Prayer News | Where Christians Pray Through the News

Prayer List: Mass Starvation Killing Hundreds of Venezuelan Children

Venezuelan selling food in 2012, before the oil prices dropped and the economy failed.

In a heartbreaking news article, The New York Times reports that in 2018 almost 400 Venezuelan children died from starvation at nine public hospitals following emergency room visits.

Dr. Livia Machado told The Times, “Never in my life had I seen so many hungry children.” Dr. Milagros Hernández describes the tragic conditions of her patients, “Children arrive with the same weight and height of a newborn.

Prayer List

* Pray for Venezuela’s starving citizens to receive the food and nutrients they need for physical health.
* Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the parents and siblings of children grieving the loss of family members.
* Pray for the physical, emotional and spiritual health of parents, doctors, nurses and other care givers struggling at this time.
* Pray for Venezuela’s political leaders to change their destructive economic policies or be replaced by politicians that will pursue policies that would rebuild the economy.

Unreached People of the Day



Thursday: Magh in Myanmar
Friday: Arab, Jordanian in Canada

Operation World Prayer Focus




Thursday: Global Hot Spots
Friday: The Church Worldwide

Birthday Prayer Lists


Have you prayed for the salvation of all your friends? Why not turn your Facebook friend list into a prayer list? It shouldn't take long to pray for each friend on their birthday.

Some Christians also pray for entertainers, politicians and media personalities on their birthday.

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Baptist Press

  • newK. Marshall Williams receives OBU's Hobbs Award
    Philadelphia pastor K. Marshall Williams Sr. received Oklahoma Baptist University's Herschel H. Hobbs Award for Distinguished Denominational Service June 10 in Birmingham, Ala.
    - 44 mins ago 20 Jun 19, 8:46pm -
  • newBible Study: June 23, 2019
    This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups.
    - 1 hour ago 20 Jun 19, 8:20pm -
  • newPastor arrested, charged with rape, molestation
    A former Southern Baptist pastor is jailed in Lake Charles, La., after allegedly raping and molesting a pre-teen girl for two years, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office (CPSO) reported June 17.
    - 1 hour ago 20 Jun 19, 8:19pm -
  • new9Marks panel on church influence, culture, SBC
    This year's 9Marks panel discussions tackled the current state of the Southern Baptist Convention and whether or not the health of a church is enough to sustain itself in this cultural moment in time. 9Marks hosted the two evenings of discussion in conjunction with the SBC's annual meeting in Birmingham, Ala.
    - 2 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 7:34pm -
  • newChurchgoers split on visibility of their faith
    Spiritual topics aren't a part of many Protestant churchgoers' regular conversations with fellow believers, but most seem at least somewhat confident others know they're a Christian, according to a new study from LifeWay Research.
    - 3 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 6:55pm -

Berean Research

  • Lou Engel ends “The Call” to usher in Billy Graham’s “mantle”
    Millions of young people around the world are being told that they can soon supernaturally receive the hovering mantle of evangelism from the late Billy Graham, and that this opportunity will be theirs on February 23. Please hear me, Christian, there is no “mantle” from any person dead or alive that we are to activate […]The post Lou Engel ends “The Call” to usher in Billy Graham’s “mantle” appeared first on Berean Research.
    - 28 Jan 19, 9:28pm -
  • Holding on.
    Discernment Ministry. What do you think of when you hear or read that term? Does your nose wrinkle a little? Does your upper lip curl in disgust? A lot of good, solid, caring, sheep-loving discerning writers are being told not to quit their day jobs due to the actions of a few. Whether those actions […]The post Holding on. appeared first on Berean Research.
    - 9 Oct 18, 2:21am -
  • Why we “Mark and Avoid”
    There is a growing trend to dismiss the Bible in a world that says, “you can’t believe a book that’s a couple thousand years old,” as Rob Bell has done. Bell recently made these statements and said that the Church is very close to embracing gay marriage. If you haven’t boldly marked false teachers, people […]The post Why we “Mark and Avoid” appeared first on Berean Research.
    - 5 Oct 18, 7:37pm -
  • Liberation-Not For Everybody
    Youth Testify, a new program launched by Advocates for Youth and the National Network of Abortion Funds is “helping young people advocate for their reproductive rights and reframe the narrative around abortion.” Reframe the narrative? According to Peter Jones, re-framing means that “not a word of warning will be given to young women about the death knell that will forever […]The post Liberation-Not For Everybody appeared first on Berean Research.
    - 2 Oct 18, 4:11pm -
  • Andy Stanley: “Most Former Christians Still Have a Crush on Jesus”
    Megachurch leader Andy Stanley has made some interesting statements over the past few years. Most notably are his statements distancing himself from the authority of Scripture. Easy to mark and avoid a teacher like this, right? Actually, not so easy. Stanley’s many marketable brands include curricula for children, teens, adults, couples…and many well-meaning church staff […]The post Andy Stanley: “Most Former Christians Still Have a Crush on Jesus” appeared first on Berean Research.
    - 26 Sep 18, 10:36am -

