
The original issue can be found at: http://www.baptistpress.com/issue-04/15/2020

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FIRST-PERSON: Easter and the body of Christ
by Paul Kim
Date: April 15, 2020 - Wednesday

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (BP) -- Easter is the greatest day in human history. It marks the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, as foretold in the Scriptures. In my travels, I have visited many tombs -- the burial sites of royalty in Korea and China, the pyramids of Egypt, Westminster Abbey, Arlington National Cemetery and more.

Having lived in New England for so many years, I have had the opportunity to visit the graves of spiritual giants like George Whitefield, D.L. Moody and David Brainerd. Every famous historical figure -- whether a conqueror, an emperor, the founder of a world religion, the most brilliant philosopher or scientist or even a saint – has in common the cold, start reality that their dead bodies remain buried somewhere on this earth. 

I have been blessed to visit the tomb of Jesus three times. Whether it be the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Garden Tomb, every visitor to Jerusalem makes an effort to see not a buried body but an empty tomb!

For 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus walked, talked and dined with His followers. Before His ascension, however, Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit, whom the Father had promised to send. 

In more than 70 years of life, I have never experienced an Easter like this year. For the first time, I was not at a church building on Resurrection Sunday. It was a surreal feeling having to Zoom in to the service.

But this unprecedented time of having to be homebound because of the coronavirus pandemic is surely a blessing that only the mind of God could conceive. It has given me a fresh perspective on what it means to be the body of Christ, the church.

As pastor emeritus of Antioch Baptist Church, I listened to the Easter message from my longtime disciple and senior pastor, David Um. He shared a powerful testimony of how on the morning of Good Friday, his father, who was suffering from COVID-19, had to be taken to the ER in an ambulance.

My wife Rebekah, who was at the time preparing to teach a Good Friday Bible Study for our network of churches around the world through Zoom, prayed for him to repent and be saved. Afterward, Pastor David was able to lead his father to Christ. After 84 years, Pastor David's father finally surrendered his life and became a child of God. On Good Friday, God was indeed good!

Easter Sunday was especially meaningful to Pastor David's father as he was able to mark the power of the resurrection in his life. And even though he could not receive any visitors, he was not alone. As one who had crossed over from death to eternal life, he was in the presence of the resurrected Christ. Even now, as our prayer network of churches around the world is lifting him up in prayer, thank God he is in stable condition. 

As I reflected upon all that happened this special Easter weekend, I realized all this would not have been possible without the body of Christ, the church. Everyone in our church was praying desperately for Pastor David's father.

Even a few days before Good Friday, Pastor David was a panelist on an SBC Executive Committee-sponsored webinar on the "Scattered Church" during the pandemic, where he shared how after the worship service on Palm Sunday he had gone on a rescue mission to bring his ailing father from New York to Massachusetts.

I'm sure prayer warriors Ronnie Floyd, Kevin Ezell and many others who participated in the webinar were praying earnestly as well.

In the webinar, Pastor David mentioned that since we are no longer able to meet in a physical building, we should be reminded that the body of Christ, the church, is ultimately about relationships. And since we are scattered and unable to physically meet together, we have been given this precious opportunity to reboot and do church the right way. 

After the resurrection, Jesus knew that He would not "be with" His beloved disciples in the flesh for long, so He prepared them to be one with Him through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. It goes without saying that for the church, bodily presence is important. But what the Easter story teaches us is that the presence of the resurrected Christ through the Holy Spirit transcends physical limitations and any boundaries.

As we reevaluate our lives and review how we do church in light of the pandemic, may we commit to one another through prioritizing relationships. Even while social distancing let us be diligent in witnessing to our non-Christian family members, friends, co-workers and acquaintances. The pandemic has shown clearly that we cannot take for granted the time we're given.

But most important, let us be all the more united through the body of Christ, His church, and live out the oneness that comes from a daily encounter with the resurrected Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is how the disciples who had gathered in Jerusalem during Pentecost experienced true oneness and turned the world upside down. This same Holy Spirit is with our churches today. It is up to us to live up to the power of the resurrection we have in Christ. 



