A new faith community in Oswego, Ill., is springing up in the new year. Wellspring UMC launched on January 1, 2021, with the Rev. Corey Ashley serving in the former Oswego Campus of Wheatland Salem UMC. On the heels of a difficult year for churches with the pandemic and restrictions on in-person services, some may ask, ‘is this the right time to plant a church?’
Read MoreAs the Apostle Paul greeted the Ephesians, I greet new Christian friends in Northern Illinois. Of course, Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter and I am merely in COVID-19 confinement in Indianapolis. His letter may have been written by someone else and carried for weeks to reach the church in Ephesus, while I can instantaneously connect via Zoom by clicking a link.
Read MoreAs we reach a sobering milestone of 400,000 lives lost in the U.S. as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the State of Illinois moves forward in steps toward restoration from the devastation of this infection with the hope that vaccinations will move us further along throughout 2021.
Read MoreIn the fall of 2020, the NIC Discipleship Taskforce introduced the first pair of videos for a six month series about growing and strengthening discipleship ministries with a particular focus on youth. We’re half-way through our series, and begin 2021 with this piece of encouragement: Don’t Fear the Questions.
Read MoreAs of January 11, 2021, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has reopened the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Churches who did not apply for PPP in 2020 can apply now for a First Draw PPP Loan and secure 10 weeks of many operating expenses. In 2020, the SBA extended more than $4.2 million to 130 local NIC churches.
Read MoreThe planet is heading into trouble as the West is burning and storms are increasing in the South. You can definitely say carbon products are wrecking the planet’s climate system. We need to stop spewing planet-warming gases. One of the keys is the de-carbonization of the U.S. electricity grid. Solar power is being called the new king in global energy markets and the cheapest source of electricity in history.
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