March 28th, 2024

Ryan Churchill

26 POSTS
Ryan Churchill, author of The Covenants, Christ, and You, is first and foremost a lover of God’s Word. In everything Ryan writes, his aim and passion is to encourage others to read God's Word as a pathway to worship and intimacy with their Creator. Ryan’s heart is to teach others to engage Scripture with a new lens so they can see themselves through their Father's eyes, through the eyes of covenant. Get Ryan's free devotionals on peace and communion today.

Exclusive articles:

Miracle Baby: “What Will This Child Become?”

Who Will This Miracle Baby Turn Out to Be? I’ve always enjoyed the birth narratives from the Bible. The book of Matthew and the book...

Finding Peace in Thanksgiving

Are You Hungry for Peaceful Holidays? How often do you see the words, “Thanksgiving” and “Peace” used together? PEACE!?!? Are you kidding me? I have a...

Bless the Lord: How Your Soul Glorifies God

Today’s Scripture Lesson: Psalm 103 I’m going to depart from my typical format today. Instead of asking you to open your Bible today and read...

How Self-Righteous Anger Opposes the Righteousness of God

Today’s Scripture Lesson: Psalm 71 As always, before you continue reading, I invite you to open your Bible and read the text in its entirety. As...

The #1 Reason Why All Power is Safe in God’s Hands Alone

Today’s Scripture Lesson: Psalms 96 - 100 I encourage each of you to read these Psalms and allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you...

Breaking

Trolls Band Together in Theaters November 17th

Nothing's Stronger Than Family Harmony About This holiday season, get ready...

Are State Laws the Solution to Kids’ Access to Porn?

As data continues to show the harms of viewing porn, particularly for children, support for stricter legal limits on pornographers has grown.

The Burial: A Glimpse Into the Life of William Gary

The Burial: Based on a True Events About Inspired by true...

Pandemic Restrictions Had No Lasting Effect on Churches, Study Finds

Even in states where regulations were severe, most congregations moved on quickly. Jeff Schoch was ready to be done with COVID-19 health safety regulations. Like most ministers in the US, the pastor of Crossroads Bible Church in San Jose, California, did his best to comply with the many pandemic rules imposed by state and local governments. But as soon as they were lifted, he wanted to put them all behind him. He quickly tore down the state-mandated signs about social distancing, hand washing, and masks. “I got rid of every visual reminder in the church,” Schoch told CT. “I was anxious, personally, to make that a memory.” Across the country, Protestant congregations are dealing with the long-term impacts of the pandemic. A new, extensive study by Arbor Research Group and ChurchSalary, a ministry of Christianity Today, found that a lot of pastors are still in crisis. Some furloughed staff members haven’t gone back to work. And even when attendance numbers have rebounded, there are still people missing from many congregations. Christian leaders will likely be grappling with the fallout from COVID-19 for years to come. But, surprisingly, state-level pandemic restrictions had no measurable, lasting impact on American churches. Even in places like San Jose—where the county government imposed some of the strictest rules in the country, the restrictions changed frequently, and authorities aggressively went after churches they said failed to comply—pastors like Schoch were able to just move on. The data doesn’t show any adverse effects from the government regulations. Eric Shieh, a research consultant for Arbor Research, said that surprised him. “You would think that the restrictions made things tougher for churches. They didn’t meet as much, and so you’d ...Continue reading...
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