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FROM THE SEMINARIES: Chang hired as MBTS Spurgeon Library curator; SEBTS offers modified biblical studies Ph.D. 
by Staff
Date: April 15, 2020 - Wednesday

<b>Midwestern Seminary hires Geoff Chang as Spurgeon Library curator</b>
By T. Patrick Hudson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP) -- Midwestern Seminary President Jason Allen announced Tuesday (April 14) the hiring of Geoff Chang, who will assume the position of curator for the Spurgeon Library effective Aug. 1.

Chang, associate pastor of Hinson Baptist Church in Portland, Ore., will graduate May 1 with a Ph.D. in historical theology from Midwestern. He will oversee day-to-day operations for the library as well as major writing projects involved with the collection. He will also serve the institution as assistant professor of historical theology.

Allen said the decision to place Chang in the role became much clearer as he discerned Chang's dedication to the local church and love for Spurgeon scholarship.

"I cannot be more thrilled to announce Dr. Geoff Chang as the new curator of the Spurgeon Library and as a valued member of our faculty," Allen said. "As Dr. Chang was nearing the end of his Ph.D. studies at Midwestern Seminary, it became clear that he was advancing the state of Spurgeon scholarship in pioneering and valuable ways for the church. This is the exact vision we've had for the Spurgeon Library since its beginning."  

Allen added that the "synergy of Dr. Chang's interest in Spurgeon scholarship, his heart for the local church, plus his overall collegial character and gifted abilities made it clear that Dr. Chang is the right person to lead the Spurgeon Library and teach at Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College."  

Among Chang's responsibilities will be managing C.H. Spurgeon's personal library collection, which consists of more than 6,000 books and artifacts. He will also devote time to major writing projects, such as future volumes of The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon, provide oversight of materials placed on Spurgeon.org and direct and mentor Spurgeon Scholars, who assist with a wide-range of Spurgeon Library initiatives. 

Chang called his hiring "a tremendous privilege and stewardship," adding: "The Spurgeon Library, being the personal library of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, is not only a historical artifact, but it is also one of the finest Puritan and theological libraries in the world. I'm grateful for the opportunity to oversee this resource for the advancement of evangelical scholarship, which I pray will benefit the church." 

Chang explained that he's appreciated Spurgeon's sermons and preaching for many years, but that his admiration deepened the past four years during the course of his doctoral research, as he came to learn more about Spurgeon as a local church pastor.

"This is an area of scholarship that has been largely overlooked," he said. "Yet, in so many ways, Spurgeon provides a model of leadership and pastoral ministry that continues to be relevant to the challenges that churches face today." 

In addition to Chang's Ph.D. studies at Midwestern, he earned an M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a bachelor's in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin. He has served on staff at both Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., and Houston Chinese Church in Texas. 

Having served in local church pastoral ministry for the past decade, Chang said he is "not interested in scholarship that remains abstract and disconnected from the local church. In teaching church history and historical theology, I want to draw from my experience to better equip men and women to serve local churches in practical and tangible ways. 

"Similarly, I want the Spurgeon Library to be a place where we continue to mine the riches of Spurgeon's ministry, and all of church history, to better equip pastors to serve faithfully."

Chang also brings to the position significant writing experience -- regularly providing articles for HistoricalTheology.org, which he also helped found. He has been the book review editor for History and Historical Theology for Themelios and has written articles for Themelios and 9Marks.

A major project Chang has worked on over the past two years is continuing The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon series in conjunction with B&H Academic. Chang, alongside the Spurgeon Library team, edited volumes 5 and 6.  

"We hope to be publishing notebooks 4-6 in the coming year, and finishing out notebooks 7-9 in the near future," Chang said. "Alongside that, I hope to continue researching and writing on Spurgeon's ecclesiology and approach to pastoral ministry." 

