ABUJA – The militant African group Boko Haram has terrorized Nigerians for nearly 10 years, destroying churches, schools, and homes. The infamously mass murder entire villages of people before burning the villages to the ground. They have taken more than 3,000 women and schoolgirls captive and attempt to convert them to Islam. Those who refuse…
Richard Coleman stepping down as senior director of mobilization and candidacy to serve in Ethiopia NORCROSS, Ga.—A forthcoming leadership transition at missions agency TMS Global comes at a time when it is pursuing a heightened commitment to seeing more non-whites serving in world evangelization. After more than a decade recruiting others for service with the…
BANGKOK – Ardoon Sam-aon is a talented 14-year-old. He plays the piano and the guitar and participates in the youth program and praise team at Mae Sai Grace Church where he accepted Christ in March 2018. He has a 3.94 GPA as an eighth-grader at Ban Wiang Phan School. He is an avid volleyball and…
Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers warn of dangers of tobacco to help demonstrate that ‘God cares for the whole person’ WILLS POINT, Texas—June 2017, residents of a community in northern India pledged to make it tobacco-free following a health awareness drive by Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers. Carrying placards and handing out advisory leaflets about…
BEIJING – Chinese officials successfully closed and barred the doors of Beijing’s largest house church on July 8th, occupying it with ‘thugs’ to prevent members from entering. The closure is yet another in a growing list of moves by agents of the government to either gain oversight of or close Christian churches in China. The…
DHAKA – Imagine it is a rainy Sunday morning. You wake up, you consider the downpour, and you decide that the weather is too bad for anyone to go to church. And you are the pastor! Now imagine that you live in a country like Bangladesh and that it is the monsoon system, which it…
Using nationals to reach nationals, organization promotes evangelism and Bible distribution under stricter laws COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — As the Chinese government clarifies its religious beliefs policy, Bibles For The World (BFTW) President John Pudaite says his organization will focus on the urgent need for effective Scripture distribution while helping believers understand their religious rights. According to Pudaite,…
InChrist Communications adds Journity ‘digital engagement’ expertise, enhancing website visitors’ experiences to suite of services CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Christian marketing and public relations agency InChrist Communications (ICC) is partnering with internet engagement expert Journity to help faith-based clients improve the online engagement of website visitors — and their bottomline. ICC is adding Journity’s “digital engagement”…
HAMILTON, MA – The estimated total population in the world is between 7.3 and 7.6 billion people. (It’s hard to keep an exact count. The number keeps changing!) It is probably even more difficult to assess how many Christians there are and where they live. First, by the time a count is determined, it has…
Committee for Bible Translation reveals behind-the-scenes scholarship responsible for Biblica’s internationally loved New International Version COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Biblica, the copyright holder and global steward of the world’s most popular English translation of the Bible, is marking the 40th anniversary of its first publishing with a unique “open book” glimpse at its creation and…
ALGIERS – Idir Hamdad is a native Algerian. He was born into and raised in a Muslim home. In 2002, he and his family converted to Christianity which led to harassment from their neighbors. Islam is the state religion in Algeria, so conversion to any other religion is considered apostasy and is punishable by death….
‘Learn the Bible in a Year’ radio program offers response to Barna Group study showing downward trend in Bible literacy COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Bibles For The World (BFTW), a global ministry focused on reaching unreached peoples with the gospel in developing countries, is tackling a disturbing and growing trend — Bible illiteracy in the…
TEGUCIGALPA – With a total area of 43,433 square miles, it would seem that reaching everyone in a country of that size with the Gospel would be fairly easy. But then, the ability to reach people is not always defined by the square mileage in which they live. The Tolupan people, as seen in the…
HIROSHIMA – The death toll keeps rising by the in Hiroshima Prefecture and seven other prefectures in the south of Japan. More than two million people have been forced to evacuate after record rainfalls have inundated the area. The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that 14.3 inches of rain had fallen within a period of two…
Partner churches open their doors and find ‘new courage and boldness’ for evangelism as Mission Eurasia’s initiative ends amid religious freedom ban WHEATON, Ill. — Hundreds of churches in Russia are preparing to end an innovative World Cup 2018 outreach on a high note this week, despite opposition from authorities. As the world’s most popular…
HAVANA – Reports indicate that people are coming to Christ in Cuba in numbers rarely seen before. Lest we think that this is happening because of improved relationships between Cuba and the United States, we must remember that ministries from other countries have been working in Cuba for many years. The awakening that is happening…
COLORADO SPRINGS – The mission of Bibles For The World is to be a catalyst for individual and cultural change through Christ and the power of His Word. This means sharing the Good News of God’s love in Christ Jesus by ministering to unreached peoples, to the Church, and to Christian leaders in developing nations,…
VIENTIANE – The constitution of the nation of Laos guarantees its citizens freedom of religion. Specifically, it recognizes their “right and freedom to believe or not to believe in religion.” In addition, Laos is “a state party” to the seven core international human rights treaties under which they are obligated to “respect, protect, and fulfill…
MUMBAI – India Spend recently inteview Naina Lal Kidwai. Kidwai was the former head of HSBC in India, the first woman in India to become the head of a foreign bank in the country. She is the current vice-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Water. She was instrumental in founding the…
PORT AU PRINCE – Haiti is a popular country for short-term missions trips because its needs are great and it is a relatively short distance for small church groups. As the pastor of a church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, said, “We want to serve the Haitians with compassion and offer real hope.” That pretty well…
GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) have collaborated to publish a new manual of guidelines for a “faith-sensitive approach” by faith-based organizations (FBOs). The 88-page document outlines guidelines by the UN-affiliated Inter-Agency Standing Committee for acceptable approaches for FBOs offering humanitarian responses to people in need around the globe….
