LVIV, Ukraine— Imagine spending 42 nights in a basement because the Russians took over your city. That was the case for Anya and her 11 foster children, who lived in Berdyansk, a city west of devastated Mariupol.
Berdyansk was seized by Russian forces just four days into the war, and the family was forced to stay in a bunker below their house for 42 days.
Anya said, “It was hard to live there and it was dangerous, but every day we woke up and we were thankful to God that we were still alive and still able to worship Him.”
Anya says whenever they needed anything or were afraid, they would pray.
“We were reading the Bible, worshipping and fasting and that’s why we had this peace with God,” she said.
On this Wednesday night in Lviv, Anya and her children are finally able to laugh again after escaping Berdyansk thanks to help from some brave drivers from Orphan’s Promise, which has a center in Berdyansk.
“It was scary to leave,” said Olga Buznitska with Orphan’s Promise. “The last checkpoint was the worst. Anya and her children were on a bus that came under fire when the Russian military began firing on the Ukrainian troops. Everyone on the bus fell to the floor. The children cried and shouted, but they all miraculously survived. Now, the Russian troops have closed the city and don’t allow anyone out or humanitarian aid in. “
Despite all of this, the children, who are mostly teenagers and have never seen war, said they were not afraid when they were in the bunker.
“I didn’t worry, I was in peace and I was in a safe place,” said Sergey, an 18-year-old boy with a big smile. “God was with us and was going to protect us.”
Olena, also 18, said she was afraid at first, but then, “I was praying to God, and I had this peace in my heart, and all the kids, we united as one family, and that’s why I didn’t feel this fear.”
Anya and her children were able to escape from Berdyansk to Lviv, but it wasn’t without a fight. Orphan’s Promise then brought Anya and her children to Lviv, where the CBN-connected ministry turned some offices into shelters.
“We help to support people (refugees and people in other centers) with food, medicine, psychological support and the most important part of our job is to share the Gospel, to share the Good News in this time because all people are open to accepting Jesus,” she said.
The family is now awaiting visas to go to Switzerland, where they plan to wait out the war.
“I’m excited for this new opportunity but also a little sad to leave my own country, my family, my city,” Sergey said.
“About the war, I’m not happy, but the possibility to go to different countries, I am happy because that is my dream,” Olena said.
A silver lining for these kids in an otherwise unimaginable situation.
The video posted by Pastor Jack Jensz Jr. of his ministry team worshiping aboard an airplane in mid-flight has amassed over 35 million views online — but the reason they were on the plane in the first place is the real star of the show.
The clip posted on April 6 of people from Kingdom Realm Ministries and other churches worldwide singing “How Great Is Our God” during a commercial flight out of Poland gained traction after Muslim U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., posted the clip on her Twitter page Saturday. She included the caption, “I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane.”
Her comments were criticized by some Republican politicians, such as Vernon Jones, a former Democrat who is running to represent Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives, who suggested Omar’s comments were hateful toward Christians.
Others criticized the worshippers, claiming the event was invasive and forced everyone else on board to listen to music praising God against their will.
Jensz said the impromptu worship moment was not a part of “a political agenda at all.”
“I didn’t post it to stir anything up,” the Australian-born pastor shared in an interview with The Christian Post. “It was actually just a post to share with our friends and encourage our friends that have been following our journey.”
“When she posted that, I just looked at it and I didn’t really give it too much thought. I didn’t really enter into any political debate,” he continued. “For us, we just came to share the love of God, we came just to reveal to people that Jesus loves them so much, and that’s our focus. Our focus wasn’t a political agenda at all.”
The minister captioned the video, “We are taking this flight over for Jesus!”
The video showed a guitar player leading a group of people in worship to the popular Chris Tomlin song. Many passengers joined in and filmed the event that lasted a few minutes as others sat in silence.
The song came on the heels of Jensz and his team being spiritually high because of what they saw God do while serving at the Ukrainian border. He said the plane ride came after their time in Ukraine, and it was their way of keeping hope going.
“We were with our team. We’re flying away from Ukraine to another place to have a meeting. We had 10 members of our team on the plane, and we’ve been worshiping and praying for people all over the place,” he explained. “We decided, ‘How awesome would it be if we could just bless these people with a song and bring hope and joy to this flight as so many people are in such a devastating place in pain and suffering?'”
