When early viewers refer to an upcoming Christian film as “The Passion of the Christ” meets “The Chosen,” there’s little doubt the movie will be a good one.

But there is another reason why “His Only Son,” an Angel Studios film that releases on March 31st just in time for Resurrection Sunday, is expected to make an impact on our culture.

The movie, which bills itself as a “biblically accurate” and authentic film based on the story of Abraham and Isaac, and one that took five years in to make, is breaking records for its successful crowdfunding model, Fox News Digital has reported.

“This is the first time a theatrical release has been crowdfunded in entertainment history,” Angel Studios said in a statement.

Director David Helling says that the film is based on one of the most “controversial” accounts in all of Scripture—one in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. It can be found in Genesis 22:1-2:

“Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.'”

“The Bible says it was a three-day journey to the place of the offering,” Helling says. “What had to have been going through Abraham’s mind know that his son, whom he had waited a quarter of a century for, whose birth was promised by God … this was his whole world that he now had to lay upon the altar. For Abraham, that three-day walk must have felt like an eternity.

“For many, this passage from Genesis 22 has fueled much confusion and even contention toward God’s Word, and many believers are left without an answer for the scoffers. That’s why I wanted to make this film.”

Angel Studios, which is also the distributor and platform behind the successful television series, “The Chosen,” says this newest biblical drama received an overwhelming positive response from its tens of thousands of investors, whom the studio calls, “angels.”

“Crowdfunding for ‘His Only Son’ reached capacity in 100 hours—we are responding to the demand from the audience by at least tripling the theater count nationwide and throwing our most valuable marketing resources behind the film. The Angel Guild, made up of Angel investors from every show, have rated this film with one of the highest scores we have ever received in our system,” Angel Studios CEO and co-founder Neal Harmon said.

Faith-based television and films have shown great success over the past few months viewer-wise. “The Chosen” has enjoyed a great three-season run, including the finale of season three as fans clamored to theaters to see in January.

Two other faith-based films, Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist and Jesus Revolution, have seen moviegoers flock to the theaters to see them. Jesus Revolution shattered box-office expectations in February and opened to rave reviews.

Neal and Jordan Harmon, brothers and co-founders of Angel Studios, say audiences are “hungering for entertainment with Christian values and that studies they have commissioned over the years back up the current movement.”

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Mario Murillo says David Wilkerson saw it coming. The scope and sensationalism that has engulfed our churches for years—something that has left the church empty and dry—will no longer be tolerated by God. True children of God want more, and a separation, Murillo says, is coming our way very soon for a “massive number of Christians” who will experience this strange miracle.

“The Holy Spirit is separating them. He has selected them for special grace and power to do mighty acts at the edge of history,” Murillo says. “They will be uniquely equipped to face the sophisticated evil of our time. But it all begins by making peace with the Holy Spirit and restoring His rightful place in our hearts and in the church.

“Take a close look at the book of Acts and you will see the disarming down-to-earth way they related to the Holy Spirit. While they revered Him deeply, they had a sense of his nearness and His involvement in their day-to-day operation. They behaved as if He was close by and they could almost see Him. Most of all, they anticipated His instructions.”

Acts 13:2-4 reads: “As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”

Murillo says God is revealing to all praying people that a glorious new work of the Spirit is about to break forth, and that He will shake everything that can be shaken, tearing down the old political, backslidden, ecclesiastical system.

In essence, millions of His children are hearing God’s command: “Separate to Me!”

Years ago, Murillo says, the Holy Spirit revealed to Wilkerson, one of His greatest warriors, that pockets of prophetic people would huddle together across the nation. Among themselves, Wilkerson says, they knew that what has taken place in recent years is a far cry from what God expects of them.

“This is not it,” Wilkerson said. “There is something more. … We want more. More than entertainment. More than big, showy buildings. More than a shallow celebrity gospel. We want deeper values. We want to see Jesus. We want spotless robes of righteousness. We want to go back to doing things in total dependence on God.”