International Day for the Unreached organizers emphasize need for whole church to respond to Jesus’ Great Commission COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – United by a single goal, the champions of missions to the unreached follow a wide range of paths in taking the gospel to those who have yet to hear of Jesus. The breadth of…
LONDON – British MP (Member of Parliament), Fiona Bruce tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM 1478) on 03 July 2018 proposing that the UK develop better mechanisms for tracking incidents of religious persecution and that it develop “strategic action plans” to prevent the escalation of those incidents into “mass atrocities.” Further, the motion calls upon…
Hardly an American alive does not know something about Francis Scott Key. Most know him as the writer of our national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. Many may know that he wrote in while stranded on a ship in Baltimore harbor during the night-long attack on Fort McHenry, following which “our flag was still there!” Some…
It was a momentous day for the Apostle Peter. He declared his faith that Jesus is the Messiah. The moment after, Jesus starts talking about His upcoming suffering, death and resurrection. All of a sudden, the momentous day for Peter takes a turn. He tells Jesus that he’ll never allow that to happen. Jesus rebukes…
Millions of young viewers have found ‘unfailing hope’ through 24/7 network focused on region’s teens and children NASHVILLE—Christian media group SAT-7 marked a major milestone at “Proclaim 18,” the 75th annual National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) Convention—a decade of children’s broadcasting in the Middle East and North Africa, where churches may be outlawed and sharing the…
Troubled teen-turned-medical missionary aims to inspire others to trust God in new book chronicling her adventures in faith COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A reformed rebel with a taste for adventure is looking to inspire others to step out and make a difference in the world. Sharing some hair-raising stories from more than 35 years’ missionary service in…
With an evangelistic message embedded, a cacao tree-raising initiative offers a welcome economic boost to rural communities COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Missionaries in South America have come up with a novel way of encouraging people to respond to the Bible’s invitation to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” They have started a project growing cacao trees—the…
KENYA – Margaret Njuguna is a native of Kenya. She was fortunate to have received training that qualified her to work at the Kenyan and Ugandan offices of World Renew, the global relief ministry of the Christian Reformed Church. When she made it clear that she wanted to do “something more,” a co-worker urged her…
ITANAGAR, ARUNACHAL PRADESH – Pema Khandu, the BJP Chief Minister of India’s northeastern-most state, Arunachal Pradesh, announced on 28 June 2018 that he would move to repeal the state’s Freedom of Religion Act of 1978 when parliament enters into its next session. It is the Freedom of Religion act that contains the ban against “conversion…
JERUSALEM – The Jerusalem Post summed up the relationship between Israel and Syria saying “Jerusalem and Damascus have never had diplomatic relations and have been officially at war since Israel was established in 1948. In 1967 Israel took control of the 1,200 square kilometers of the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six Day War…
AMMAN – Leading the Way, the ministry founded by Dr. Michael Youssef, has been partnering with ministries to Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Leading the Way is supplying local pastors with Navigator audio bibles pre-loaded with an Arabic New Testament as well as dual language Arabic and English Leading the Way sermons. One local pastor said,…
COLORADO SPRINGS – You can almost hear his feet as they crunch the pebbles on the dirty street as he passes a man selling a birdcage to a customer. You can almost feel the quiet despair as they go about their daily routine of existence. What is missing in this picture is any appearance of…
WASHINGTON DC – Internationally-known evangelist Luis Palau is currently undergoing treatment for Stage 4 lung cancer. His ongoing treatment prevented him from attending the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast this week in Washington, D.C. Palau was honored at the event with the 2018 Esperanza Advocacy Award. This was the 16th annual National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast sponsored…
HCJB Ecuador, Reach Beyond’s media partner in Ecuador, plays major supporting role in rare theatrical release for faith-based drama challenging viewers to ‘make a change for good’ COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Missionary radio broadcaster HCJB Ecuador, partner of Reach Beyond, has supported efforts to use another medium to share the good news—helping bring a faith-based movie to…
