Palace of Justice, Putrajaya, Malaysia KUCHING, Sarawak, Malaysia – The recent refusal of the Malaysian Federal Court to hear the appeals of four Christian converts to have their Christian names and religion on their government IDs left the world wondering what the plaintiffs would do. As it turns out, they may on have to wait…
CAIRO – Egyptian government officials recently granted a “first block” of licenses for 53 churches that had been awaiting approval. Some sources praised the progress of the government in addressing the licensing procedure that was drafted into law in August 2016. Others, primarily representatives of rural churches, decried the government’s lack of acceptable progress. The…
NEW YORK – With World Water Day approaching (March 22), Islands of Peace announced this morning that it has formed alliances with EcoloBlue and Infinity Concepts that will help to advance the organization’s Water from the Air Project. History has proven that tension, turmoil, conflict, and even war can arise out of a lack of…
PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Prime Minister Peter O’Neill declared a state of emergency on 01 March after the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea were hit by a massive, 7.5 magnitude earthquake on 26 February. Aid workers from Australia, New Zealand, China, Israel, and other countries around the globe have been rushing to…
WILLS POINT, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) has published an authoritative article about the seemingly endless global problem of violence against women. The euphemism of “domestic violence” used in America does not begin to describe the depth of persecution that women suffer in many other countries around the world. For many women, “the greatest…
Syrian Christians are part of one of the oldest churches in the world. They used to be one of the major political forces in Syria , until ISIS started coming after Christians because they believe in an all Islamic state, also known as a Caliphate. BBC explains, “The founder of the Baath Party, which has ruled…
AHMEDABAD – The United Nations’ World Water Report for 2015 said, “Problems of poverty are, on most occasions, inextricably linked with those of water – its availability, its proximity, its quantity, and its quality.” Piramal Sarvajal is a mission-driven social enterprise dedicated designing, manufacturing and providing clean, safe sources of drinking water for communities across…
KOLKATA – Air India has launched a series of events aimed to salute to International Women’s Day. Today, 04 March 2018, the airline announced that it had operated its Kolkata-Dimpur-Kolkata flight with an all-female crew, including flight attendants, pilot, and co-pilot. Captain Akanksha Verma and Captain Satovia Banerjee piloted the Airbus 319 on Flight AI709….
KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The government of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued a statement this week to draw attention to a new form of child exploitation that has been emerging and growing in Southeast Asia. The Australian government announcement “discourages short-term, unskilled volunteering orphanages (overseas).” The problem is not with…
NICOSIA, Cyprus (28 February 2018) – The vision of SAT-7 International is “to see a growing Church in the Middle East and North Africa, confident in Christian faith and witness, serving the community and contributing to the good of society and culture.” The seeds of the ministry that would become SAT-7 International were sown in…
NASHVILLE – Dr. Billy Kim and evangelist Luis Palau were honored at the opening of the National Religious Broadcasters annual convention in Nashville. The two renowned and highly-respected preachers were co-inductees into the NRB Hall of Fame. The two join a list of a veritable “Who’s Who” in Christian broadcasting that includes Ray Ortmund, Chuck…
BRUSSELS – The European Parliament warned Pakistan last week that the renewal of its favored status trade deal would be dependent upon the government’s release of a woman, Asia Bibi, who has been held on death row on a blasphemy case since 2010. Prior to adjournment, however, the parliament voted to continue to extend economic…
COLORADO SPRINGS – Jim Downing, known as Navigator #6, was one of the first military men led to the Lord by Navigators founder, Dawson Trotman. Downing was on assignment at Pearl Harbor in 1941 when the Japanese attacked six U.S. bases there on Sunday morning, December 7th. Despite fighting raging fires aboard the USS Nevada…
NASHVILLE – The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) will hold its 75th Annual International Christian Media Convention this week at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville. The event provides opportunities to engage, edify and equip thousands involved in the broad spectrum of Christian media. The theme of the convention is “Proclaim 18.” The…
KUCHING, Sarawak, Malaysia – The Malaysian Federal Court failed to rule on an appeal by four Christians who have requested their names and religious faith be changed on their national identification documents. (See “4 Christian Converts in Landmark Case in Malaysia’s Federal Court.”) According to those official IDs, they are “still Muslims on paper.” Malaysia…
CAPE TOWN (28 February 2018) – For the second time in a month, the feared Day Zero for the water supply for Cape Town has been moved back. In our previous article on the South African water crisis published on February 16, we reported that Day Zero – the day when Cape Town would no…
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Steven Goldstein announced to that the United States embassy will open in Jerusalem on May 14 this year as the nation of Israel celebrates its 70th anniversary. Moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was a campaign promise made by presidential candidate Donald Trump….