In other words, Wilkerson said, the church in general became lazy and complacent. And those who wished to continue doing things God’s way were treated like outcasts because they wouldn’t conform to the culture-friendly atmosphere that darkened our churches and bowed to Satan’s will instead of God’s and denied the presence of the Holy Spirit.

“Many of these people were chased out of churches that were once fiery, Spirit-filled churches that had taken on a new ‘seeker-friendly’ format,” Wilkerson said. “They saw their church now focused on church growth, down-playing the presence of the Holy Spirit, and only designed to attract outsiders. They felt punished for wanting a move of God.”

But no more. Murillo says that those who are simply hungry for more of God and for Jesus to do His work are done with “ego-centric preachers with grandiose, expensive and carnal visions that have nothing to do with soul winning or revival.”

Preachers, he said, have been distracted or even derailed from their first love. Disciples are abandoning “attraction” churches and something revolutionary is happening inside them because God is starting a fresh movement.

Wilkerson once said that “God is revealing to all praying people that a glorious new work of the Spirit is about to break forth. God is going to shake everything that can be shaken. He will tear down the old political, backslidden, ecclesiastical system. He will disown the formal, super-church structure. He will chase out of His presence all who are engaging in self-promoting ministries.”

Murillo says these praying people “will force changes, and that they are a new breed for a new need. They are frustrated, hungry and their numbers are growing fast. They are coalescing around certain truths: fasting, repentance and holy surrender to Christ.”

Isn’t this what the younger generations—especially GenZ—are looking for from today’s church? They are tired of the complacency they have been seeing in their churches for years.

When evil is exalted, Murillo says, “God looks for deliverers. He looks for those who will allow God to make them indestructible and irresistible voices to restore righteousness to America.

Wilkerson saw it, but so did Smith Wigglesworth back in 1927. Wigglesworth prophesied then, “All the people which are pressing into and getting ready for this glorious attained place where they shall not be found naked, where they shall be blameless, where they shall be immovable, where they shall be purified by the power of the Word of God, have within them a consciousness of the very presence of God within, changing their very nature and preparing them for a greater thing, and causing them to be ready for translation.”

Both men, Murillo says, believe that this gathering unto the Holy Spirit would begin after a great falling away. And the great falling away has been happening for years.

But a great gathering of frustrated saints is also beginning to happen and these are being pulled away from fleshly things to desire godly things. “They are,” Murillo says, “surrendering to a special work of the Holy spirit, and it will soon engulf the earth.” {eoa}

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Shawm A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.

While Christian artist and songwriter Sean Feucht continues to hit all 50 states in the U.S. on the Kingdom to the Capitol tour in 2023, he is also about to release a new EP to the public titled “Unplugged in Iraq.”

The first single to release off the EP will be “Send Me,” a song that embodies the heart of missionaries who forsake their own ambitions to do God’s work.

“Send me and I Will go—anywhere. Here I am, Lord, and I will follow you,” Feucht sings.

“This is my fav song off the forthcoming EP. Listen to it and I think you’ll understand why.”

Some commenters on YouTube indeed understand what Feucht is singing about.

“Wow, what a beautiful heart you & your family have for God,” Sandy Hardy posted. “We are thankful for your faithfulness.”

“Beautiful! My family and I are preparing for our first overseas mission trip in a couple of months to Puerto Rico,” Shannon Shelton says. “A dream I’ve had for 10 years since I was saved. This is the time, this is the year. Send me and I’ll go Lord.”

“Thank you, God, for Sean, and his heart for others. God help us as we stand for your truth. Beautiful song,” Love Art wrote.

Watch the video, recorded live from the Nineveh Plains in Northern Iraq. {eoa}

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Loren Cunningham, who founded the Youth With a Mission Ministry more than 62 years ago, has been stricken with Stage 4 lung cancer. His wife, Darlene, posted this notice on Instagram this week:

“Thank you so much for your prayers for Loren and his health. As you know, doctors did a biopsy on some very slow-growing nodules in his lungs earlier this month, when they got large enough to biopsy. They turned out to be cancerous, which led us back to Honolulu for a full body scan on February 22.