FREETOWN – Pastor Alvin Smith arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1989 with a vision to evangelize and to build a local church ministry under the auspices of The Door World Outreach based in Tucson, Arizona. The West African nation was so poor at that time, it was ranked the second-poorest in the world. He…
SEOUL – One of the chief ministries of Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) is getting Bibles to nations where the Word of God is restricted. The ministry uses innovative means to place Bibles into the hands of people – in their own language – who would otherwise live their lives without ever reading the Good…
AGRA, UTTAR PRADESH – The Taj Mahal has long been synonymous with India. It has been the nation’s number one tourist attraction, attracting millions of visitors and generating an average of $4 million USD revenue per year for the government. It is now possible that the site may lose its international status as the spirit…
New leader arrives from senior executive role at partner Bible Society, inspired by ‘transforming hope of God’s Word’ COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Biblica, The International Bible Society, sponsor and copyright holder of the world’s bestselling English Bible, the New International Version, has announced the appointment of ministry leader Geof Morin as its new CEO. Currently…
WASHINGTON DC – The Pew Research Center has released its comprehensive annual report on religious restrictions around the globe. The report compares restrictions in 2016 with previous years across two distinct categories: government-imposed restrictions and societal hostilities. More than a quarter (28%) of the 198 countries included in the research were identified as having either…
GENEVA – “Wars, other violence, and persecution drove worldwide forced displacement to a new high in 2017 for the fifth year in a row, according to UNHCR’s annual Global Trends report, released on 19 June 2018. The report showed that 68.5 million people were displaced as of the end of 2017. Overwhelmingly it is developing…
JERUSALEM – Drought and water shortages are plaguing nations all around the world. Blame it on whatever you choose, the need to provide adequate amounts of clean, sweet, potable water must be addressed before the local and regional water crises become a global, life-threatening crisis. Israel faces a potential crisis as the Sea of Galilee,…
Imagine a country where you had to keep your faith silent for fear of being arrested. There are many people living in countries throughout the world that face this threat. Afghanistan is one of them. There are no churches, but mosques can be found on every street corner in the rugged and mountainous terrain of…
JERUSALEM – On the tenth anniversary of the first GAFCON (Global Anglican Future Conference), nearly 2,000 attendees met in Jerusalem, the site of the original GAFCON. The theme of the conference was “Proclaiming Christ Faithfully to the Nations.” GAFCON works to guard and proclaim the unchanging, transforming Gospel through biblically faithful preaching and teaching which…
WILLS POINT, Texas – The United Nations has set aside June 23rd of each year as International Widows Day “as an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows. According to the UN, “It has been estimated that there are some 258 million widows around the world, with over 115 million of…
SENAU, ARUNACHAL PRADESH – Members of the Believer’s Eastern Church in Senua reached out to help about 30 widows living in the village on International Widows Day, What the church did was quite unusual, at least for westerners, yet deeply appreciated by the recipients. The Senua BEC regularly looks after the needs of widows with…
One of the widows touched by Gospel for Asia-supported teams’ help-and-hope visits speaks of her ‘beautiful house’ made possible by simple donation WILLS POINT, Texas—The message of God’s sheltering love for the destitute and disenfranchised was spelled out practically with tin sheets and umbrellas when Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported teams reached out to some of…
Imagine this: You have a teenage daughter who is brutally raped by a young man. After she tells you what happens, he kills her. Between May 5 to May 13, three Indian girls were raped and burned alive. The first victim was kidnapped by a group of men in Jharkhand while her parents were at…
CBN broadcast spurs support for David Howell’s mission to ‘transform lives and close prisons;’ produces tearful personal encounter. HOUSTON—A reformed businessman’s ambitious plan to bring revival to America’s prisons through a simple graphic-style book has been given a major boost with national exposure for his unusual outreach. The success of David Howell’s How to Be a Child…
GFA (Gospel for Asia) highlights need for more toilets to cut avoidable death toll, in first of challenging series looking at major social issues. WILLS POINT, Texas—Missionary organization Gospel for Asia (GFA) is calling attention to a usually ignored, delicate subject at the heart of much of its caring work—a lack of toilets. In the…