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia – The lawyer for four Christian converts will plead their case to be allowed to be Christians under Malaysian law. The case will be heard in Federal Court in Putrajaya on Monday, February 26th. The outcome of this case could become precedent for Malaysians wishing to convert out of Islam in a country…
HOUSTON, Texas – Mobile Medical Missions (M3) is holding its third annual Mobilizing Medical Missions Conference at Lakewood Church on Friday and Saturday, February 23rd and 24th. Some 1,500 people are expected to attend the two-day event that features more than 30 speakers who serve with organizations such as Samaritan’s Purse, Health Outreach to the…
On Sunday, members of a Russian Orthodox church were celebrating the start of Lent when a gunman opened fire on the congregation. Fox News reports, “The shooting unfolded outside a church in Kizlyar, a town of about 50,000 people on the border with Chechnya. The Russian news agency TASS cited Svetlana Petrenko of the Investigative…
In October 1967, Richard Wurmbrand wrote a book called Tortured for Christ, which marked the beginning of Voice of the Martyrs, a ministry which seeks to equip those who are persecuted to share Christ’s love with those around them. Tortured for Christ is the account of Wurmbrand’s life in Communist Romania at the time of…
WILLS POINT, Texas – Gospel for Asia (GFA) is drawing attention to the United Nations’ 11th Annual World Day of Social Justice (WDOSJ) during February, 2018 by producing a Special Report: Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights Wherever Poverty and Oppression Exist. The theme of the WDOSJ this year is “Workers on the Move: The…
NASHVILLE – Getty Music, OMF International, International Justice Mission, and Blue Letter Bible are joining together to promote the 3rd Annual Gospel Hymn Sing on Sunday, February 25, 2018. The theme and hymn this year is “Jesus Shall Reign.” The annual event, an attempt to help evangelicals understand the need to reach over two billion…
KENAI, Alaska – In partnership with local Russian evangelical churches, SOAR International is planning to distribute Easter gift baskets to orphaned children in Far Eastern Russia in Communities across the Bering Sea from Nome, Alaska. SOAR (Service & Outreach Alaska to Russia) began its ministries to Russian in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, but now has…
HULENE, MAPUTO, Mozambique – At least 17 people died, and numerous others are missing following the collapse of garbage landfill in Mozambique. Many of the dead had been residing in a slum village at the lower perimeter of the garbage pile that is three-stories tall. Early reports include accounts of failed attempts to close the…
CHENNAI, INDIA – They work in brick kilns, quarries, fisheries, fields, forests, and factories. They look like any other laborers. But they are different. They are slave labor. According to an International Justice Mission (IJM) Fact Sheet, 40.3 million people are held as forced-labor slaves around the world. Twenty-five percent are children. Nearly half of…
“I have one message: that Jesus Christ came, he died on a cross, he rose again, and he asked us to repent of our sins and receive him by faith as Lord and Savior, and if we do, we have forgiveness of all of our sins.” MONTREAT, North Carolina – Dr. Billy Graham died this…
GRAND RAPIDS – Formerly known as Childen’s Bible Hour, Keys for Kids has, among its other ministries, reached out to children in 161 countries via Radio. Keys for Kids Radio provides “the best Christian kids’ music and programs available anywhere online and all in one place.” It is often difficult to comprehend the effectiveness of…
HERAT, Afghanistan – “HALO works with countries emerging from conflict, securing weapons and disposing of unexploded ammunition. It paves the way for infrastructure to enable economic development and it underpins international stability and security. By hiring men and women from the mine-impacted communities, HALO’s approach directly lifts our staff’s extended families and communities out of…
MAINZ, Germany – February 23, 2018, is the 563rd anniversary of the first printing of the Gutenberg Bible, marking one of the most significant technological achievements of all time. Many people think that the Bible was the first product of Gutenberg’s work. Yet others believe that Gutenberg invented the printing press. Neither of these is…
NEW YORK – Emmy-winning correspondent for ABC News, Linsey Davis wanted to help her young son understand and be thankful for the bounty of God’s blessings in our everyday life. Her quest resulted in writing her first children’s book, The World Is Awake, A celebration of everyday blessings. The inspiration for the book came from…
CALCUTTA – A crowd of an estimated 70,000 attended an anti-terrorism, pro-Israel rally in Calcutta on February 15th. Speakers discussed a range of topics that centered on the problem of recent Iranian terrorism against Israel, citing is as an indication of things to come as Islamic terrorists are increasing acts of aggression in India, especially…
QARAQOSH, Iraq – If home is where the heart is, what happens when you are forced to leave your home, then return to find it destroyed? That is what has happened to Christians under siege in Iraq returning to their homes in Qaraqosh on the Plains of Nineveh in the aftermath of the conflict with…