“The results from that scan have just come in, revealing that there is extensive cancer in Loren’s lungs, bones and lymph system (stage 4 cancer).”

Darlene Cunningham says it’s a miracle the cancer cells have not spread to his brain, and that Loren Cunningham is “able to be quite active at this time.”

“We believe with all our hearts that these miracles are an answer to the prayers of the saints,” Darlene says. “Everything about this case has been unusual. The oncologist said that usually, lesions in the lungs grow very quickly; Loren’s have grown very slowly.

“We don’t know whether that will be characteristic of the growth of the other lesions as well? But what we DO know is that he is in God’s hands.”

Darlene Cunningham says that she and her family will prioritize her husband’s quality of life over trying to extend it through chemo or other treatments that could “reduce his energy and productiveness.

In the meantime, Cunningham’s wife says, he’s remaining active in his leadership role in the University of the Nations campus in Kona, Hawaii and other ministries.

“Revelation has been flowing for Loren like never before—and that is saying something! The joy of God’s dream of getting the Bible orally into every mother tongue on earth is the passion that fuels him every day, all day.

“He has Jesus, family, friends and vision. Who could ask for more? And all of them continue on the other side. … Thank you for your continuing love and prayers through the season ahead.” {eoa}

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Late Tuesday night, a friend of Tony Suarez’s text him with the news that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s bid for a second term had failed. He was stunned with the news.

A pastor and the Chief Operating Officer of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Suarez had prophesied in September 2022 that Lightfoot, the first openly gay person to lead the city, would not serve a second term. Lightfoot lost her Democratic primary for the mayor’s office Tuesday to Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson, who will meet in a runoff in April for the position.

When he received the text, he went straight to the Chicago Tribune’s website to affirm what Darryl Hooper had told him.

“My first reaction, and I don’t want it to sound too gimmicky, was ‘thank God,'” Suarez said in an exclusive interview with Charisma News. “I wasn’t even sure when the elections were and had even thought about it.

“Last fall when we were in Iowa, and it was spontaneous … the state of Illinois just rose in my spirit. God spoke to me and said ‘I’m sending revival to that state.’ I was born in Villa Park, a suburb of Chicago, and I had never prophesied about Chicago before. It was amazing.”

In this video taken at the Opening the Heavens in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in September 2022, Suarez prophesied: “I declare Holy Ghost revival and to the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. Lori Lightfoot, pack your bags. God is removing you from office.”

A few weeks later at the Cleveland Tennessee Outpouring, Suarez prophesied, “The spirit of corruption will be broken in Illinois and Illinois won’t be known for corruption. Illinois will be known for Holy Ghost revival. I prophesy that God is going to remove the mayor of the city of Chicago and God is going to send revival to that city one more time.”

The first black woman to be elected as mayor of Chicago, Lightfoot lasted only one term. She is the first elected Chicago mayor to lose a reelection bid since 1983. In 2019, the AP reported, she made promises to end decades of corruption and backroom dealing at city hall.

Four of the last seven governors in Illinois have gone to prison for one crime or another.

The Associated Press also reported that “opponents blamed Lightfoot for an increase in in crime that occurred in cities across the U.S. during the pandemic and criticized her as being a divisive, overly contentious leader.”

In a time when many—including some in the church—have become cynical and overtly critical about the gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy, Suarez says he doesn’t, by any means, bring attention to himself. Rather, he says, believers need to celebrate when any prophecy that benefits the kingdom of God comes to pass.

“I don’t ever want to draw attention to myself, it has to be the Lord,” Suarez says. “It’s important that people know that this word was fulfilled. I feel like it was prudent that we share this because the prophetic is under such attack. When a word comes to pass, we must highlight it because the gits of the Spirit are for today and so another generation can see just that.”