They approached the air host and shared what they were doing in Ukraine and asked permission to sing worship music in an attempt to keep morale high even while in the air. Jensz said they would not have done the video if they weren’t granted permission because they “believe in honor, we believe in respecting authority.”
After asking the air host if they could sing the song, Jensz said, “she took a step back, and she was so surprised and so happy.”
“She’s like, ‘Oh, wow, really? This would be so beautiful.’ So she went to the pilot and asked the pilot, the pilot was in agreement, and everyone was in agreement,” he stated. “Then she jumped on the intercom and goes, ‘Hey, passengers, we have guests from all around the world who have been serving in Ukraine and helping the beautiful Ukrainian refugees, and they want to sing one song, just to bring joy and hope to you in this time.’”
“As she announced that, everyone clapped, a bunch of smiles on the plane, and we stood up to our feet with our team and we sang ‘How great is our God,’ which is a beautiful song,” Jensz continued.
“As we sang it, we saw people smiling, some people even crying, they were touched. We had people filming on their phones. It was a real joyful moment on the plane. Then we shared with them. We said, ‘Hey, this might be the most interesting plane flight that you’ve ever been on in your life. But we’re here to bring joy and happiness and just to tell you, God loves you and He’s with you.’”
Jensz said many Ukrainian refugees were on that flight, and it’s why they felt compelled to do what they did.
“No one said anything negative, no one stood up [against it], everyone was there enjoying,” he shared. “It was just a beautiful time, and it seemed like everyone was truly blessed.”
After the clip went viral, it created an uproar online. People had varying opinions about what took place.
For Jensz and his team, however, it was another miraculous ministry opportunity for them as they saw God move in a significant way during their entire trip.
The founder and president of the Philadelphia-based Kingdom Realm Ministries testified of what God did leading up to that worshipful moment that has caught the world’s attention.
“Ukraine is in the midst of a great war, and this is devastating to see. So on the second day of the war, our teams from all over the world were like, ‘Hey, let’s go to the Ukrainian border and minister to the people, love the people and help the people,” Jensz recalled.
He said his ministry affiliates came from all over the world to do “four different types of ministries.”
“The first thing that we did is we did a border ministry, where we went to the Ukrainian border, and we came with supplies, humanitarian aid, we came with medical supplies, food, blankets, you name it. Just helping the immediate needs of these beautiful refugees,” he said.
The stories he heard were heartbreaking. He recalled seeing people waiting in line to cross the border for three or four days by car. Others were standing in line waiting to get in for hours upon hours.
He even heard reports of refugees suffering from frostbite because they were standing so long in the cold.
“I’ve never seen anything like this! “Walking down the lines, you have people throwing their children at you, saying, ‘Please take them,’ and they’re just filled with great fear,” he described. “These people have driven for days to get to the border. These people are leaving war-torn areas where they’ve even seen their houses bombed. They’ve had to send their sons and fathers back to fight the war, and so it’s just so devastating. ”
Jensz said it is essential for churches to pray, but he and his team felt called not only to pray but to action.
He shared how they went to refugee centers to pray with various refugees and help them get connected with family members throughout Europe.
“It’s amazing because when you hand humanitarian aid to these beautiful people, they say thank you. They’re so kind and so happy that we’re there to help from all around the world,” Jensz noted. But when you sit and you tell them, ‘Hey, can I just share with you that God loves you so much? Even though you’re going through this, know that Jesus is with you. ‘ They begin to just melt, they cry, they get so touched. ”
Ukraine is known as a predominantly Christian nation. A 2018 survey conducted by the Razumkov Centre think tank found that 71.7% of the population declared themselves believers.
The pastor said that telling the people that God loved them meant “the world to them.”
“So it’s not pushing religion down their throat at all. It’s actually something that’s so dear to their heart, and it moves them,” he clarified.
“We also went to the train stations, where all these refugees are jumping on trains to go throughout Europe to find family members. We were there with humanitarian aid, with food, we gave candy to the kids, make the kids smile and have joy in the midst of this crazy war. Then we just share the beautiful Gospel,” Jensz continued.
“We are not ashamed of the Gospel. The Gospel has the power to save and transform.”
