LONDON – Missions Box News reported on December 28, 2018, that British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had ordered a review into the escalation of persecution of Christians around the world. The task was assigned to the Anglican Archbishop of Truro. The complete report was originally scheduled to be released in time for Easter Sunday. However,…
VENEZUELA – This week Venezuela woke up to the news of a civic and military uprising led by opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by over 50 countries as Venezuela’s legitimate interim president. They called it Operation Liberty, a movement to remove the discredited president Nicolás Maduro from power. Chaos and uncertainty spread through the streets…
Samaritan’s Purse is helping to meet the overwhelming physical and spiritual needs of thousands of migrants, Venezuelans in crisis who are daily entering Colombia. This may be the largest migrant crisis in Latin American history, and they’re offering relief from multiple locations—providing overnight shelter, hygiene kits, food, and primary medical care. As they serve, they…
BATTICALOA – Sunday morning, April 21, 2019. Ramesh Raju, his wife, and two children arose from their night’s rest in anticipation of the special services at church that morning. It is something they did every Sunday. But this Sunday was different. It was Easter. They would be remembering Jesus giving His life to save many…
WASHINGTON — With its particular focus on China’s oppression of religious and human rights, an independent watchdog group has decried in its annual report the state of religious freedom across the globe. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan organization created 20 years ago, concludes in its Monday (April 29) report that “innumerable…
WASHINGTON, DC – May 1st and 2nd are inextricably conjoined in 2019 as the former is Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah) and the latter is the National Day of Prayer. The two days do not often adjoin or overlap. Holocaust Remembrance Day is scheduled according to the Hebrew calendar on the 27th day of the…
FORT WASHINGTON, PA – Operation World (OW) is an organization of Evangelical Believers that provides information for Christians along with a “definitive prayer guide to every nation.” While OW strives to maintain the latest, up-to-the-minute data, it recognizes that is an impossible task. The entire world would have to come to a standstill for any…
WASHINGTON, DC – A recently-released Gallup Poll has revealed what most of us have already assumed. Church attendance in America has been declining. It’s something that we can individually perceive, but it takes an organization like Gallup to quantify. The report combines the results of surveys taken over multiple years as far back as 1938…
CÚCUTA, COLOMBIA — Cúcuta, Colombia, is a beautiful, quiet city, surrounded by mountains and lined with palm trees. Its joyful and passionate residents love their “small town” (with a population of approximately 800,000). While Cúcuta has a rich and complex history — including being recognized as the area where Colombia was born — it has…
Devastation rocked Sri Lanka Easter weekend as bombs detonated around the country, killing nearly 300 people. The latest figures report around 500 people injured in the blasts. Terrorists targeted multiple churches and tourist destinations. According to NBC News, blasts occurred at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo; St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a Catholic majority town north…
WASHINGTON DC – April 22, 2019 marks the 155th anniversary of the Act of Congress that established the phrase ‘In God We Trust’ to be minted on the coinage of the United States of America. Many devout Christians petitioned the federal government during the American Civil War asking that Congress create a slogan that emphasized…
LONDON – On April 14, 2019, BBC Local Radio released the results of a recent survey of British adults to determine their views on the meaning of Easter and forgiveness. The results were disturbing. Only 46% of those professing Christians surveyed believe that “Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected at Easter so they…
STOCKHOLM – Mention the words “immigration” or “asylum” and the average American’s thoughts turn to our southern border. The issues are so controversial in the U.S. that we tend to think that we are the only country in the world restricting immigration and that the refugees at our border are the only ones finding borders…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) – Discussing the global water crisis. It amazes me when I ponder some of the things that we take for granted. Especially when they are things upon which our very lives depend. Things like water.I don’t think it would be hyperbole to say that the vast majority…
MOUNT STERLING, OH – Missions Box News serves primarily to connect the church in the West to news of what God is doing through nonprofits around the world. Sometimes we share the work of specific FBOs; other times we may offer insights into situations of international concern that may hinder or help the spread of…
RALEIGH, NC – “Praise God! My first of a month of daily radiation treatments went extremely well today. My greatest concern has been for my heart and lung to be protected. Psalm 73:26 was in this morning’s Daily Light: ”God is the strength of my heart” – I have claimed this as His promise to…
‘Light the Fire Again’ gathering in Pensacola, Florida – site of historic 1990s Brownsville Revival – ready to ‘celebrate history and make history’ PENSACOLA, FL — Leaders of the biggest charismatic revival movement in modern times are planning for a fresh move of the Holy Spirit this fall – 25 years after a series of powerful…