Suarez says it’s especially gratifying to him because his children, 17 and 15, were on the stage that night in Council Bluffs and heard the prophecy.

“My children say, ‘yeah Dad, I remember being in that service.’ Our kids today are flooded with social media, with negative media,” Suarez said. “Prophecies gone wrong, church scandals, anything I would label sensationalism. It hurts their faith and it causes them to question if any prophecy is real. When miracles take place or prophecy comes to pass, they’re not given the same attention as all of these negative things.

“Even daily Christian journalists like RNS (Religion News Service), the Christian Post or even Christianity Today, all they write about it seems like is the negative stuff. If it was a scandal, they’re on it. If it’s prophecy or a miracle, it’s met with cynicism and doubt and there has to be an angle. I wasn’t going to post the video because of the attack the prophetic is under, but I also felt like it has to be an example of when prophecy is fulfilled.”

Suarez says that he is elated at the recent revival that have happened around the nation, including the Asbury Revival and the ensuing outpourings including places like Lee University, Samford University, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and even in high schools in Corpus Christi.

“We can’t push the responsibility of revival until tomorrow,” Suarez says. “But we’ve been saying this for three years. It isn’t that revival is coming. Revival is already here and it has been for three years.”

But, he says, this is no time for the body of Christ to “get sloppy.” We must carry on as the Holy Spirit directs us.

“In the past you can see that sensationalism and sloppiness killed the faith and the passion,” Suarez says. “This current revival that is happening, I believe it will continue until Jesus comes. But we need to learn certain practices, and we need to be careful about a timestamp on when things comes to pass. It’s in God’s timing, and we’re all learning. Instead of saying, ‘Thus sayeth the Lord,’ maybe you can say, ‘this is what I feel.’ You can’t retract ‘thus sayeth the Lord.” {eoa}

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End-times expert Michael Snyder says it’s like “watching a really bad Hollywood disaster movie slowly play out.”

Only this time, he says, billions of people could end up dead.

On his popular website, “The Economic Collapse Blog,” Snyder recently said that, “thanks to the endless bumbling of the Biden administration, Russia and China have been pushed into each other’s arms” and seem determine to confront the western powers together.

And why is that alarming for those of us in the West?

Snyder wants to remind those “who have not been paying attention” that the apocalyptic “Unholy Alliances” that we have been anticipating for years have now been formed, much like we see in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Snyder says that it’s going to be the U.S. and Europe on one side, and Russia and China—among others—on the other. If you remember last summer, leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey met together for the first time during a historic summit.

Snyder says that “all of the marbles are at stake, and both side have plenty of nuclear weapons.”

Last week, China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, after meeting with Russia’s Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, publicly declared to the Russian News Agency Tass that his country is “ready to join forces with the Russian side.”

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that plans are being made for Chinese leader Xi Jinping to travel to Moscow for a high level summit with Vladimir Putin:

“Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russia’s president in the coming months, according to people familiar with the plan, as Vladimir Putin wages war in Ukraine and portrays himself as a standard-bearer against a U.S.-led global order.”

Meanwhile, the Chinese have condemned the United States’ involvement in the war in Ukraine and are now calling for the U.N. to investigate the destruction of the Nord Steam pipelines.

They know that we did it, Snyder says, and “Biden Administration officials can lie until they are blue in the face, but the gig is up.”

“U.S. relations with China have been steadily deteriorating for quite some time, but the Biden administration seems absolutely determined to make them even worse,” Snyder says.

One need look no further than how the whole “Chinese spy balloon” incident was handled.

“The Chinese are not going to forgive, and they are definitely not going to forget,” Snyder says.

With Russia and China becoming “best buddies,” that does not bode well for the rest of the world—except those who decide to join those two countries to form an even unholier alliance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned China last week that supporting Russia in its war on Ukraine “would bring a world war.”

Snyder says “there will be a war, and the alliances have already been formed.”