Jensz saw the transformative power of Jesus Christ in his own life.
He was brought up in an abusive home and saw God intervene by changing his mother’s life and his own life, setting them on a course of hope and fulfillment.
“We believe that Jesus is the answer. Obviously, we don’t want to shove that down their throats. We wait for the opportunity for God to open it up. But these people were so open to receiving the good news of God, “Jensz assured.
“We actually saw healings and miracles. Multiple people received healing in their bodies, and it was beautiful. It’s like God was kissing them, saying, ‘I’m with you and I’m for you and I love you’ by healing their body. It was incredible!”
While their worship video has gone viral, Jensz wants all the attention to bring glory to God.
“From a Christian perspective, I just hope that the Church rises up and realizes that the Gospel is powerful. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. … We have a call to action to love people more, a call to action to serve people more. We have a call to action to share the Good News more. That’s really my heart,” he concluded.
When asked if worship on a plane should be encouraged in the future, Jensz said he’s been on several plane rides where other beliefs have expressed their faith.
“I’ve been on different flights, and I have friends that have traveled to different countries where there are different religions that are widely spread there. I’ve been on flights where you have a Muslim or Islamic person come up, and they’ll share and they’ll pray. I’ve been on flights where they pray before we take off, even had Jewish people that will stand up and they’ll pray,” he described.
“It happens quite often. I think that we just shook the ground a little bit because it was a worship song. So it’s very out there in that sense. But I think that if you ask for permission and it’s granted and what you have to say is encouraging and uplifting and brings hope and light, sure! … We live in a beautiful, free country, and we’re free to express what we believe and what we stand firm on in our heart and if that’s bringing life.”
The pastor believes the criticism he and his team have received is what’s expected as a follower of Christ.
“They persecuted Jesus and persecuted the disciples. This is just what we laid our life down for. This is the cost,” Jensz maintained.
The parachurch ministry organization Youth For Christ has raised nearly $170,000 to help support staff and volunteers who were forced to flee their homes amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
YFC volunteers, staff and others have donated, as of April 4, a little over $169,500 to help 75 people associated with Youth For Christ Ukraine who were driven from their homes.
Joe Beckler, director of communications and change management at YFC, told The Christian Post on Monday that the funds will “be sent to YFC International’s European regional office for distribution, oversight and stewardship.”
The “initial goal,” according to Beckler, was to raise $135,000, which would support 75 people over three months, with the “understanding that $20 per day provides food and shelter for one YFC Ukraine staff or volunteer who is displaced in Slovakia.”
“We made an appeal to all staff, volunteers and giving partners across the United States. Their generosity was remarkable. As of April 4, we’ve raised $169,615.50, and the gifts continue to come in,” said Beckler.
In addition to financially supporting the displaced personnel, Beckler told CP that they hope to use some of the funds to later rebuild their ministry efforts in the Eastern European nation.
Beckler spoke highly of Youth For Christ Ukraine, explaining that the ministry group “has a faithful history of providing services to children and youth.”
“Their ministry includes several teen centers in the capital city, where youth come for safety, meals, fellowship, and support through trauma,” he continued.
“A few days into the invasion of Ukraine, we began to receive reports regarding our YFC Ukraine team. We were concerned and eager to provide any support possible. We consider all YFC teams, across the globe, as family and were eager to lean in and help.”
Beckler hoped that “others would join us in praying for peace and protection in Eastern Europe. While the world is caught up in crisis, we are confident that our hope remains solely in Jesus Christ.”
Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February, many churches and ministries in the United States have sought to help those directly affected by the conflict.
Gateway Church, a multisite megachurch based in Texas, recently helped relocate around 400 Ukrainian refugees through cooperation with ministry partners in the country.
“God loves and has not forgotten about the people of Ukraine,” said Lawrence Swicegood, spokesperson for Gateway, in an earlier interview with CP. “We believe as Christians that we should be proactive in helping people in their time of need.”
“War has devastated so many, but it has not crushed the spirit and hope of Ukrainian people.”
During this season of Ramadan, CBN News is recounting some remarkable stories from recent years about how Jesus Christ has supernaturally revealed himself to Muslims in dreams and visions.
In one such instance, a Middle Eastern missionary shared a remarkable story of how Jesus visited a man in the region every night for a month, asking the man to write down what he said.
