MADAGASCAR — A YWAM medical ship has set sail from the North Wales coast to Madagascar where its crew will provide vital medical treatment to those in desperate need. GNA reporter Peter Wooding went on board the Island Reach to find out more about their journey and mission to the South East African coast. A…
BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse has completed more than 210 helicopter and fixed-wing missions to deliver emergency relief supplies to some of the most isolated and hard-hit areas of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee in response to Hurricane Helene—with more airlifts going out every day. From small helicopters to Black Hawks to Chinooks, capable…
MIDDLE EAST — As the war in the Middle East continues to escalate, Christian ministry Help The Persecuted is launching an urgent appeal to enable their team on the ground in Lebanon to provide safe shelter, urgent food supplies and pastoral support to some of the one million displaced people who have fled the fighting…
BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse has begun emergency airlift operations in western North Carolina to help people who have been cut off from access to basic necessities due to infrastructure damage caused by Hurricane Helene. The international Christian relief organization has also deployed an Emergency Field Hospital to assist Cannon Memorial Hospital in Avery County,…
SPRINGFIELD, MO — Convoy of Hope teams are in North Carolina and Florida, where Hurricane Helene made landfall last week as a Category 4 storm. Disaster response teams have already staged numerous distributions for survivors, providing them with food, water, hygiene kits, cleaning supplies and tarps. Additional truckloads of supplies are being sent from Convoy’s…
BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse is responding to overwhelming needs in Western North Carolina, Eastern Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida following the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene. The Category 4 storm made its historic landfall with 140mph winds along Florida’s Big Bend region on Thursday night leaving an enormous path of destruction that flattened homes and…
BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse is responding to south central Louisiana after Hurricane Francine rapidly intensified into a category 2 hurricane unleashing 100mph winds and heavy rainfall on coastal communities. Today, a Disaster Relief Unit—a tractor-trailer filled with tools and equipment—is on the way to south central Louisiana where strong winds downed trees and extensive…
NIGERIA — Christmas 2023 saw many largely Christian villages in Nigeria’s Middle Belt attacked by militant Fulani herdsmen. Magdalene* and Mafulul* recount their painful stories – but also God’s healing through trauma-care workshops run by Open Doors partners. Mafulul*: “By 5pm the attackers came. They started shooting everywhere. “My wife had just finished cooking. I…
ORLANDO, FL — Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, has developed and launched an app for iOS and Android that brings the Bible’s New Testament to life through seven sign languages used in the African nations of Benin, Cameroon-Anglo, Côte…
AFGHANISTAN — Abraham is a chair of a displacement camp in Nigeria. He and his family have been there for three years, ever since their village was devastated by a Fulani militant attack that killed eight people, including his brother. Neglected by the authorities, food at the camp is scarce and conditions are awful, but…
AFRICA — A 14-year-old girl from Sierra Leone is free to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor after having a benign facial tumour surgery by international health charity, Mercy Ships. Without the timely surgery, the tumour would have continued to grow to the point of causing airway obstructions, and ultimately, death by suffocation. Lucy:…
MOROCCO, NORTH AFRICA —The church in North Africa is growing, with increasing numbers of people giving their lives to Jesus. But many are forced to keep their newfound faith secret because of the risk of persecution – people like Elmahdi* from Morocco. *Name changed for security purposes. Stock footage from Artlist / Pexels. Like many…
AFGHANISTAN —Afghanistan’s Christians have to keep their faith secret. If the Taliban find out, the Christian could be killed – as Khada (name changed) found out. Khada*: In the shadow of the Taliban’s rule, life in Afghanistan is very difficult. Yet, anchored by our strong faith, we press on through the storm. We have to…
MEXICO—Mauricio* was brought up to follow the traditional customs of his indigenous community in Chiapas, Mexico. So when he became a Christian in Mexico, he experienced discrimination in his community. Thanks to local Open Doors partners, Mauricio is being supported by a lawyer who has helped him to regain his standing in the village and…