Christian Headlines

Christian Post

Christianity Today

  • I Pray for Refugees Because I Was One. And God Was Faithful.
    How “casting all my cares upon him” got this Karen girl from Burma to America.I walked for nine days in my slippers in the deep forest. My father carried all the food. My mom carried my one-year-old brother. My other younger siblings had to walk by themselves. I carried all the cookware, some blankets, and clothes for them.After seven days, we reached the Tenasserim River and crossed on a big boat. We were climbing the mountain quickly, and I heard the gunfire again. I climbed up the mountain as fast as I could. When I reached the top, I put down all my things and went back to my parents and picked up my younger brother. I carried him piggyback; he held my neck tightly when I had to pull myself up the mountain.Since I was a little girl, my favorite Bible verse has been 1 Peter 5:7–9: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (NIV).When we suffer as God’s children, we know we are not alone. He is with us, and our brothers and sisters around the world are with us in prayer and solidarity. We testify to share that truth.I was very tired carrying my brother while climbing the mountain, so I spoke to myself, “Sunday, you cannot die here. You must finish your high school, go to college, speak for your people, and tell the world what you have been through and who you are.”This is who I am. This is what God has done for me.I was born in Burma, but I am not Burmese. I am an ethnic Karen, one of more than 10 ethnic minority groups in Burma. The Karen are one of the largest groups among the two million ...Continue reading...
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  • Supreme Court: Peace Cross Gets to Stay, But Not Because It’s ‘Secular’
    Update: The memorial is a Christian symbol—but also more than that. Update (June 20): On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of allowing a memorial cross to remain on a state-owned median in Bladensburg, Maryland, and declared that government efforts to maintain the landmark do not violate the religion clause of the Constitution.“The fact that the cross is undoubtedly a Christian symbol should not blind one to everything else that the Bladensburg Cross has come to represent: a symbolic resting place for ancestors who never returned home, a place for the community to gather and honor all veterans and their sacrifices for this Nation, and a historical landmark,” wrote Justice Samuel Alito, in the majority opinion.“For many, destroying or defacing the Cross would not be neutral and would not further the ideals of respect and tolerance embodied in the First Amendment.”Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel with the religious liberty firm Becket Law, said while this decision represents a victory for the Bladensberg cross, “it will take careful reading and digesting of the opinion to sort through exactly what it means for future cases.”Original post (February 28):During yesterday’s oral arguments, the Supreme Court suggested it would allow a 40-foot memorial cross to stay on public land, despite a challenge from an atheist group concerned that the 83-year-old World War I monument represented a government endorsement of religion.The hour-long debate in the case of American Legion v. American Humanist Association didn’t just raise the question of whether the “Peace Cross” memorial was constitutional, but also whether it was a secular symbol.The lawyer for the Maryland parks agency that now maintains the cross—which ...Continue reading...
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  • The Devil Lives in the Mirror
    Demonic lies hide as truth. They also lurk close to home.I stood before the dazed librarian as she scanned each questionable title: The Death of Satan, I See Satan Fall Like Lighting, By Authors Possessed, the books about demons piling up before her. I remember my discomfort and lame apologies about what appeared to be a sinful attraction to evil. This was a Christian university library, after all, and I had a stack of demonic literature rising to evil proportions at the checkout counter.A similar discomfort confronts me now when I sign the author’s page of my book Giving the Devil His Due—its cover depicting a half-naked demon donning a red cape. Or when a radio personality invites me on his show in the hopes that I will denounce America’s absorption with that “demonic” holiday Halloween. Extended family members often confess their demonic encounters to me, trying to convince me that The Screwtape Letters is no mere caricature but the accurate epistolary adventures of an ancient monster.Most discomfiting of all, I have stood before an audience of nonbelievers numbering in the hundreds and begged, “Please, for the love of all that is holy, do not listen to any little voice inside you; it may be the devil’s.” I can hear everyone thinking, What’s a nice girl like you doing reading and writing books like this? Instead of comfort, I have chosen to prize truth, in imitation of the two writers I admire most—Fyodor Dostoevsky and Flannery O’Connor. Both of them give the devil his due in order to save us from losing our souls.The demonic has been a literary trope for centuries—think Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost, Mephistopheles from Faust, or somewhat recently I, Lucifer. So, when I began writing a book about ...Continue reading...
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  • Leading Others Well
    There are two methods I have found to be the most effective forms of leadership.Being a leader is challenging—I think few would dispute that. Along the journey, all leaders will experience many great successes and failures; you can’t have one without the other.As someone who’s had the privilege of watching many leaders grow over time, it’s been helpful to think through the support process.Whenever I’ve had somebody working under me struggle or fail as a leader, I like to walk them through what might have gone wrong along the way. I might sit down with them and say, “Let’s talk about how I can help you succeed better.”That might look like putting a new system around the individual to help him or her work more efficiently. It might look like giving the person more support. The solutions are likely to vary from person to person.Having these conversations is important because most of the time, when new leaders fail early on, it’s not because they aren’t going to be great leaders one day. Most of the time, if you see potential in a person, there are other external factors that can be adjusted to help him or her succeed. I’d always say that when in doubt, you blame the system, not the person.So, there are two ways I’ve found to be the most effective methods of leading. The first is engaging those I lead. The second is directing those I lead to engage with other resources.At the moment, I’m gearing up some of these where I currently serve, hiring some staff to free up more time for leadership development. But, let me share my past practice and my future plan.Ongoing Relationship For starters, to engage those I lead would be to establish some sort of ongoing connection between the two of us. This could look like a weekly meeting. ...Continue reading...
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  • Major Shift: Liberty Lays Off a Dozen Divinity School Faculty
    Officials say undergrad enrollment in the program is dropping as students take a more holistic approach to ministry.Thanks to its pioneering online education platform, Liberty University offers the largest theological studies program in the country—by far. Its Rawlings School of Divinity enrolls several times as many students as longstanding seminaries, which have only recently begun to transition their degree programs online.And Liberty’s divinity school, housed in a tower erected in the center of the Lynchburg, Virginia, campus, is also on its way to accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), the gold standard for seminaries in the US and Canada.But a new report this week in Inside Higher Ed describes the decision to cut a dozen divinity school faculty, its falling enrollment, and a new strategy to combat what it refers to as Liberty’s broader “struggles online and a shrinking applicant pool.”Top officials at the school dispute claims that the university is on a trajectory of decline, especially one stemming from its ties to President Donald Trump.Instead, they told Christianity Today that the layoffs and other hits taken by the divinity school stem from the evolving ministry landscape, the same kind of challenges faced by fellow Christian universities, missions organizations, ministries, and churches across the country—and that the Trump affiliation has actually been a boon to the school.“Really, it’s a sign of the times,” said David Nassar, senior vice president for spiritual development and campus chaplain at Liberty. “The landscape of the way churches are staffing is changing, the landscape of the way mission organizations are staffing is changing, and I think that’s why we’ve seen some decline in the school of divinity in that sense.” ...Continue reading...
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Forum 18 News Service

