Saturday Lagniappe: Will the Honor System Work in Churches? And More

Vaxed and Unmasked: Will the Honor System Work in Churches? Some experts warn that an honor system puts public health at the mercy of individuals during a time when interpersonal trust is already quite low. Dr. Kavita Patel calls an honor system “simply magical thinking,” noting that people tend to lie about health matters to avoid being judged.

The Backstory: Vaccinated Readers Tell Us They Still Plan on Wearing mMsks. Why? They Don't Trust Others. Nation reporter Grace Hauck looked into the honor system this week. She found most experts aren't hopeful.

Schools Are Dropping Mask Requirements, But A New CDC Study Suggests They Shouldn't New research released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reinforces an old message: COVID-19 spreads less in schools where teachers and staff wear masks. Yet the study arrives as states and school districts across the country have begun scaling back or simply dropping their masking requirements for staff and students alike.

Health experts are recommending that volunteers working with children in their church's children's ministry should wear face masks even though they are vaccinated. This includes the nursery as well as children's church, children's Sunday school or its equivalent, and VBS.

Friendly Neighborhood Epidemiologist Deploys Expert Advice With Christian Love The Baylor professor’s Facebook page took off with answers around COVID-19 precautions and vaccinations.

Uneven Vaccination Rates across the US Linked to Covid-19 Case Trends, Worry Experts Tuesday was a "landmark day," as the United States reached a new Covid-19 vaccine milestone: 60% of adults have now received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to the US Centers and Disease Control and Prevention. But vaccination rates across the United States are uneven -- a worrisome trend that could obstruct efforts to end the Covid-19 pandemic. Rates range from more than 78% of adults in Vermont with at least one vaccine to less than 45% of adults in Mississippi. And over the past week, states with higher vaccination rates have generally had lower Covid-19 case rates, a CNN analysis of data from the CDC and Johns Hopkins University found.

The Refinement of Modern Ministry Mid-Pandemic Union Church — led by Send Network planter Jason Loewen and his team — was only a month and a half old when the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down in their community. But instead of getting discouraged, they found a unique, effective approach to ministry.

Leading in Babylon or Leading in Israel? Our view of our cultural context will dramatically impact how we lead and serve in our context.

9 Better Ways to Say Welcome to Church Gavin Adams offers advice on how to make a church service's “Welcome to Church” segment excellent, intentional, strategic and short.

42 Church Snack Ideas to Feed Any Hungry Crowd Although food certainly isn’t a main reason people attend your church events and activities, great snacks never hurt. Whether you’re planning coffee-hour fellowship for adults, Sunday school or VBS for children, or gatherings for youth, families or small groups, yummy church snack ideas are always a hit.

An Essential Part of Planning Your Preaching There are multiple benefits to developing a preaching plan. It saves time. It relieves stress. It allows you to work ahead. It enables you to be intentional about the diet you feed your congregation. And it gives you the opportunity to collect resources for effective preparation.

How Do I Love Neighbors Who Ignore Me?“The more your neighbors feel like enemies, the more you should love them the way Jesus said.”

Evangelism Without the Angst In a 2016 study, Lifeway Research found people were more willing to share their political views (59%) than their spiritual views (41%).

Southern Baptist Church Planting Up in 2020, But Baptisms Plunge by Half The pandemic accelerates more than a decade of decline for the denomination.