Midwestern Seminary Provost Jason Duesing echoed Allen's sentiments about Chang and also noted his strong leadership abilities, saying, "Dr. Chang not only is an excellent writer -- as evidenced by his dissertation, his work on the Lost Sermons series, and his article publications -- but he also has the ability to coalesce the Spurgeon Library team and to continue the library's ascension as a top destination for the study of all things Spurgeon. 

"We're pleased to welcome Dr. Chang, his wife Stephanie and their three children to Kansas City, and we look forward to their becoming a valuable addition to our seminary community."    

For more information about The Spurgeon Library, visit www.spurgeon.org.

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<b>Southeastern now offering modified residency option for Ph.D. in biblical studies</b>

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (BP) -- Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) is helping bring the academy to the local church through its modified residential Ph.D. in biblical studies.

"The SEBTS Ph.D. program is committed to engaging scholarship at a global level," said Jake Pratt, director of the SEBTS Ph.D. program. 

"Our new biblical studies modified residency program is an interdisciplinary, intensive format designed to foster cross-cultural dialogue in the disciplines of Old Testament, New Testament and biblical theology for pastor-theologians, international students and those called to the vocation of teaching and research."

The Ph.D. in biblical studies includes concentrations in New Testament, Old Testament and biblical theology, primarily preparing students to teach in the local church or colleges and seminaries.

The modified residential format allows for current vocational pastors, missionaries and the like to continue theological education while continuing to minister in their current context. The modified residency option would not replace residential options within the biblical studies Ph.D. but would instead coexist alongside residential versions of the biblical theology, New Testament and Old Testament concentrations. Students who enroll in this program are required to attend eight on-campus seminars over a two-year period.

"We're excited to be able to offer this top-tier Ph.D. program to students in a format that lets them stay in their ministry positions around the country and the world," Pratt said.

The deadline to apply for the 2021 academic year is Aug. 1. Click here for more information regarding the Ph.D. in biblical studies.


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COVID-19 hampers seminary education in prisons
by Diana Chandler
Date: April 15, 2020 - Wednesday

ROSHARON, Texas (BP) -- The 165 students earning bachelor's degrees in biblical studies at Darrington Prison Unit in Texas can no longer attend classes, with the prison on lockdown since the presence of COVID-19 was confirmed in the facility.
 
But the interruption is itself a learning experience for the men, who are being trained to minister while serving time at prisons across Texas.
 
"It is part of God's equipping and His sovereignty for what these men need in their hearts," said Brenna Norwood, director of programs for the Heart of Texas Foundation, which runs the prison education program in partnership with Scarborough College of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "This is an interruption that &#91;God&#93; knew was coming and He's strengthening them; He's growing them through this, preparing them for ministry in the midst of this."
 
Two cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed at Darrington, a maximum-security facility with a population of about 2,000 men; 150 were being monitored after possible exposure to the coronavirus, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice reported April 14 on its website.
 
The Scarborough College Darrington Prison Extension program is among similar prison education programs offered by Southern Baptist seminaries in six states. All of the programs have been altered in some way by the pandemic.
 
Along with the program at Darrington, programs offered in North Carolina by Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and Louisiana by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary continue. Programs offered by NOBTS in prisons in Florida, Georgia and Mississippi have been suspended during the pandemic.
 
At Nash Correctional Institution in Nashville, N.C., the 66 men enrolled in SEBTS' seminary program have been able to continue their full academic load. Each class is divided among three separate rooms with no more than eight students per room. Desks are situated at least six feet apart and instruction is conducted online through Zoom utilizing a large television screen, according to Seth Bible, director of prison programs for SEBTS.
 
"What Zoom allows us to do," Bible said, "it allows me to log in from my house and project to all three classrooms simultaneously, so I only have to do one lecture."
 
Instructional opportunities in prison vary by state. NOBTS is only allowed to continue a limited number of classes at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, La., and the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in St. Gabriel, La. Kevin Brown, director of NOBTS' Prison Extension Center education, said chaplains with NOBTS doctorate degrees who are considered essential prison personnel are teaching some classes, and some students are completing assignments independently.
 
