Pastor Kenny Baldwin of Crossroads Baptist Church in Fairfax County was preaching in North Carolina when he started feeling unwell and went to urgent care, according to WUSA90.

He tested negative for the flu and strep but his fever shot up to 105 degrees with chills and aches. Soon, he felt something in his chest and tested positive for pneumonia. He was sent back home with medication and instruction.

However, when his condition got worse, he got back to the hospital and was admitted and kept in isolation at Inova Fairfax Hospital, he told ABC13News.

“The doctor basically said with this disease you’re going to get worse fast or you’re going to hold on and eventually get better, and we don’t know which one it will be,” he was quoted as saying. “I was begging, God, please just give me a chance. Please get me through this.”

He said all he had was the Lord. “I saw God and experienced Him in a way like never before and He reminded me that His promises are true and that His word stands and that He never leaves or forsakes us.”

People around the world prayed for him. The pastor was given hydroxychloroquine, which is prescribed to treat and prevent malaria. It’s the same medication that President Donald Trump called a miracle drug, although more testing is awaited. “I have nothing but praises for that drug,” Baldwin said.

On March 19, the United States Food & Drug Administration announced that they were investigating the usage of the drug chloroquine to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 cases. “Studies are underway to determine the efficacy in using chloroquine to treat COVID-19,” explained the FDA. “While there are no FDA-approved therapeutics or drugs to treat, cure or prevent COVID-19, there are several FDA-approved treatments that may help ease the symptoms from a supportive care perspective.”

Baldwin said he supports the call for everyone to stay at home and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The church is not the building, he said, “it’s the people so we are still the church no matter what.”

He continued, “I think the challenge for all of us is to understand that our relationship with God is not contingent on physical gatherings and being in a structure. Our relationship with God is a spiritual relationship and our faith is growing. We are being built through this and need to trust Him, and value life and the people who matter.”

Baldwin is currently recovering at home and is hoping to be well enough to preach on Easter.

Source: Christian Post

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In carrying out their assignments, he said, they were obliged to lead righteous lives, without which the bible had said no one could see God.

Apostle Yeboah was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, in Accra, against the backdrop of some men of God coming under constant attack over what critics see as their ungodly acts and excesses.

He noted that when church leaders, including pastors and elders, shamelessly got involved in social vices, such behaviour tended to disappoint God’s people and made the preaching of the gospel increasingly difficult.

No misdeed of any individual, he underlined, could be hidden from God, so all must be mindful of the ‘Day of Accountability’.

“As the bible has said in Psalm 24:1, everything in this world belongs to God, therefore, we’re only stewards of these, including our bodies. Therefore, one day, we shall all give account of how we have used God’s resources,” he states.

“I, therefore, I entreat everyone who calls himself a man of God; or a woman of God; or a child of God to pursue righteousness and seriously work towards giving spiritual and physical solutions to those entrusted in their care.”

God was a rewarder of faithfulness and always helped his committed children out of their challenges, he assured.

Regardless of the criticisms the Church face today, Apostle Yeboah said its role in society must not be taken for granted. “Its divine mission was to turn people’s hearts from sin, corruption and wickedness towards God so that they would enjoy eternal life.

“The Church is an anchor of essential moral values and virtues needful for every society – At the family level, in education, business, and politics and, indeed, in every branch of society: when the moral fibre breaks down, society will also go down.

“Therefore,the word of God, which is preached from many pulpits, provides strength for many individuals, families and leaders to enable them to carry on with lives, despite the daily challenges they face”.

Additionally, the prayers and the principles espoused by the Church largely accounted for the peace and stability the nation enjoyed, therefore, politicians and policy makers should actively and consciously work with the Church to strengthen the peace.

Apostle Yeboah said the Church must also endeavour to continue with its good works of providing social amenities, essential social services such as education, health and social empowerment counselling.

In an era when unemployment had become a serious political issue, the Church, he said, must continue to provide jobs – both for the clergy and laity-and seek to improve the living conditions of its members through counselling and the building of effective partnerships with policy makers.

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Mr Ametorgoh was speaking at the second edition of the Digital Church Summit in Accra on the topic: “Building Your Virtual Ministry.”

Other recommendations include using mobile messaging for quick alert and information, blog to educate and inform, develop mobile application to connect instantly, preaching using podcasting, streaming and receiving online payments.

The Digital Church Summit is the largest annual event where pastors, church workers and Christian Organizations are trained and equipped with digital marketing solutions, online tools and technological innovations, to enable them to promote their ministries, spread the gospel, manage their activities and reach out to their target audience.

The content areas for discussion was focused on: Digital Marketing, Social Media, Mobile, Church Management Software and E-Commerce, and online payments.

The rest are Podcasting and E-Publishing, Content Marketing, Live Broadcasting and Projection, Digital Media Department and Church communication.

He said as pastors, they have a mission and a calling to fulfill in this dispensation and this calls for a new way of connecting and reaching out to the world.

“Online is the new field for souls,” he added.

Mr Ametorgoh, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of PopOut, called on them not to be left behind in using online tools to grow their ministries, urging them to get online, be effective and win souls.

He expressed the hope that the event will become the largest gathering of Pastors, Church leaders and Church workers across Africa in the next three years, where they would be trained to use digital innovations to empower their Ministries.

“I can foresee this event bringing people from across Africa and the world to Ghana to learn how to use digital innovations to drive their ministries, and boost digital inclusion,” he said.

He challenged Pastors, Church leaders and their digital media workers to adopt digital innovations to grow their Churches, spread the gospel and transform the way they operate their ministries.

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