A farmer who saved a blustering, bellowing cow from death in an Iowa barn reminded Ray his life didn’t equal a full-stop failure. Drug dealing sent Ray’s parents to prison when the California boy was six or seven. Within a decade, he was in a gang with his uncles and cousins. They carried guns, sold […]

Two colossal challenges collided in late 2019 when Chris Lovelace became Converge PacWest’s church planting director. First, he and fellow leaders agreed to trust God for 25 new planters in northern California, northern Nevada and Hawaii by 2026. The collision came just a few months later: COVID-19 unleashed a prolonged, erratic disruption of work, life […]

Elizabeth and William Nicoleti didn’t need a thermometer last month to realize the building where Aviva Igreja Cristã worships was warmer than expected. A church member who climbed atop the roof discovered the why behind the warmth: someone had stolen copper wires that supply power to the air conditioner. Then the disciple found a black […]

Rodel Balingit didn’t feel too excited when he visited a Bible study in the early days of Forever Community Church. It was Mother’s Day 2021, Benjamin and Hilda Padua explained, when Rodel and his wife, Maryanne, came. She wanted him to go to the Bible study as part of the special day for moms. Then […]

Brentwood is a place to live. But the California city isn’t exactly a place for life. People struggle to find jobs in Brentwood or neighboring Antioch. So, they work closer to San Francisco. Brentwood empties out around 5 a.m. every day as people make the long commute to work. Those same workers don’t get home […]