All other NOBTS prison seminary classes have been suspended, including programs at Hardee Correctional Institution for men in Bowling Green, Fla.; the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, and the Whitworth Women's Facility in Hartwell, Ga.
 
"We're doing what we can do to keep moving, to keep the students advancing," Brown told Baptist Press, "but this COVID thing, it's more serious in prison than it is for you and I, because once it gets in the prison it's not getting out. I mean, the prisoners can't go anywhere."
 
At least one Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections employee at Angola has died of COVID-19, the agency announced April 10. Prisoners who tested positive for COVID-19 but were asymptomatic were being isolated in Camp J of the prison compound. Normally, many prisoners at the facility live in open dormitories.
 
A Mississippi inmate with another illness was found to have also had COVID-19 after his death at Parchman, the Associated Press reported April 14.
 
Internet access is not allowed in the prisons served by NOBTS, which prevents instruction via Zoom and other online platforms.
 
"We have the capabilities," Brown said. "We haven't figured out how to create sufficient firewalls to be able to teach into the prison."

Brown said NOBTS has ordered the necessary equipment as authorities at Angola have considered allowing an exception, but approval hasn't been given.

"The scary thing for them is, that if prisoners have access to the internet, they've got access to all the negative stuff on the internet as well," Brown said.
 
NOBTS has nearly 150 students enrolled in the five states, according to Brown, who added that graduation will be delayed for some because of the pandemic but the setback is temporary. NOBTS was the first Southern Baptist seminary to offer education in prison, beginning the program in 1995. The program has expanded to include two master's degree opportunities, including the Master of Divinity with classes in biblical Hebrew and Greek.
 
"At Angola, it's the gold standard," Brown said. "Our guys have proven themselves to be amazing mentors and leaders, and have a degree of trust with administration that they don't have in our other prisons."
 
At the Heart of Texas Foundation program, classes are suspended but students had completed enough course work before the pandemic to graduate this spring, according to Norwood. For the first time in the program's 10-year history, though, a chapel service will not be held for graduation.
 
Grove Norwood, Brenna's husband and the Heart of Texas Foundation founder and CEO, said the students have been diligent in completing coursework despite the obstacles presented by the pandemic.
 
"They do work very, very hard in seminary," Grove Norwood said. "This is no piece of cake. ... The field ministers themselves are still the light in the darkest of places. Whether they're talking across the hall to the cell next door, or to the bunk next door, their light is still shining."
 
Men accepted into the Scarborough bachelor's degree program are all transferred to Darrington Prison, a maximum-security unit near Rosharon, Texas, for more than four years of coursework, and then trained in the foundation's field ministry program. Upon completion, they are transferred to their previous prison units to serve as ministers to fellow prisoners.
 
SEBTS plans to graduate its first class of seminary students in North Carolina prisons in 2021, with 26 students currently on course to graduate, and then to minister to others as they complete their prison terms.

Bible said seminary education is important to the rehabilitation of those who are incarcerated, and called it an important investment in the lives of those serving lengthy or lifetime sentences.
 
"We've seen the impact that it's had at Angola in Louisiana, and also the impact that a similar program has had on the state of Texas through Southwestern Seminary," Bible said. "Our president, Dr. &#91;Danny&#93; Akin, has desired for some time to have a similar program here in the state of North Carolina. We believe that some of the most influential people inside of the prisons are actually those long-term folks, and so we see a real value in investing in them so that they can make a positive impact from the inside."
 
Through Wednesday (April 15), Bible said no COVID-19 cases had been reported at the Nash facility.


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Moore: religious liberty threats "inconsistent and incoherent saber rattling"
by Staff
Date: April 15, 2020 - Wednesday

NASHVILLE (BP) -- In an interview with Baptist Press, Ethics & Religious Liberty president Russell Moore addressed religious liberty concerns stemming from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's order to report church attendees to local health departments on Easter weekend, calling the mayor's threats "inconsistent and incoherent saber rattling."

