Teacher Shortage, Narrow Escape, & Women’s Ministry

A national shortage of teachers in public elementary, junior high and high schools is opening a door for local churches to provide assistance to schools.

“Anything the school needs, they know they can call us,” said David Drake, pastor of CrossWinds Church in Wyoming, Michigan, who was also an assistant high school football coach for 12 years before resigning so he could serve as a board member for Godwin Heights Public Schools. He continues to coach, though, now as an unpaid volunteer.

Those calls from the school have led CrossWinds to provide lunches and classroom supplies for teachers and backpacks filled with clothes and jackets for students.

It was broad daylight, but Sarah Taylor knew if the stranger managed to pull her into the car, she would likely die.

She fought.

Taylor doesn’t know how she managed to flee his grasp as he tased her in the chest. Running down the residential road near San Diego, Calif., while flailing her arms, a woman ushered her into her car and drove to safety. Taylor returned to the scene of the crime with law enforcement officials and soon learned she had survived an attempted kidnapping by a known human trafficker, his car abandoned by the side of the road.

Taylor, wife of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trent Taylor, found solace in the very name of Jesus as she dealt with the ensuing trauma from the assault. Her story, “Stronger Than Fear,” is the latest “I Am Second” testimony of salvation and restoration released by the Dallas-based non-profit ministry by the same name.

Taylor says she reached out to a local church following the attack and they helped her connect with a counselor and the hope found in the gospel.

Good News for Today is sponsored by The Voice of the Martyrs

Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.

Lifeway Christian Resources hopes its newly released “CSB Lifeway Women’s Bible” encourages women of all ages to study God’s Word and be inspired to grow and worship alongside their community. The result of a four-year Bible project, the “CSB Lifeway Women’s Bible” includes an in-depth collection of inspirational articles, devotional commentary, study tools and other Bible-reading helps from prominent voices in the Lifeway Women community.

The Study Bible is packed full of features that help provide women knowledge of God and understanding as they read Scripture. Each of these features points women to the inerrant Word of God and is intended to enhance the reader’s engagement with the Bible. These features include Bible Study and devotional content from Lisa Harper, Kelly Minter, Jackie Hill Perry, Priscilla Shirer, Angie Smith and other Lifeway Women authors.

It contains nearly 100 articles and more than 130 short devotional thoughts placed throughout the Bible alongside corresponding biblical texts, the study materials included in this Bible foster deep reflection on Bible passages and topics focused on the life needs of women.

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