Many of America’s leaders are horrified that Russia and China are getting close. Sen. Lindsay Graham said recently that China would make a “colossal blunder” of it decides to give aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

“If you jump on the Putin train, you’re dumber than dirt,” the South Carolina Republican said of China in an interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC’s “This Week.” “It would be like buying a ticket on the Titanic after you saw the movie.”

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump publicly warned recently that “World War III has never been closer than it is right now.”

“Trump was right on target with that statement,” Snyder says. “In my entire lifetime, the United States has never been closer to an apocalyptic war than it is right now. It appears that we could end up fighting Russia and China at the same time, and that sort of a nightmare scenario will not be good for any of us.”

With one notable exception—believers in Jesus Christ. We know that the Apocalypse is coming, and we know that it’s inevitable.

But guess what? We know who wins in the end, and we need not fear the reality of World War III. If you’re not a believer in Jesus Christ, it might be a good time to re-evaluate that stance. {eoa}

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Originally projected to bring in $7 million during its opening weekend, the Erwin brothers latest film “Jesus Revolution” raked in more than twice that amount and became the third highest-grossing movie over the weekend as the nation continues to experience revival.

The Lionsgate movie “Jesus Revolution” brought in a total of $15,525,000 in more than 2,400 theaters.

The movie’s performance at the box office surprised many, but then a lot of people continue to underestimate God and the pockets of revival that continue to happen throughout the country. A headline from the Washington Examiner read, “Frasier Star Kelsey Grammer and Jesus Revolution Shock Box Office with No. 3 Open.”

Troops and Allies, a Nashville-based marketing agency that is promoting “Jesus Revolution,” said in a release:

“It’s been an exciting weekend for Jesus Revolution. The audience response has been overwhelming. Lionsgate’s ‘Jesus Revolution’ from Kingdom Story Company took in an estimated $15.525 million this weekend (including pre-release awareness screenings), significantly overperforming pre-release tracking. Before the weekend, estimates for the film showed the film opening in the $6-7M range.

“With a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore, Lionsgate and Kingdom targeted the faith community, and the opening weekend audience at 2,475 North American theaters was 59% female and 89% 25+. The film is positioned solidly with faith-inspired moviegoers.”

To build excitement around the film, Lionsgate organized church screenings, university screenings and other initiatives that garnered enthusiasm for the film prior to its nationwide release.

The film also set a record this weekend: the release of “Jesus Revolution” marks the first time in history that a director (Jon Erwin) has scored four A+ CinemaScore Grades since the company publicly released the results in 1986. These films include:

• I Can Only Imagine
• American Underdog
• Jesus Revolution
• Woodlawn

Many viewers praised the film on the movie’s Facebook page:

• Kelsey Grammer did an outstanding job as did the rest of the cast. This movie is inspirational.
• We absolutely LOVED it! Let the revival begin!
• My family watched a movie on Saturday. The movie theater is full. We all clapped ! Thank you for the good work. I hope to the new wave of revival coming again.
• I’m so glad to see Kelsey Grammer’s Stand for Christ in the midst of Hollywood.

Along with Grammer, the film stars Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Anna Grace Barlow. “Jesus Revolution” is the true story of one young hippie’s (Laurie) quest in the 1970s for belonging and purpose that leads not only to peace, love, and rock and roll, but that sets into motion a new counterculture crusade, changing the course of his life.

Laurie is the founder and pastor of Harvest churches in California and Hawaii. He is an evangelist and a bestselling author. {eoa}

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Unlike the revival at Asbury University in Kentucky this month, the Holy Spirit has been working on the campus of Texas A&M University Corpus Christi for quite some time now.

Students at TAMUCC—many of whom attend New Life Church in Corpus Christi, Texas—have shown their boldness for Christ for many months, leading to many salvations, baptisms and healings at the secular university.

Last Friday night, nearly a couple hundred people gathered for at TAMUCC to prayer for revival for not only their school, but also for America. The event lasted for five hours.

New Life Church Young Adults is a campus-approved club, and it is the largest Christian club on the campus of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, says Mike Fehlauer, the senior pastor at New Life Church.