It turns out, the missionary said, that Jesus shared the entire book of John with the man, who lived more than 30 miles outside a city in the Middle East known for its extreme use of opium.
A few years ago, McLean Bible Church Pastor David Platt interviewed the missionary during The Gospel Coalition’s “Something Needs to Change Simulcast.” To protect him, the church did not show an image of the missionary, and Platt gave him the pseudonym, “Yazid,” which means “God will increase.” The church also altered Yazid’s voice so it could not be recognized.
Yazid and his wife live and work in a part of the Middle East where it’s against the law to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and even life-threatening to talk about the advancement of the gospel.
The couple spends their lives sharing the gospel among Muslims who have never heard it, and they also plant churches. “God is moving inside the Middle East with dreams, visions, and personal visitations,” Yazid shared.
He went on to say that a man shared his amazing supernatural encounter with God: “‘A man wearing all white knocks on my door every night, and I couldn’t look at him because his face was so shiny and bright. When he would come inside, he asked me to write down what he said. And as I wrote, I would fall asleep. And then, the next night, he would come again… for the next month.'”
Yazid asked the man, “What did you write? May I see your notebook? “
Yazid shared that in the man’s notebook was written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.”
“He had the whole book of John verbatim in his notebook,” said Yazid. “This is amazing. Jesus visited him every night until he finished the book.”
“This is amazing thing that the man actually asked us, ‘Who was this man that he visited me?'” Yazid continued. “And here, I learned a very valuable lesson: God will do his part, but we still have to do ours.”
“You’re doing what God has called us to do, so praise God for what he’s doing, what you’re doing,” Platt responded.
He also asked Yazid what projects he was working on right now in the Middle East and what resources were needed. Yazid explained how he and his wife want to build 10 churches, but “training disciples who make disciples takes time and funding.”
“This training, along with supporting the leaders of the training over the next year, will cost approximately $25,000 for ten churches to be developed,” he shared.
Platt answered generously, “Yazid, we praise God for what you are doing on the front lines there in the Middle East. And we want you to know from your brothers and sisters who are behind you on those lines that you’re not alone… And so we want to say to you tonight, ‘Count us in for that $25,000 to plant ten churches in the Middle East’.”
“Thank you. This is amazing, brother. This is a great, great blessing for us. Thank you; thank you. God bless you all,” Yazid responded.
THE CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
Pray for Muslims during this season of Ramadan that they would encounter the living God, Jesus Christ.
The Bible records numerous visions of Jesus and angels speaking to people, so we know God does choose to speak to people in this way at times.
The Apostle Paul describes how Jesus appeared and spoke to him in Acts 9:1–19; 22:6–16; and 26:12–23. Paul recounts the voice of the Lord said, “‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.”
In Acts 9:10, the Lord speaks to a disciple named Ananias in a vision. In Acts 10:3, an angel of God appears to Cornelius and gives him directions.
And in Revelation 1:12-17, Jesus appears to John the apostle in a vision:
“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest… His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.'”
Three-time Grammy Award-winning Christian artist Michael W. Smith recently announced that he has released a new song in response to the war in Ukraine.
In a press release issued April 1, Smith explained that the song, an instrumental titled “Cry of Hope,” came after he saw what was going on in Ukraine following the military assault launched by Russia in February.
“After watching the news and the devastation in Ukraine, like most of the world I was in tears. Over the next few days this melody just kept coming back to me and just spoke a message that no words could convey,” Smith said in a statement.
The song was recorded with Smith on piano along with the Nashville Recording Orchestra, which was led by his friend, David Hamilton. As reported by CBN News, some of the proceeds from “Cry of Hope” will be shared with Ukraine aid.
The song was released in two versions: one with the orchestra and one with just the piano and violin.
In a recent interview with The Christian Post, Smith shared that his team is helping Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian aid organization led by evangelist Franklin Graham, as part of relief efforts in Ukraine.
“The supplies that they’re sending over are just enormous. It’s just incredible,” the Christian singer and songwriter said. “This need is going to be great for a very, very long time. Can you just imagine just your family and all your memories, and you’re forced to leave everything you’ve known your whole life, and you’re sleeping on a cot at some refugee camp overnight?
