Four Willow Creek summit staffers have coronavirus

Four people involved with the Willow Creek Leadership Summit in Germany last month are now confirmed to have coronavirus. 

The summit, in Karlsruhe, was forced to end a day earlier than scheduled after an unnamed speaker was diagnosed with the virus, which has been sweeping Europe. 

The three-day gathering was due to end on February 29 but organisers took the decision to cancel the remainder of the event on February 28. 

At the time, the organisers said that the speaker had not been present at the summit at any time up to that point and that the conference was being closed as a precautionary measure. 

A further three people connected to the summit have now been diagnosed with the virus, the Idea news agency in Germany reports. 

Karl-Heinz Zimmer, head of Willow Creek Germany, told Idea that a pre-summit dinner was attended by 22 speakers and staffers, including a German pastor who later tested positive for coronavirus. 

Following the diagnosis, participants in the dinner self-quarantined for 14 days. Zimmer said that not all of those in quarantine had been tested as the response of the German health authorities has been varied. 

However, he said that those confirmed to be infected have "only light symptoms". 

Last week, conference speaker Craig Groeschel and his co-pastor from Life.Church, Oklahoma, Bobby Gruenewald went into self-isolation after learning of the infection while enroute back to the US. 

Lothar Krauss, pastor of the Church in the Brewery, in Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, and board member of Willow Creek Germany, also went into quarantine. 

He told Idea it was important not to give in to panic. In an appeal for calm, he called on Christians to "above all else, trust God, to whom all power belongs - even in the midst of coronavirus panic".

News
Mission Aviation Fellowship makes Sudan a fresh ministry priority amid humanitarian crisis
Mission Aviation Fellowship makes Sudan a fresh ministry priority amid humanitarian crisis

The Christian aviation charity is ending its ministry in Tanzania after more than six “decades of transformation” as its humanitarian focus shifts to the Sudan crisis.

When ‘my truth’ replaces the truth
When ‘my truth’ replaces the truth

We live in changing times, where feelings about how we “identify” now hold more authority than facts.

Christian pro-life volunteer denies five fresh charges in abortion buffer zone case
Christian pro-life volunteer denies five fresh charges in abortion buffer zone case

A Christian charity volunteer has pleaded not guilty to five charges of breaching an abortion clinic buffer zone in Birmingham, as her lawyers challenge whether the prosecution should proceed.

Can we really think ourselves happy?
Can we really think ourselves happy?

There is growing evidence that people living with neglected tropical diseases, including leprosy, experience significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety, with discrimination and social exclusion among the factors contributing to this burden.