✅ Pop Quiz Time: How Closely Do You Follow Weekend Plug-in? 🔌

We’re curious to know what sticks. So it’s time for a Weekend Plug-in pop quiz. When you click the right answer, the related column will appear.

⛰️ Program Blends ‘Mountains And Ministry, Rivers And Reverence’ 🔌

What could feel more like summer than a bonfire after worship service? From Denali in Alaska to the Everglades in Florida, a ministry works to share Jesus in national parks across the U.S. and Canada.

🏥 My Friend’s Cancer Battle: ‘This Is Going To Be One Really Cool Obituary’ 🔌

It’s a call you never want to receive. “I’ve got cancer,” your loved one says. Not only that, but it’s pancreatic cancer — often a death sentence. Immediately, your brain goes into a fog.

🇺🇸 America At 250: 1976 Bicentennial Mixed Faith And Fireworks 🔌

Fifty years ago, America celebrated its Bicentennial. The 200th anniversary of the nation’s founding occurred on a Sunday. For many, celebrations mixed faith, family and fireworks.

⚾️ Jesus In The Clubhouse: MLB Players Open Up About Their Faith 🔌

Weekend Plug-in columnist Bobby Ross Jr. is passionate about Major League Baseball. In recent years, his love for the game has inspired him to delve into the trend of MLB teams hosting faith days.

⚾️ Church Helps Homeless Son Of Late Yankees TV Cameraman 🔌

When Maurice Costabile first showed up at a Houston church a few years ago, members had no clue his late father, Duilio, was a beloved TV cameraman dubbed the “Mayor of Yankee Stadium.” They just knew he looked homeless — and desperately needed a bath.

⛪️ Southern Baptists Push Back On ‘Woke’ Leaders And Women Pastors 🔌

The Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Florida, this week, moved forward on banning churches with women pastors and elected a right-wing president concerned the denomination has become too woke and liberal.

✝️ Why Pope Leo’s Appointee To Lead Vatican Communications Stands Out 🔌

Female. Conservative. Young. Pope Leo XIV’s appointment of Maria Montserrat “Montse” Alvarado to lead the Vatican’s communications office stands out for three major reasons.

🚨 ‘Predictable As Original Sin’: In San Diego, Hate Targets Another House Of Worship 🔌

After yet another deadly attack, the focus turns — once again — to protecting houses of worship. The shooting at a San Diego mosque hit close to home for a Jewish engineer more than 1,300 miles away.

🗳️ Even If Elected To Congress, These Pastors Plan To Remain In The Pulpit 🔌

Jackson Lahmeyer and Frederick D. Haynes III couldn’t be any more different politically. But both are pastors. Both are running for Congress. And both could win in November.

🚨 Religion Is Always In The Room: DC Shooting Proves It Once Again 🔌

In a ballroom surrounded by fellow Godbeat pros, our columnist immediately thought this when he learned of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting: There’ll be a religion angle. Why? There always is.

🍑 #RNA2026: Georgia — And The Rise Of Religion Newsletters — On My Mind 🔌

As Weekend Plug-in columnist Bobby Ross Jr. connects with fellow Godbeat pros in Atlanta, he highlights a trend he’s noticed — the rise of religion newsletters.

🚀 Love From The Moon: Artemis II Pilot Touts Jesus’ Greatest Command 🔌

As those who’ve followed Artemis II’s record 252,756-mile journey from Earth have discovered, faith is extremely important to Victor Glover, the moon mission’s pilot.

Christian Astronaut Pilots First Moon Mission In 53 Years

Two friends and brothers in Christ — Brent Hankins and Tracy Lamm — flew to Florida this week to witness the launch of humanity’s first lunar voyage in 53 years. Both had special reasons for doing so. Hankins serves as an elder of the Southeast Church of Christ in Texas, the congregation about six miles from NASA’s Space Center Houston that Artemis II pilot Victor Glover and his wife, Dionna, call home.

⚾️ Rituals, Miracles, Sacred Days: New Film Delves Into The Religion Of Baseball 🔌

A new documentary film “explores how baseball and faith intertwine in powerful and surprising ways.” It’s based on the 2013 book “Baseball as a Road to God: Seeing Beyond the Game” by former New York University President John Sexton.

🌎 Godbeat Globetrotting: 5 Memorable Moments In World Religion Reporting 🔌

Inevitably, international reporting trips produce a memorable moment, be it frightening, frantic or funny. Sometimes, the notable occurrence relates to the actual story. Other times, an indelible personal experience stands out.

Minnesota Churches Pray For Peace After Fatal ICE Shootings

Since December, the Department of Homeland Security has deployed about 3,000 federal agents to the state where Minnesotas’s Tim Walz — the 2024 running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris — serves as governor. Over that time, ICE agents have killed two people, unleashing violence and protests across Minneapolis.

Can Christians Report Fairly On Faith?: 25 Years On The Godbeat With Bobby Ross Jr.

On this week’s episode of the podcast, we sat down with Bobby Ross Jr. to discuss not only the news trends he anticipates in the year to come — but his career of 25 years covering faith through on-the-ground reporting in all 50 states and in 20 different countries.

✍️ After 61 Years, This Legend Still Hasn’t Missed A Beat On The Godbeat 🔌

“Why not keep busy?” That’s Richard Ostling’s response when asked why he’s still covering religion at age 85 — after six decades on the Godbeat.

Exhibit Honors Renowned Evangelist Who ‘Touched Tens Of Thousands Of Lives’

Nearly six decades after a renowned evangelist’s death, hundreds of Christians lined up at a Nashville, Tennessee, church — where the son of former slaves preached his first sermon in 1897 — to see a new exhibit honoring his legacy.

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