Try to imagine that happening to us as Americans. We can’t comprehend that, “he continued. “And that’s what’s happened to those people.”
Smith noted that the single was given to Ukrainian troops on the ground of the war-torn country, which has been met with an overwhelming response.
“I’m grateful that music is a healer,” he said “You know, it always has been. I’m just praying that this song will give these people some hope. And that they’ll be able to come back stronger than ever, and that this war will end.”
Smith, whose musical career spans over 35 years, has released more than six No. 1 songs and has sold over 15 million albums. He also won three Grammy Awards, 45 Dove Awards, One American Music Award, and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
Over the Easter weekend, a clip of several Christians singing “How Great Is Our God” to passengers onboard a flight went viral, with over 30 million views on social media. It drew praise and backlash from users online.
According to TMZ, ministry leader Jack Jensz Jr. and his team were onboard the plane heading towards Germany following their relief work in Ukraine when the incident took place.
In a response video on Instagram, Jensz Jr. explained that his team had been providing humanitarian aid, food, and prayer to Ukrainian refugees at the Ukrainian border in the past month.
“We were filled with thanksgiving for what God did in our time there. “Our heart was to bring joy and hope as there is so much pain with what’s going on in this world,” he captioned his post.
Jensz Jr., who is the founder of Kingdom Realm Ministries, said that they had shared with the air host concerning their relief efforts in Ukraine and asked if they could sing a song to the passengers.
“There were many Ukrainians on this flight,” he continued. “She was happy and said this would be great! She then asked the pilot, the pilot and all the air hosts were 100% in agreement (If they said no, We would of honored that!).”
The passengers were also informed of the ministry efforts of Jesnz Jr.’s team in Ukraine and that they wanted to encourage them with a song, to which the people clapped and welcomed the Christians.
The clip, which was just 18 seconds long, shows the team singing “How Great Is Our God” while one of the team members leads the song while he plays an acoustic guitar. Some of the passengers were shown singing along, while others were recording with their phones.
“We then got up and sang the song ‘How great is our God.’ We were up for 3-4 minutes. People were filming and smiling,” Jensz Jr. noted, adding that some were even moved to tears. “People were truly touched by what we were singing. Once we were done everyone clapped and thanked us and we sat back down.”
He added that the air host and passengers gave the team thanks for the encouragement.
“We are so thankful for the full permission we received to bring joy to this flight with a song!,” he concluded.
As reported by Church Leaders, Jensz Jr.’s response video came amid a polarized response on social media after the clip first surfaced.
Most notably, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D. Minn.) issued her response to the video in which she was subsequently accused of hating Christianity.
“I think my family and I should have a prayer session next time I am on a plane. How do you think it will end? “,” Omar, who is Muslim, tweeted.
“This is terrorism,” commented The Church of Satan.
The criticism also came from some Christians who did not like what Jensz Jr.’s team did on the flight.
“I’m Christian and this is incredibly annoying,” one Twitter user chimed in to Omar’s response to the video.
“Had I been on the plane, I would have been offended. The incident was inappropriate proselytizing before a captive audience. Had a group of Muslims [done] this, they might well have been put on a no-fly list,” another user, who identified himself as a Christian minister said.
Some non-Christians, however, had no problem with the clip at all.
“I’m not a Christian and this wouldn’t bother me,” one user said. “I would find it nice that these kids are joyful and singing together.”
President Joe Biden celebrated the Easter holiday with a longstanding White House tradition—but without referencing the reason for the season.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were joined by their spouses Monday for the traditional Easter Egg Roll competition, along with more than a dozen children waiting to compete.
The event featured various characters in costume, including Snoopy, Charlie Brown and “Minions” from the “Despicable Me” franchise.
Wearing a purple coat and pink flowered dress, First Lady Jill Biden kicked things off by telling the kids in attendance that “the determined spirit of education is what we wanted to honor in this Easter Egg Roll today.”
“Education never stops,” Jill Biden said. “So, we turned the South Lawn into a school community.”
In his speech, the second Catholic president of the United States failed to reference the Easter holiday’s theological significance. Both of the Bidens omitted any mention of God or the Bible from their official remarks.
“My job is to keep it from raining … for another two minutes,” President Biden said in a joking manner.