DECATUR, Georgia – MedShare was founded in 1998 when two men realized that a large amount of discarded medical supplies and equipment available could be used for the critical healthcare needs of medically underserved populations. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Medical Surplus Recovery Organization (MSRO) that now serves people…
CAPE TOWN (13 February 2018) – The South African government today declared the three-year drought and the subsequent water crisis a national disaster. Rainfall this week raised a glimmer of hope for a nation of people who have been facing an impending ‘Day Zero.’ That is the day the city’s water taps are predicted to…
On Feb. 7, more than 300 children in South Sudan were released from being child soldiers. Al Jazeera news network reports, “The 311 children, including 87 girls, will now begin reintegrating into their communities, the UN mission in the country (UNMISS) said in a statement on Wednesday.” These children lost their innocence at a very…
SANFORD, Florida – The acclaimed apologist and distinguished defender of the faith, Dr. R.C. Sproul, has gone home to meet the Lord whom he loves and served for more than 60 years. He passed away just two months shy of his 78th birthday. Perhaps best known for establishing Ligonier Ministries, he was gifted with a…
David Cox, a Scottish football player, has been taunted by both fans and fellow players for revealing his battle with depression. The Scotsman reports, “David Cox, who plays for League Two side Cowdenbeath, said he had been called a ‘psycho’ and taunted about ‘slitting his wrists’ during matches.” David Cox has reported the cases to…
LOVES PARK, Illinois – Eric Mock of the Slavik Gospel Association (SGA) was in far southeastern Russia for Christmas. Not December 25th, but January 7th, when Russians celebrate the birth of Christ. Mock attended a Christmas Day program for children in a small church in Khabarovsk near the Chinese border. His visit was coordinated as…
ORLANDO – Wycliffe Bible Translators USA has launched a new program, “A Call to Community.” A Wycliffe spokesperson explained, “We want to see ourselves—our very lives—reflect the liberating truth and grace that we have in Jesus Christ. And, as we step into that and respond in ways that reflect that grace, I believe that the…
The Rohingya who escaped to Bangladesh to flee violence from the military are being deported and sent back to Myanmar in the next two years. According to BBC, “Myanmar has agreed to accept 1,500 Rohingya each week, Bangladesh says, adding that it aims to return all of them to Myanmar within two years.” The United…
NEW JERSEY – A U.S. District Judge has issued a temporary restraining order preventing a group of Indonesians currently in the United States and scheduled for deportation time to legally fight their deportation. The ruling was granted following a lawsuit initiated by the ACLU. The Indonesians, who are currently “on release,” have sought relief because…
Sudan is ranked as one of the top five countries in which Christians face the most significant persecution. The war-torn country has been named “A Country of Particular Concern” by the U.S. State Department since 1999 due to the persecution of Christians and widespread human rights issues. After South Sudan seceded in 2011 after one…
KATMANDU – At four minutes before noon on April 25, 2015, Nepal was hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake with its epicenter about 48 miles northwest of the capital city of Katmandu. It was the worst natural disaster to hit Nepal in more than 80 years and the deadliest day in the region’s recorded history….
PHOENIX, Arizona – Just when they thought that they had established church planting efforts in all of the unreached groups in Zimbabwe, leaders of the global missions group, ZimZam, attended a Finishing the Task conference sponsored by the Alliance for the Unreached. ZimZam was established with a vision “to see every people group in the…
HOLLAND – Corniela “Corry” van der Bijl, the wife of the renowned “Bible Smuggler,” Andrew van der Bijl, passed away on January 23m 2018, at the age of 86. She had been the faithful companion of the man the world knew as Brother Andrew for 59 years. The ministry of what is now Open Doors…
Nursing homes have become a new mission field in China. Traditionally, the Chinese people have considered that placing elderly people in nursing homes indicates that their children are failing to support their aging parents. However, with a changing demography and the growing Chinese economy, “senior care services are called ‘a sunrise industry serving the elderly…
Texas-based nonprofit GFA (Gospel for Asia) constructs more than 10,000 toilets and sanitation facilities throughout Asia. Open defecation, though rarely addressed, is still a pressing issue for those living below the poverty line in Asia. According to the World Health Organization, over 650 million people in India alone do not have access to a toilet….
ORLANDO – Pioneers, a global missionary outreach ministry, was established in 1979 by Ted Fletcher, former National Sales Manager for the Wall Street Journal, and his wife, Peggy. That same year, Pioneers supported its first missionary, Ruth Wright, in Nigeria. In 1980 Pioneers sent its first missions team to Papua New Guinea. Along the way,…
HOLLAND, Michigan – Audio Scripture Ministries (ASM) records and distributes audio Bibles to indigenous people in oral cultures. Because many of these people don’t or can’t read, ASM records the Scriptures in their native languages so they may hear the message of God’s love. In India alone, where 60 percent of the 1.2 billion people…