“In light of what God did at Asbury and other Christian universities, it was wonderful to see this gathering of students who have such a heart for God,” Fehlauer says. “There was a strong spirit of repentance and desire for greater holiness.

“We believe that God is up to something on that campus. Each week, we are seeing salvations and baptisms from the 15 different student life groups that meet throughout the week. For me, to see these young people show a true heart of repentance is very inspiring.”

Last August, more than 600 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi students attended a one-night gathering on campus. Fehlauer says there were nearly 100 who received Christ and over 51 spontaneous baptisms.

But that’s not all that’s happening in South Texas these days. The Holy Spirit has overwhelmed students in many high schools in the Corpus Christi area as well. GenZers have been preaching and prophesying for months in the area’s schools and bring about revival among the younger kids.

The schools are allowing Bible clubs in the schools—before and after school and at lunchtime—where students are praying for each other and allowing the Holy Spirit to engulf the meetings.

“There has to be a spirit of repentance, and we’re seeing that a lot among our youth,” says New Life Church Youth Pastor Mario Carrete. “It’s amazing what’s happening in our high schools, but it also incredible what’s happening on our local college campus as well.

“Whereas you have a lot of young adults who have given into the secular culture and want to just have fun and party, well, this is a different kind of party. It’s a party where everyone is invited, and everyone is invited to accept Jesus as their savior. We know that these gatherings—and our young adults’ group—are making a difference in these kids’ lives, and we thank God for it. We thank God that what is happening at Asbury and across the nation. These GenZers’ zest for God is growing and growing. It’s amazing.” {eoa}

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If Charles Harrison Mason were alive today, Church of God in Christ Presiding Bishop John Drew Sheard says he would have only one thing to say: “I told you so.”

The founder and first senior bishop of the Church of God in Christ, Sheard says Mason prophesied in the early 1900s that COGIC would grow exponentially and that there were be “no building large enough to hold the people that would come.”

Mason was spot on. From “humble beginnings,” the Church of God in Christ has blossomed today into what is the largest Holiness Pentecostal church denomination in the world with more than 12,000 churches in 112 countries.

In an exclusive interview with Charisma News, Sheard says he’s extremely encouraged by what God is doing with the predominantly African American denomination these days as it not only continues to grow in membership, but also continues to expand its horizons in ministries he says God has richly blessed because they are “helping individuals in their communities live better lives.”

As the nation continues to celebrate Black History Month this February, the denomination’s kingdom work is especially valuable these days when the culture is giving everyone a reason to run away from God. People are clamoring for something—anything—to cling to that will help them live more satisfying lives, and Sheard says COGIC is continuing to develop ministries to do just that.

“Our churches and our kingdom warriors are involved in so many levels with things like economic development. It is a blessing to have the opportunity to affect people’s lives,” says Sheard, who is also the Chief Apostle of COGIC. “When a person has good living conditions, their mindset is going to be different. It eliminates a level of stress and you are able to live more comfortably.

“When Jesus speaks to us about saving souls, it is also about making their living conditions better. Because of what God has given us, the Church of God in Christ has been able to change people’s lives, and that’s what’s gratifying. But it’s not us, it’s all about God. We can’t help everyone, but we’re sure trying.”

Sheard says in the city of Memphis the Church of God in Christ has funded and helped to build 20 units of affordable housing in the inner city. With rent prices across the nation continuing to spin out of control, COGIC officials want to make sure many individuals and families are able to afford a decent place to live.

COGIC Director of Economic Development Darrin Burns told Action News that “a downtown is for everyone. And so, we want to make downtown affordable for anyone who lives here, regardless of your economic status. Our target is to make it (rent) under the threshold of what it is right now because again, our motto is ‘affordable housing for downtown.”

In 2017, COGIC joined forces with Memphis city leaders to create an affordable housing community called Mason Village, which located next to the COGIC headquarters. Sheard says they are looking to break ground on another site very soon.