“Jill and I are excited to have you at the White House. We weren’t able to host this Easter Egg Roll last year because of the pandemic. But this year … we’re finally getting together again, and it’s so special. It means so much to see and hear the children and all the families show up to be here today.”
The president signaled the start of the traditional race — as Jill Biden helped to blow the whistle — as about 14 children raced across the South Lawn in search of eggs.
With the rain picking up as the morning went on, the Bidens took turns reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? to the kids before snapping photos with guests. The guests included White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and her family, “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
The president’s son, Hunter Biden, who reportedly could face a federal indictment following an investigation into his foreign business dealings, was also in attendance.
While Biden didn’t mention God or Jesus in his speech, former President Donald Trump also omitted references to God and Jesus in his official remarks at the 2019 Easter Egg Roll.
In 2019, God and Jesus’ resurrection were seemingly a major focus during the reading portion of the event.
Then-White House Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway and then-Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, two outspoken Christians, joined first lady Melania Trump in the reading nook.
Conway read “God Gave Us Easter” by Lisa Tawn Bergren, which “features the adorable polar bear, Little Cub, talking with her father and learning about God’s design.”
Sanders, meanwhile, read The Easter Story by Patricia Pingry, a children’s book that “simply and gently explains Jesus’ death as the means of salvation for mankind.”
The Easter Egg Roll dates back to 1878, when President Rutherford Hayes was in office. As in 2020 and 2021, the event was not held from 1917 to 1920 and 1943 to 1945 due to World War I and World War II, according to the White House.
The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture.
Hobby Lobby, a company owned by a Christian family, printed full-page ads in newspapers nationwide showing an actor, depicting Jesus, carrying a sheep across a field. A large headline reading “His Love Endures Forever” ran across the top of the ad. Underneath the headline, readers were greeted with the text of the famous Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.”
The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture. Hobby Lobby, a company owned by a Christian family, printed full-page ads in newspapers nationwide showing an actor, depicting Jesus, carrying a sheep across a field. A large headline reading “His Love Endures Forever” ran across the top of the ad. Underneath the headline, readers were greeted with the text of the famous Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.” The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture.
The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture. Hobby Lobby, a company owned by a Christian family, printed full-page ads in newspapers nationwide showing an actor, depicting Jesus, carrying a sheep across a field. A large headline reading “His Love Endures Forever” ran across the top of the ad. Underneath the headline, readers were greeted with the text of the famous Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.” The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture.
The bottom of the ad told readers how they could become Christians: “If you would like to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, visit Need Him Ministry at ChatAboutJesus.com/.” The ad also included a link to a free downloadable Bible.
Hobby Lobby founder David Green began running full-page holiday ads more than two decades ago after reading Christmas advertisements that had little if any religious content. Green, according to the company’s website, “felt commissioned by God to do something different.”
“Hobby Lobby was selling all kinds of crafts that customers used to celebrate Christmas, yet David Green was struck by the lack of any testimony in newspapers regarding the meaning of the holiday,” the website says.
In 1996, Green ran his first newspaper ad with a Christ-centric message: “As you celebrate this Christmas season in the warmth of family and home, may you be drawn to the Savior; He who left the beauty of Heaven on our behalf and became like us, that we might become like Him.” If you know Jesus as your Savior, then this season already has a special meaning. If you do not, we encourage you to find a Bible-believing church in your community, and to discover a relationship this Christmas with the God who loves you more than you can begin to imagine. ”
Today, Hobby Lobby runs newspaper ads on Easter, Independence Day and Christmas, celebrating the “real meaning” of the holidays, according to its website. The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture. Hobby Lobby, a company owned by a Christian family, printed full-page ads in newspapers nationwide showing an actor, depicting Jesus, carrying a sheep across a field. A large headline reading “His Love Endures Forever” ran across the top of the ad. Underneath the headline, readers were greeted with the text of the famous Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.” The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture. Today, Hobby Lobby runs newspaper ads on Easter, Independence Day and Christmas, celebrating the “real meaning” of the holidays, according to its website. The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture. Hobby Lobby, a company owned by a Christian family, printed full-page ads in newspapers nationwide showing an actor, depicting Jesus, carrying a sheep across a field. A large headline reading “His Love Endures Forever” ran across the top of the ad. Underneath the headline, readers were greeted with the text of the famous Bible verse: “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16.” The world’s largest privately-owned arts-and-crafts retailer spread the true message of Easter this holiday season with full-page newspaper advertisements that included the text of Scripture.
