Author: Gordon Govier

(CNSNews.com) – Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a national ban on partial-birth abortion as constitutional, candidates who are already campaigning to win the White House in 2008 reacted to the decision along party lines on Wednesday.Read more of this story.

Brookfield – Water didn’t turn to wine, but a full, open bottle of Coca-Cola did emerge from the sleeve of Pastor Dale Radke’s coat as magic and jocularity blended with prayer at an unusual service Sunday morning in the Chapel of the Chimes at Wisconsin Memorial Park.Read more of this story.

BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA (ANS) — A lone gunman stalked the campus of Virginia Tech, leaving at least 33 dead and 15 being treated at local hospitals. It was the worst mass shooting in American history, reminding some of the horrors of Columbine. “I’m at a loss for words to explain or understand the carnage that has visited our campus today,” said Charles Steger, president of Virginia Tech. He and other officials faced criticism because of a two-hour delay between the first reports of shootings and their ultimate decision to lock down the campus.Read more of this story.

Mike Valleskey was struggling to understand how his job at Sears fit into his new life of faith. Valleskey hadn’t been asked to perform unethically or kept at work so late he lost touch with his family. But he couldn’t see how a disciple of Jesus Christ could work 9 to 5 inside an office with such a large mission field outside."I contemplated going back to Bible school," Valleskey tells CT. But before making the jump, he looked at his sphere of influence—his wife and four children, no surprise there, but the next one blew him away. "The workplace," says…

Church attendance surges at Easter, but no pastor is going to spot people such as Dave and Debra Pitzo coming through the door in their finest Sunday clothing today.The Pitzos will be worshipping informally in their Greenfield home, where eight to 25 friends and relatives gather for spontaneous prayer and music each Sunday.Read more of this story.

News Release(Madison, WI)—Alec Hill, president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, today announced that InterVarsity and the University of Wisconsin (UW) have reached an agreement that settles a lawsuit and fully restores recognition to InterVarsity’s student chapter at the UW-Superior (UW-S). The agreement also removes the threat of derecognition that has been facing InterVarsity chapters at the UW-Madison and other University of Wisconsin campuses.Read more of this news release.Alliance Defense Fund News Release.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (ANS) — While on furlough from ministry to Latinos in Mexico City several years ago, Chuck and Betty Selander attended an indigenous Latino church in rural Minnesota. The experience changed their lives and the direction of their ministry. The Selanders were to attend an English worship service in the sanctuary upstairs, but were not scheduled to take part, so they decided to visit the Latino church meeting in the basement at the same time. "They were just thrilled; they told us that we were the first Anglo people who had sat through a worship service with them," said…

God’s plan for business is much more than making a profit so that donations can be made to churches and missions to help them carry on the work of the Gospel. That was the central point made by both Bill Pollard, chairman emeritus of the ServiceMaster Company, and Jeff Van Duzer, Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University, as they spoke at the Open for Business Track at Urbana 06, InterVarsity’s Student Missions Convention. “For some of us, the world of business has become our call,” said Pollard. “It’s where the lost and needy are…

COMMENTARYSANTA MONICA, CA (ANS) — For churches and ministries across the country, fundraising has become a vital tool that’s used to raise the necessary money to make ministry happen. It’s a noble effort, because people need to understand that without financial support, significant outreach is nearly impossible. However, in many cases, the tail has started to wag the dog, and some ministries focus on raising money more than their actual mission. Read more of this commentary.

Early in Scott Bessenecker’s book, "The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World’s Poor," you meet David Von Stroh. He’s holding a child on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand, and both are waving at the camera.Bessenecker is the director of Global Projects for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, which has a presence on 530 college campuses. Its national offices are in Madison. He contends in his book that people like Von Stroh are part of "a missional, monastic-like order" of young men and women "burning with a passion to serve the destitute in slum communities of the developing world."Read more of…