SANAA, Yemen – We live in an age filled with “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6) – an era where men speak of “‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14). However, embraced by a culture steeped in self-gratification, the preference of many is to relax in comfort while multiple millions of people…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report on the global clean water crisis: Discussing the crucial quest for access to clean drinking water. The widespread lack of clean water is a crisis we can’t ignore. The statistics are mind-numbing. 502,000 people die each year from diarrhea—caused by unsafe drinking water.[1] 2.1 billion…
PAMPLONA, Columbia – Operation Blessing has provided relief to millions of people in 90 different countries and all 50 of the United States over the past 41 years. Founded in 1978 by Pat Robertson, the faith-based NGO provides aid in areas where people’s lives are threatened by poverty, disasters, and persecution. Like similar faith-based organizations…
ANAHEIM – The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) is preparing to present its annual Proclaim convention and exposition on March 26-29. The four-day event will bring together thousands of Christian ministry and media professionals at the Anaheim Convention Center. This year’s event will include a celebration of the National Religious Broadcasters’ 75th Anniversary. The association was…
CARACAS – Venezuela is a country of extreme contrasts. First-time visitors flying into the capital city of Caracas are often surprised to land at the airport at sea level on the southern edge of the Caribbean only to discover that their ride into the city will take them to an elevation of 3,000 feet within…
ABIDJAN, COTE D’IVOIRE, Feb. 22, 2019 — More than 50,000 people in West Africa gathered this past weekend (Feb. 15-17, 2019) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire for a 3-day evangelistic festival with evangelist Andrew Palau. Led by the Luis Palau Association, the week-long campaign was the culmination of more than three years of work in Cote d’Ivoire,…
COLORADO SPRINGS – The initial mission of Entrust when it was founded 40 years ago in 1979 was to train Christians behind the Iron Curtain for ministry leadership roles based on the model given by Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2. “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the…
EL SALVADOR – In many ways, the San Francisco Gotera prison in El Salvador is like many others in Latin America. Nearly all of the inmates are members of rival gangs including the infamous MS-13. The prison has 1,600 inmates housed in a facility designed to hold 200. Tattoos of skulls, gang logos, and demonic…
Venezuela Crisis — “The political unrest is creating a humanitarian crisis. One of our partners on the ground said it’s the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world right now.” Venezuela is facing the biggest economic crisis in modern history with hyperinflation, leading to starvation, deaths and mass migration. The U.S. announced Saturday that USAID will be sending…
Prestigious $500,000 AMH Gerson L’Chaim Prize presented to SIM Missionary Dr. Rick Sacra will help extend and expand SIM’s healthcare ministry in impoverished Liberia NEW YORK, NY — An American missionary doctor who risked his life at the height of Liberia’s 2014 Ebola crisis, and has spent more than 20 years doing medical missionary service…
COLORADO SPRINGS – The Board of the Christian and Missionary Alliance recently published its 2018 Impact Report. The Alliance, founded over 130 years ago by A.B. Simpson, continues to express the love of Jesus Christ by sharing His Gospel with those who have yet to hear the Good News. Dr. John Stumbo, C&MA President describes…
STRASBOURG – The European Court of Human Rights has rendered a judgment against Turkey in the case of Altınkaynak and Others v. Turkey. The court ruled that Turkey had violated the rights of a group of Seventh Day Adventists in 2004 when they attempted to register their religious foundation. Although Turkey ratified the European Convention…
TUCKER, GA – The Ambassadors for Christ ministry began in 1948 as the fruition of the vision of Australian evangelist John Ridley to raise up Christian leaders who would establish churches “to penetrate Australia’s secular society.” Today, the ministry reaches into 22 countries on six continents. As the impact of the ministry, then known as…
Due to Geopolitics and the Declining Economy, Venezuela Finds Itself in the Middle of a Hunger Crisis FOREST, Va. — Venezuela was once considered the wealthiest country in South America. Today, however, growing discontent due to power cuts, food and medicine shortages, the plunging price of oil and political upheaval, has left this nation in…
WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report – Discussing the misunderstandings and social stigma of leprosy that keep it alive, despite being a curable worldwide problem. Leprosy. For many, a cloud of mystery, fear and shame surrounds this disease. It’s a disease that destroys nerves and deadens limbs to sensations of touch…
When Christians read reports from nations in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia some may wonder why missionaries have not reached out to the unreached long ago. We can easily operate on a false assumption that the current number of unreached and underserved is an indicator of the past failure of others to go and…