On Sunday, Evangelist Franklin Graham delivered a Gospel message during a special Easter service in Lviv, Ukraine.
“As the church worldwide celebrates Easter, our world is becoming more violent. It’s becoming more secular, and many politicians and educators scoff at those who worship the Lord Jesus Christ. They make fun. They don’t believe it, “Graham said at the start of his message.
The son of the late evangelist Billy Graham stressed that Easter is truly about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and our subsequent salvation, not the Easter Bunny, colored eggs and baskets full of candy.
“May we never forget the true meaning of Easter, and that is the price that was paid for the redemption of your soul, and this price was paid by God. God loves us, and Easter is about God’s love for mankind,” he said.
Graham, whose message also aired on Fox News, further explained God’s plan “to save us from our sins” after all of humanity fell into sin due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience.
“God laid upon His Son the sins of mankind, and Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood,
paying the penalty for you and for me. We’re the ones that deserve to go to the cross,” he declared.
“We can have that hope that we will be saved, forgiven, and be with God for eternity in heaven. Jesus said, ‘I’m the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. ‘ How do we have eternal life? It’s not by works, but it’s by God’s grace, “Graham continued. This is Easter. It’s about a risen savior. It’s about an empty tomb, “he added.
At the end of his message, Graham asked viewers to pray and invite Christ into their hearts. He also asked viewers to continue praying for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion of the sovereign nation.
In addition to Graham’s message, an 80-person Ukrainian Easter choir sang worship songs in both English and Ukrainian during the broadcast.
Graham was also in Ukraine last month with his ministries Samaritan’s Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which are conducting relief efforts for Ukrainians affected by the war.
Ahead of delivering his Easter message, Graham also called on both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to issue a temporary ceasefire from the war during Holy Week for the Western and Eastern Church.
Szófia Boros voted for Victor Orbán. The young evangelical mother of two has her misgivings about the man who has been accused of undermining democracy—curtailing press freedom, undercutting the independent judiciary, and changing election rules to give an advantage to his political party, Fidesz.
But in the end, it was pretty simple to support him for reelection on April 3.
“Evangelical Christians support the majority of Orbán’s policies and positions, even if we don’t really admire the way he goes about his politics,” she said. “I voted for him because he is a conservative Christian standing up against a liberal Europe.”
Evangelicals aren’t a big or politically organized voting bloc in Hungary. Only a few evangelical groups are established enough to achieve recognition from the national government, including the Baptist Union, the Hungarian Methodist Church, the Hungarian Pentecostal Church, the Church of the Nazarene, and the charismatic Faith Church, whose pastor endorsed Orbán during a Sunday service.
About half the people in the country consider themselves Catholic, a quarter have no religious affiliation, and 16 percent, including Orbán, identify with the Reformed Church in Hungary, which is part of the mainline World Council of Churches and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Eighty percent of the country identifies as Christian, but only about 15 percent of Hungarians attend church on a weekly basis.
But a lot of Hungarians, it turns out, feel like Boros. They wanted a conservative Christian prime minister committed to defending what they see as a Christian culture and its Christian values.
“The Fidesz campaign was built on a few very clear, concise, and targeted messages,” Hungarian pastor and Calvary Chapel church planter Attila Nyári told Evangelical Focus. “They were focusing on identifying the enemies—the EU, George Soros, the UN, and Muslim migrants—for the Hungarian people and then positioning Orbán as the saviour and protector of the nation.”
Nyári told CT that most evangelicals in Hungary thanked God for Orbán’s victory. The Calvary Chapel pastor and Lausanne Movement chief of staff said he was personally saddened by the outcome but he thinks he’s in the minority.
Fidesz got about 53 percent of the vote and secured a two-thirds majority in parliament. Orbán won reelection for the fourth time and has four more years in office.
The few weeks before the election were dominated by debates about the Russia-Ukraine conflict and whether Hungary should get involved. But the longer arc of the campaign focused on economic support for families and protecting Hungary from liberalism, multiculturalism, and LGBT ideology.