BIRMINGHAM, AL — Church of the Highlands is celebrating the joy of volunteering as 22,309 people spent their weekend Saturday helping others in the community. The church’s annual Serve Day, held July 13, coordinated 141,054 hours of volunteer service bringing people encouragement and hope. This year, Serve Day also included a new national partnership to…
AFRICA — London-based Christian Surgeon, Mr Leo Cheng, received an Honorary Fellowship from Cardiff University on 15th July for over twenty years of voluntary service to the international health charity, Mercy Ships. Mr Cheng has used his annual leave to serve on board the Anastasis, the Africa Mercy and Global Mercy once or twice a…
LANCASTER, PA — Viewpoint, the acclaimed educational program hosted by celebrated actor Dennis Quaid, is pleased to announce a new collaboration with Global Disciples for an insightful segment focused on sustainable and reproducible training resources for churches in areas of the world least-reached with the gospel. The segment is set to film in July 2024…
VIETNAM— Thirty years ago, Pastor Barnabas* set up a secret Bible school in Vietnam with the help of Open Doors partners. Since then, he’s helped to train thousands of Christians in Vietnam who have gone on to share the gospel in their communities! Pastor Barnabas* – name changed for security reasons: I don’t have any…
KENYA — While many of Kenya’s most remote communities have little access to electricity Christian radio station Lulu FM is helping them to access the power of the Word of God and the Gospel through distributing solar powered radios. Kenya based Christian radio station Lulu FM is on a mission to expand the reach of…
BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse sent a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) along with more than 24 tons of life-saving supplies to the Caribbean. The N.C.-based organization stood up an Incident Management Team over the weekend as Hurricane Beryl began to strengthen, preparing to respond to the storm. Less than 24 hours after the hurricane…
BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse is responding to Southeast Texas after Hurricane Beryl unleashed a barrage of severe weather with damaging wind gusts and torrential rainfall that claimed at least 8 lives and inundated communities. Today, a Disaster Relief Unit—a tractor-trailer filled with tools and equipment—is on the way to Brazoria County, Texas where the…
TEESSIDE, ENGLAND — Several years of prayer and preparation led to more than 70 churches from throughout Northeast England coming together for Festival Teesside with Andrew Palau earlier this month. In an effort that can only be described as historic for the region, this evangelistic festival, along with more than a dozen surrounding events, is…
FORT WORTH, TX — EEM (Eastern European Mission) successfully concluded its annual Bibles for Kids campaign yesterday to fund printing and distribution of more than 570,000 children and teen Bibles free for young souls across Eastern Europe and beyond. This brings the total over the last three years to more than 1.7 million Bibles in…
BOONE, NC — Samaritan’s Purse has launched its third emergency relief flight to the Caribbean in less than a week, this time, delivering vital supplies to Jamaica as the island begins to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Beryl. Today’s flight carried out by the organization’s DC-8 cargo plane carried essential materials like tarps and…
NAIROBI, KENYA —Organized by Christian children’s charity CRY the aim is to bring together local and native Christian African educators who have the best understanding of what young people need to further their lives and escape poverty. Christian children’s charity CRY recently hosted an educational forum for African educators in Nairobi in Kenya, which was…
ARLINGTON, VA — The Lukens Company (TLC) has been selected as the agency of record for American Leprosy Missions (ALM), the largest Christian organization in the United States dedicated to dedicated to breaking barriers to health and renewing hope for people suffering from the pain and stigma of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like leprosy. ALM…
LOVES PARK, IL — A new evangelical church movement is bringing hope to Moldova — a vulnerable, ex-communist nation on the edge of the Ukraine war. “Concern among Moldovans is very real that, after Ukraine, they could be next,” said Eric Mock, senior vice president of ministry operations at Illinois-based Slavic Gospel Association (SGA), a…
JAMAICA —At 27 years old, being the rebellious son of one of the world’s most well-known evangelists, Andrew Palau never thought that 31 years later he would return to Jamaica, where he accepted Christ, to lead his own evangelistic festival. 31 Years After Accepting Christ as the Rebellious Son of a Preacher Thanks to His…
EL SALVADOR — Moises Groezinger shares how his life was transformed when he received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift as an orphan in El Salvador. Moises Groezinger: My name is Moises Groezinger. I’m from El Salvador. I’m a volunteer firefighter. I don’t know much about my country because I was raised in an orphanage….