Fischer announced April 10 that Louisville police would record the license plate numbers of cars in church parking lots but said he had not ordered law enforcement to take action against congregations hosting "drive-in" services, according to The Louisville Courier-Journal. In response, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the mayor allowing services to be held.

In addition to the Louisville case, Moore addressed a similar one in Greenville, Miss., where Mayor Errick Simmons and the City Council issued an executive order April 7 to prohibit "in person and drive in church services." Temple Baptist Church and King James Bible Baptist Church -- both independent Baptist congregations -- filed lawsuits to challenge the order. Moore called the Mississippi case "the worst in practice that I've seen so far."

During the 30-minute interview hosted by Jonathan Howe, vice president for communications at the SBC Executive Committee, Moore also addressed questions pertaining to the ERLC's involvement in an open letter to Chad F. Wolf, acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, calling on the agency "to utilize alternatives to detention for individuals who do not pose a threat to public safety." 

The full interview is available at facebook.com/baptistpress or watch below.




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Before COVID-19, members might have been at church when tornado hit
by Diana Chandler
Date: April 15, 2020 - Wednesday

MOSS, Miss. (BP) -- Before the COVID-19 pandemic, worshipers convened at First Baptist Church in rural Moss, Miss., every Sunday at about the time a tornado destroyed the church this Easter.
 
"The destruction is unreal. It looks like a bomb went off," pastor Tony Johnson said Tuesday (April 14). "If it hadn't been for COVID-19, there's a possibility that we could have had some church members here that night."
 
Days after a series of tornadoes cut a destructive path across nine southern states, killing at least 12 people in Mississippi and at least 22 in other states combined, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers were trying to practice social distancing while helping Johnson clear what was left of the church.
 
"The sanctuary, there's no more," Johnson said. "And back behind the sanctuary -- the nursery was on the ground level, the Sunday School classes on the top level -- the top level is gone. There's nothing left of it.
 
"The wall caved in on the nursery, the ceiling fell in. But the sanctuary is nothing but a slab with a pile of blocks on it," he continued. "Every pew that we have is busted open and strewn out."
 
In nearby Laurel, Miss., a tornado destroyed the gym of Pleasant Home Baptist Church and damaged the sanctuary, leaving the facility structurally unsound. Pastor Caleb Rawls described the campus as a total loss.
 
"Due to the structural problems, we're going to have to do a total loss on it," Rawls said Tuesday. "Our church building had structural damage, but the gym just looks like a big ol' wad of metal."
 
Neither church suffered fatalities among members, the pastors said. Some members were injured, while others lost friends or relatives. Some homes were destroyed, and others were damaged.
 
"Because so many of our folks live close to the church," Rawls said of Pleasant Home Baptist, a congregation of about 100 worshipers, "half of our folk have been impacted directly. We're on Matthews Road ... and the tornado basically went down it. It's a lot of houses that are now roofless, holes everywhere, or there ain't a house."
 
A portion of the Pleasant Home sanctuary was still standing, and although electrical power had not been restored, the church was collecting supplies and food to donate to the community. Disaster relief volunteers had cleared roads and yards of trees and debris and were covering damaged areas of homes with tarps. Both pastors praised Mississippi Southern Baptists for generously responding to the churches' distress.
 
Johnson, pastor of First Baptist in Moss, said he believes the church's insurance policy will cover rebuilding costs. Of about 100 members, attendance averages about 38, according to the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Church Profile.
 
The National Weather Service received many reports of tornadoes Easter Sunday, as storms cut a path through Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.
 
Among churches involved in relief efforts is Bassfield Baptist Church in Bassfield, Miss., which was untouched by tornadoes that heavily damaged much of the area. Pastor Ken Roberts said members of Bassfield Baptist have been cooking meals for first responders, community members and volunteers since Monday, while other members have been clearing debris.
 