Orbán’s administration froze the price of fuel and some basic food products and instituted new welfare benefits for families with children, retired people, and people under 25. The prime minister’s party also put a referendum on the ballot asking people if they wanted to protect children from education about sexual orientation or media content that portrays or promotes gender reassignment. The referendum failed to meet the threshold requirement of 50 percent, but may have succeeded in mobilizing some voters.
Orbán has styled his political program as a defense of “Christian liberty.” He argues that Hungary has historically been a Christian island in a sea of foreign threats, such as Soviet Communism and German Nazism. Today, he says, it must be defended against Islam, immigrants, globalism, and liberalism.
According to Carolyn Gallaher, professor in the School of International Service at American University, Orbán connects to voters through his identification as a Christian and legitimizes his political views by saying they are synonymous with Christianity. His invocations of faith are less about specific issues than powerful symbolism.
The prime minister was once an atheist. But on the way to power, Orbán reconnected with his Calvinist roots and underwent a religious transformation in the 1990s, even remarrying his wife in a church and having his children baptized. His Christian identity has become key to his political ego and his vision for Hungary.
He talks about the nation’s Christianness as he argues for instituting restrictive immigration policies, aiding persecuted Christians in Africa and the Middle East, and amending the constitution to define marriage as solely a relationship between a man and a woman.
“Orban does not shy away from fighting the culture war,” wrote Rod Dreher, the American Orthodox author of The Benedict Option and Live Not by Lies.
Dreher traveled to Hungary for the election and cheered for Orbán’s victory.
“I have been saying for the past year that US conservatives should come to Hungary to learn from Orban and Fidesz,” he wrote for the American Conservative. “Orban is not a small-government Anglo-Saxon conservative. He believes in using the power of the state to strengthen families, the basis of any health society. But the most important thing US conservatives can learn is how to use political power to fight the culture war.”
The Conservative Political Action Conference—seen as a bellwether for American conservatives—will hold its next meeting in Hungary in May. Orbán is scheduled as the keynote speaker.
Even as he wins acclaim from conservatives internationally, though, some evangelicals at home have turned against Orbán. The Christian opposition has been dismayed by what they see as his abuses of power, his politicization of Christianity, and a coarse nastiness. Orbán has used dehumanizing language for migrants and refugees, calling desperate people fleeing Syria “invaders” and “poison.”
One of his fiercest critics is Gábor Iványi, a Methodist minister who runs one of Budapest’s homeless shelters and was once Orbán’s pastor. Iványi has been locked in a years-long conflict with the prime minister, accusing him of betraying the democratic ideals he once held and misusing the idea of Christian liberty to grasp power.
Iványi’s religious organization, the Hungarian Evangelical Fellowship, was raided by federal agents in February. Critics of the Orbán government say it was politically motivated.
Iványi is not the only prominent Hungarian Christian who criticizes the prime minister on religious grounds. Orbán’s leading opponent in the election was Péter Márki-Zay, a Catholic who regularly spoke of Orbán’s many sins.
Márki-Zay represented an impossibly broad coalition of political groups, who were only really united by their opposition to Orbán. But he nonetheless returned to religious themes when he made his argument. He said Fidesz embraced the “love of power” instead of “the power of love” and a true Christian could not vote for Orbán.
The Catholic politician was barred from national television, however, and was only able to give that speech to a small group of supporters.
Some evangelicals who don’t support Orbán, such as Nyári, are especially dismayed at how this last election has made politics seem so important.
Nyári told CT he is happy to have a mix of political views in his church and thinks it’s healthy for evangelicals to have a diversity of views. He’s disheartened, though, by how divisive the last election has been, pointing to tensions that have emerged in his own community. He senses deep wounds on both sides.
“I see the validity of the vocation and the work politicians do, but Christians need to remember that they are not the ultimate authority,” Nyári said. “If we place too much emphasis on the importance of politics, we might be overconfident or might become hopeless if the other side wins. Neither is a genuine faith response.”
Evangelicals are just a small fraction of Hungarian voters, according to the pastor. But they wrestle with a real temptation to put too much faith in politics.
“Personal relationships in our everyday lives, serving, and prayer have way more power to shape a country’s future than its politics,” he said.