SONORA – Had I not known better, I would have thought that the story I was reading in the Calvary Chapel Magazine was about a ministry in South Asia. Being evangelical is considered turning on one’s own culture and family traditions, and people make fun of those who profess Christ. Many people, especially men and…
DAVOS – Three thousand world leaders are expected to meet at the World Economic Forum in this Swiss community from January 22nd through the 25th. The theme of this year’s forum is “Trust: The world’s currency.” Immediately preceding the event, Oxfam released a 40-page research report entitled “Public Good or Private Wealth.” Oxfam is an…
Religious freedom, i.e., the separation of church and state appears to be gaining greater legal standing around the globe. Yet, according to the latest Open Doors World Watch List, persecution of Christians is on the rise. Christians are not the only ones being persecuted. People of any faith who are in the minority are increasingly…
GAFFNEY, SC – The closure, censure, and prohibition of churches, whether as congregations or as church buildings has become a regular theme in news from countries around the world. It is reasonable to expect the trend to continue and, eventually, to overflow into the home of the free and the brave. This writer, having once…
Contrary to popular belief among many Americans, radio is not a relic of the past. Once again, we are victims of our own isolation and our preoccupation with the ever-emerging technologies that seem to have relegated radio to the recollection of retirees. Then, there is the virtual demise of the once ubiquitous Radio Shack. The…
VIENNA – January 2019 is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. According to the United Nations 2018 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons released this month, human trafficking has “taken on horrific dimensions.” The report, which compiles data from 142 countries, was published in two booklets. The first is typical of the annual report from a global…
A Special Report published in February 2018 by Gospel for Asia (GFA) revealed that more than 40 million people around the world are currently living in some form of slavery. The report added that 25 million of those are enslaved in Asia and the Pacific. Seeking Justice and Defending Human Rights Wherever Poverty and Oppression…
Dr. Rick Sacra, recipient of 2018 AMH Gerson L’Chaim Prize, can tell of what inspired him to risk his life to serve others at awards celebration dinner, Jan. 31 in NYC CHARLOTTE, NC — The bravery of an American missionary doctor who risked his life to help others during an Ebola crisis in Liberia, West…
WARRENTON, MO — The need has never been greater for children to hear biblical truth and recognize the Bible for what it is—even children in church. Americans view of the Bible has shifted substantially in recent years, and the church is not immune. According to the Barna Group, “Millennials are half as likely as Elders to…
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the leading cause of death in the world in 2018 claimed the lives of 42 million people. That’s more than the number who died from cancer, malaria, HIV/AIDS, smoking, alcohol, and traffic accidents combined. Worldometers estimates that there was a total of 59 million deaths globally during the…
AMSTERDAM – Although relatively unknown to Americans, Leo Habets was a leader among evangelicals in Europe. He passed from this life into the presence of Jesus, the Savior whom he served, on Wednesday, January 2nd. Habets was 70 years old. He succumbed to a two-year battle with colon cancer. He is survived by his wife,…
For many Americans, Christmas is the “most wonderful time of the year” — but that’s not the reality for millions of refugees living in overcrowded displacement camps across the Middle East. Vernon Brewer, founder and CEO of the Christian humanitarian organization World Help, recently traveled to refugee camps near the Jordan-Syria border to deliver aid…
It has been said that Americans think everyone in the world has access to a copy of the Bible. It would be nice if everyone did. The truth is that millions of people have no access to Bibles—the most important thing they need. One of the first lessons that the Lord taught the children of…
‘FEBC Today’ reaches 400 stations, millions of listeners with news of how international broadcast ministry continues to take gospel to unreached communities around the world LA MIRADA, Calif. — Missionary radio broadcaster FEBC (Far East Broadcasting Company) has reached another media milestone as a 400th North American Christian station adds the inspiring FEBC Today show to its lineup….
CHENGDU – Last week Chinese authorities detained Pastor Wang Yi and 100 members of the Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, Szechuan, China.Bob Fu, the president of ChinaAid, said that “the massive overnight attack . . . represents a major escalation of religious persecution in China.”Former U.S. Senator and current U.S. Ambassador at Large for…
MOZAMBIQUE – When a young African boy saw the unguarded cell phone, he knew it might be his only chance to ever have one. It is doubtful that he even knew how to use one. Imagine his surprise when he played with the buttons and discovered that what he had taken was not a cell…
WILLS POINT, TX – It is important for Christians to understand the concepts of human rights and social justice from the popular global perspective and in the light of the Word of God. It is, in fact, our responsibility to do so because the popular worldview and the Biblical worldview are not the same. The…