COGIC Charities continues to help with worldwide relief efforts, including its campaign to help with physical needs in Syria and Turkey, who were recently hit by a devastating earthquake. More than 47,000 people have died from that natural disaster. COGIC Charities is providing humanitarian aid to individuals in those countries.

But that’s not all, Sheard says. COGIC wants to do ministry that will “affect coming generations.” COGIC has begun a partnership with Waste Management for a comprehensive employment program not only to get individuals into the work force, but to give those individuals a sense of purpose and identity within their community.

“It gives these people an opportunity to not only be a blessing to themselves, but to be a blessing to their spouse, their children and their community around them,” Sheard says. “In the agreement, Waste Management will pay for their school and will pay for their children to go to college. So, that’s how we’re affection generations.”

And speaking of generations, Sheard says he knows how difficult today’s youth have it to walk the straight and narrow path. The American culture has continued to grow cold against Jesus, and indeed millennials and members of Gen Z are falling away from the church.

It is the church’s responsibility, Sheard says, to provide meaningful ministry and to find out exactly what “our young people are in need of, ministry that will meet the needs of the people.”

“We have to come up with ministry that can pull the kids back into the church and back to Jesus,” Sheard says. “We have not changed our methods, and our methods must meet the needs of the kids today. We have to find effective new ministries and be open to what they need. That doesn’t mean that we will compromise, because Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

“We’ve got to find out what exactly is keeping our young people from church, and then we need to make those changes. I believe we’re doing that. I know that I am here at my local church. I listen to what they are saying, and we have to deliver ministry that’s attractive to them.”

Which is exactly, Sheard says, what Mason and the forerunners of the COGIC denomination—people like Arenia C. Mallory, and J.O. Patterson—did from the beginning.

And that, Sheard says, gives COGIC a lot to celebrate during Black History Month.

“We are so appreciative of how God has used Black Americans to move the kingdom forward,” Sheard says. “We have so much to appreciate as far as Black History goes. But we also need to continue to move forward and build not only ministries that will contribute to making mankind better, but also to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“We hope that God continues to smile down upon us and give us direction to do His will every day. Then, generations to come will be able to continue to celebrate Black History month and point to those individuals who have pushed forward with the gospel and with God’s work.” {eoa}

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Don’t tell these Tennessee youth that God is dead, and that GenZers don’t have a future in God’s kingdom plans.

On the cusp of nationwide outpourings, including The Asbury Revival, students at Grace Christian Academy in Knoxville experienced “an unplanned worship service” last Friday where several middle school students held prayer, shared confessions and even made professions of faith, The Christian Post reported.

Similar outpourings are happening in schools and youth groups around the country, including these in Texas.

A Grace Christian Academy spokesperson told the Christian Post in an email Tuesday that “the gathering began within the school’s annual tradition of Discipleship Days. During this event, the school seeks to “enrich GCA students with God’s Word, to help them grow in love for Jesus and to put their faith in action” by holding classroom discussions and activities.

After the worship service for the middle school students was concluded Friday, many “felt compelled to continue t heir time of worship.” The email from a GCA spokesperson added that “Leadership pivoted any planned activities and allowed students to lead one another in song and prayer. This led to students repenting, confessing and seeking Christ.”

“God can speak in showers or waves, and at last week’s Discipleship Day, He decided to flood our campus with His presence,” GCA Upper School Principal Angie Nordhorn said.

“As a tenured member of our GCA community, I only remember one other time, in 2010, when we experienced a profound demonstration of the Holy Spirit. I pray that the Lord will continue to flood our halls with His Presence. Discipleship Days is only a ripple in the ocean of what can happen at GCA.”

GCA officials say they intend to continue to disciple students who made professions of faith during Discipleship Days and also to hold small group discussions about last Friday’s outpouring.

“We praise God that students’ lives have been transformed forever, and we have witnessed eternity-changing decisions through this schoolwide initiative,” the email concluded. {eoa}

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Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.