On This Date at MinistryWatch  

Bankruptcy trustee pursues churches, Urbana Missions Conference resumes, Preemptive Love Coalition investigation, Rev. Howard-John Wesley takes a sabbatical.

 ONE YEAR AGO: On December 22, 2023, MinistryWatch reported about dozens of churches and nonprofit groups being pursued for funds they received from shareholders in a now-bankrupt entity, Health Diagnostic Laboratory (HDL) in Richmond, Virginia, as part of a large bankruptcy case. Read more here.

TWO YEARS AGO: On December 22, 2022, MinistryWatch reported that for the first time since 2018, thousands of college students will gather a few days after Christmas to talk about God’s mission to the world and their place in it. Organizers of Urbana 2022, a missions conference run by the evangelical campus ministry InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, expected about 6,000 at the conference, held Dec. 28-31 in Indianapolis. That’s about 3,000 fewer students than organizers had first hoped for, said Greg Jao, chief communications officer for InterVarsity, and about 4,000 fewer than attended the Urbana 2018. Read more here.

THREE YEARS AGO: On December 20, 2021, MinistryWatch reported that Preemptive Love Coalition, a 13-year-old Texas-based relief organization that enjoyed stellar growth and glowing coverage in mainstream and Christian media outlets—at least until one of those outlets began investigating its questionable claims—announced that it had hired an outside agency to investigate numerous troubling charges leveled against founders/leaders Jeremy and Jessica Courtney. Preemptive Love Coalition subsequently cut all ties with the Courtneys and merged with another ministry. In March 2023, the group announced it would merge with Search for Common Ground. Read more here.

FIVE YEARS AGO:  On December 18, 2019, MinistryWatch reported that the Rev. Howard-John Wesley told his congregation at historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., that he would take a three-month sabbatical after 11 years in the pulpit, saying, “I am tired in my soul.” Wesley, 47, said that he needed to recuperate mentally and physically after leading four services each weekend for an average 4,500 attendees for more than a decade. Read more here.

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