SENEGAL — “Life is hard … Having a child who was born without the ability to eat,” said Ndeye. Ndeye’s only son Cheikh was born with a cleft lip and a cleft palate. As a result of this he struggled to breastfeed. His mother bottle fed him infant formula, trying desperately to ensure her baby…
ORLANDO, FL — Even if the equipment is confiscated or destroyed, if the unthinkable happens, the translation work -weeks or months of translation progress- is protected. Wycliffe Associates provides translators living in remote regions with the necessary technology to protect and accelerate the biblical translation. Wycliffe Associates, one of the world’s leading bible translation organizations,…
ORLANDO, FL — Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, is working to provide printed Bibles for Christians in 13 language groups across North Africa and the Middle East. While national translators from these language groups have completed Scripture translations in…
BARTLESVILLE, OK — Over the past year, The Voice of the Martyrs has creatively challenged people to call for the release of falsely imprisoned persecuted Christians in Eritrea. Through VOM digital media campaigns, millions of people have heard about the horrific treatment of persecuted Christians in Eritrea, nearly 20,000 people committed to pray, U.S. leaders…
MEXICO— José Alfredo is a lawyer in Mexico who helps Christians like Guadalupe, who was threatened with expulsion by his indigenous community, to understand their legal rights and settle disputes so that they can continue to worship God freely and without fear. Gaudalupe – Mexico: Since we follow Christ who saved us, they harass us,…
SENEGAL — At just 21 years old, Papa has already established himself as an exceptional mechanic, pursuing his dream of fixing motorbikes in his community. But when a large tumor began growing from the left side of his face, his dreams for the future became shadowed by fear.But his life was transformed after receiving facial…
WILLS POINT, TX — The final services for K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan), GFA World founder and Metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church, were a bittersweet time for friends, family, fellow servants of Christ, and what seemed like much of the world. After his tragic death in the United States, K.P. Yohannan’s mortal remains were transported to…
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC — In March 2023, a militant Muslim group attacked Pastor Samuel’s* village in southern Central African Republic (CAR). Most of the Christians – including Pastor Samuel – fled. But through support and prayers from Christian charity Open Doors, he and many of his church have returned to rebuild their lives. Gérard* –…
IRAN —Islam and the regime in Iran have destroyed the identity of women,” says Simin*, a Christian in the Middle East who participated in a training by Open Doors on discipleship. Today, in addition to helping other women overcome the pain of persecution, she also prepares them to serve God When Simin decided to follow…
WASHINGTON, DC — Dr. KP Yohannan, founder and director of GFA world and Metropolitan of the Believers Eastern Church, went to be with the Lord on May 8 following a serious accident in Dallas, Texas, on May 7. “KP Yohannan’s commitment to the gospel was steadfast throughout his lifetime,” said NRB President & CEO Troy…
BARTLESVILLE, OK — “It’s better to be dead than taken hostage,” Jeff Woodke told The Voice of the Martyrs’ Radio Host Todd Nettleton. When Jeff first said those words, he didn’t know he would be taken hostage from his home in Niger in 2016. But Woodke, a long-term relief and gospel worker in Africa, knew…
BARTLESVILLE, OK — Twenty years ago, on May 23, 2004, two men were arrested for the “crime” of being a pastor. Twenty years later, those two men are still in prison. Pastor Haile Nayzgi and Dr. Kiflu Gebremeskel were arrested for their leadership in the Full Gospel Church of Eritrea after the government outlawed Christian…
WILLS POINT, TX — The public viewing for the late Dr. K.P. Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) on May 15 in Dallas, Texas, was attended by approximately a thousand mourners, including presidents of national Christian organizations; former dignitaries of the Indian parliament; bishops, priests and leaders of various Christian denominations; and many men and women who grew…
WILLS POINT, TX — On May 15, around a thousand people visited Restland Funeral Home in Dallas, Texas, to pay tribute the late Dr. K.P. Yohannan (Metroplitan Yohan), founder of GFA World. Between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., a steady stream of people flowed into the funeral parlor, including presidents of national Christian organizations; former…
VIETNAM —To avoid being imprisoned, Pastor Foom spent two days hiding in the mountains near his village. However, in the end they caught him. In 2002, Pastor Foom Chao opened his eyes after the prayer. At the alarming scene of the police waiting to arrest him, he was arrested for taking Bibles to the jungles…
BOONE, NC — Over the weekend, Samaritan’s Purse deployed its DC-8 and 757 cargo planes to Porto Alegre, Brazil in response to the catastrophic flooding and landslides that have struck the nation. In less than two weeks, the onslaught of relentless rain has killed more than 100 people, displaced thousands, and devastated communities throughout southern…
CHARLOTTE, NC — I find it of no small significance that K.P. entered the “great cloud of witnesses” surrounding us between the Orthodox Church’s celebration of the Sunday of Holy Pascha and the Sunday of Saint Thomas—the disciple who first brought Christianity to India in AD 52. This constitutes a certain sign that the GFA…
MOORESVILLE, NC — KP Yohannan (Metropolitan Yohan) — founder of missions agency GFA World (formerly Gospel for Asia) who died May 8 — once said to me: “I’m just a skinny kid from India who grew up to be a follower of Jesus.” Genuine humility was the mark of the man — a man whom…
JAMAICA — As a 27-year-old rebellious son of one of the world’s best known evangelists, Andrew Palau never believed 31 years later he would return to Jamaica where he accepted Christ to conduct his own evangelistic festival. More than three decades later he is continuing the legacy of his father Luis Palau by sharing the…
BOONE, NC — Tomorrow, Samaritan’s Purse will airlift more than 1,200 rolls of emergency shelter material to Sudan using its DC-8 cargo plane. The heavy-duty tarp will provide desperately needed shelter to more than 42,000 people suffering in Sudan. Conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and a rebel militia group over the past year has…
MEXICO — Atlanta pastor and international evangelist Michael Youssef traveled to Veracruz, Mexico last month, bringing a message of hope and encouragement to record crowds. Drawing 16,480 people, the Come & See Veracruz Weekend Celebration was the largest Christian event in the region in over 20 years. Dr. Michael Youssef: God is saying to you…