"The community has come together in such a big way," Roberts said, likening it to the early church in Antioch where believers were first called Christians. "It's such a blessing to see people becoming the hands and feet of Christ. It's almost like getting us back to the early church in Acts.

"Everyone is sharing things. Everyone is just taking care of the need of each other, and that's such a blessing as a pastor to see."


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SBC Evangelists' Easter livestream nears 400,000 views
by David Roach/Southern Baptist TEXAN
Date: April 15, 2020 - Wednesday

SAN ANTONIO (BP) -- When COVID-19 shut down the church and conference venues at which evangelists traditionally conduct their ministries, that didn't slow the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists (COSBE). Over Easter weekend, the group held its largest evangelistic event ever -- online.

Covered by the Cross, an hour-long Facebook Live event April 9, garnered nearly 400,000 views Easter weekend across several evangelism-focused Facebook pages. Nearly 90,000 viewers watched it from beginning to end, and reports of decisions for Christ have begun to emerge. The program featured singing, Gospel presentations and testimonies -- including the story of an evangelist who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

"It was a historic moment for COSBE," said the group's president Sammy Tippit, a San Antonio evangelist. "I don't think that the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists has ever hosted an event with 90,000 people who attended from beginning to end."

In addition to the livestream's U.S. success, a Pakistani television network translated the program into Urdu and broadcast it three times on Easter Sunday. The network's call center "could not handle all the calls coming in from people wanting to be saved every time the program was shown," Tippit said.

The success of Southern Baptist evangelists' online outreach came amid an overall spike in internet evangelism. Three of the largest online evangelism ministries -- Global Media Outreach, Cru and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association -- told Christianity Today their volume of internet Gospel presentations has increased since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic.

Global Media Outreach reported a 170 percent increase from mid-March to late March in clicks on search engine ads about finding hope. Cru has added 52 coronavirus resources to one of its most popular evangelistic websites and is on pace in 2020 to eclipse last year's total online decisions for Christ by more than 300,000. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association saw 173,000 visitors to coronavirus-focused landing pages the first four weeks they were online.

Southern Baptist evangelists are seeking to determine whether the surge of internet witness can be sustained.

Among highlights of Covered by the Cross, Louisiana music evangelist Price Harris, 78, shared his testimony of not being afraid despite a COVID-19 diagnosis. Feeling "a little feverish," he went to the doctor, then learned on Palm Sunday he had the coronavirus. Harris' lack of fear is rooted in "the peace of God," he said. There are times in a believer's life "when God just seems to take over, and that's the way it's been with us."

Keith Fordham, a Georgia evangelist and former COSBE president, told about his cancer diagnosis and how an initial surgery was not able to clear the malignancy. Consequently, he likely will have a second surgery April 16, approximately the same time some models predict Georgia hospitals will be grappling with a peak in coronavirus deaths.

"I know if God wants to cure me, He can cure me," Fordham said. "If He wants me home, He'll take me home. I'm ready either way because the Lord Jesus indwells me."

The livestream included four segments, each with a testimony and a Gospel presentation.

"You may be wondering what's going on in the world with this pandemic," Tippit said in the program's closing Gospel presentation, while encouraging viewers to "trust the heart of God.”

"He loves you," Tippit said, "but you've got to be willing to let go of trying to do it yourself."

Tippit has been exploring various avenues of online evangelism the past four years, including preaching evangelistic meetings in India via Skype and launching a campaign next month through the messaging application WhatsApp that is expected to deliver Gospel presentations to 10 million people in 70 countries. Now Tippit is encouraging his fellow evangelists to consider similar ventures as COVID-19 limits their traditional ministry opportunities.

As its next online venture, COSBE is considering an apologetics-themed internet broadcast in June to coincide with the dates the Southern Baptist Convention was scheduled to meet. Last month, leaders canceled the annual meeting due to coronavirus concerns.

The Easter livestream, Tippit said, "was a great start" to COSBE's online ministry.



