sign must be posted “at the point […]

How Many Churches Will Close?

Speculation runs rampant these days as prognosticators and researchers attempt to predict how many churches will be closing within the next 12 to 24 months. Recently, Barna president David Kinnaman indicated that as many as 20 percent of churches could close within the next 18 months. Speaking to the NPR’s “Here and Now” gathering, he […]

Six Reasons Your Pastor Is About to Quit

Please hear me clearly. The vast majority of pastors with whom our Church Answers team communicates are saying they are considering quitting their churches. It’s a trend I have not seen in my lifetime. Some are just weeks away from making an announcement. They are looking for work in the secular world. Some will move […]

Economic shutdowns create crisis; Global Hunger Relief Sunday, Oct. 11

As COVID-19 travels around the globe, it has created a food crisis for much of the developing world. Spread of the disease and the ensuing lockdowns affected supply chains as well as humanitarian support, according to a report from WORLD Magazine. In South Asia, economic shutdowns hit day-laborers in the suburbs between major cities and […]

Most state conventions redesign or cancel annual meetings

Most Southern Baptist state conventions are either redesigning or canceling their 2020 annual meeting to prevent spread of COVID-19. As of Sept. 10, only 12 — including the South Carolina Baptist Convention — intended to proceed with in-person gatherings. In Mississippi, where COVID-19 test results show a 14.51 percent positivity rate, the Mississippi Baptist Convention […]

Greer pastor writes book on overcoming loneliness

Jack Eason, lead pastor of Crossroads Baptist Church in Greer, has written a book on loneliness scheduled to be released by Baker-Revell Publishing in October. “The Loneliness Solution” is a collection of stories and solutions from the author’s personal experience. He uses humor and “timeless principles” to demonstrate that loneliness can be overcome when people […]

Wholly Healthy: Get Ready for Fall

Autumn is almost here. This means we’re on the edge of cold and flu season. However, this cold and flu season may be a little tricky thanks to COVID-19. (Oh, how tired I am of typing that!) The thing is, during cold and flu season, in a normal year, people tend to cough, have fever […]

First Person: Are You ‘Corona-Weary,’ Too?

I’m corona-weary, and I have a feeling you are, too. I’m not saying that we’re tired of coronavirus, though we probably are. I am saying that we’re weary because of the overload this pandemic has caused. I’m reluctant to make this declaration because some people have gotten the virus and even died with it, so […]

‘Send Relief’ provides aid in pandemic

Unrelenting and indiscriminate, the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the welfare of millions and has wreaked havoc on economic infrastructures worldwide. Countless families have lost work and income, making it next to impossible to acquire adequate food and daily supplies. Even in the world’s hardest-hit corners, the donations, prayers and support of Southern Baptists have delivered […]

WMU announces voluntary retirement plan amid COVID financial crisis

In response to a decline in sales due to COVID-19, national WMU has announced it is offering a voluntary retirement plan to staff. “We have worked incredibly hard over the past several years to ‘right size’ our organization based on revenue projections,” said Sandy Wisdom-Martin, executive director of national WMU. “With two difficult back-to-back downsizings […]