  • AZERBAIJAN: Appeal court upholds couple's massive fines
    Shirvan Appeal Court rejected the appeals by a Baptist husband and wife against fines of more than three months' average wages each for having religious literature and holding a New Year children's meeting without state permission. Three Protestants were fined for a study meeting in a Sheki home. A Muslim in Sheki failed to overturn a fine for teaching Islam.
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  • AZERBAIJAN: Appeals fail against illegal raids, fines
    Baptist Pastor from Aliabad Hamid Shabanov has failed to overturn a fine for hosting religious meetings without compulsory state permission. The Constitutional Court again rejected his appeal. Four Jehovah's Witnesses failed in their civil suit seeking redress for the police's illegal entry without a court order or search warrant, their "detention, verbal insults and humiliation", and literature seizure.
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  • AZERBAIJAN: Book censorship appeal still in Supreme Court
    Theologian Elshad Miri's Supreme Court suit to overturn the state's ban on publishing his book on Islam resumes on 25 June. At a May hearing, the state lawyer "was unable to give a reasoned refutation of our arguments", Miri's lawyer said. Mammad Ramazanov lost his appeal against a large fine for "illegal" distribution of religious books.
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  • TAJIKISTAN: Detention extended, no Bible reading allowed
    A Khujand court has extended Jehovah's Witness pensioner Shamil Khakimov's pre-trial detention for another month. His "crime", for which he was arrested in February, seems to be that he is thought to lead Khujand's Jehovah's Witness community. Against international human rights standards, he is not allowed to read his Bible.
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  • TURKMENISTAN: Second 2019 conscientious objector jailing
    The 23-year-old Jehovah's Witness Muhammetali Saparmyradov was jailed for one year in March for refusing compulsory military service on grounds of conscience. He has joined 11 other jailed conscientious objectors in the labour camp in Seydi. Labour camp officials refused to discuss their prison conditions with Forum 18.
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Get Religion

  • newOpen Doors CEO slams U.S. churches, while persecuted Christians are murdered overseas
    Open Doors, the watchdog organization that monitors Christian religious persecution worldwide, released their annual report on the 50 worst countries in the world back in January, but it’s only gotten some air time recently.What kind of reactions?Well, let’s look at an editorial that ran Tuesday in USA Today by Open Doors CEO David Curry with this attention-grabber of a headline: “Global Christian persecution is worsening while American Christian churches slumber.” It opened with the latest anti-Christian outrage in Nigeria, where 3,731 Christians were killed in 2018.We usually don’t talk about opinion in these blog posts, but the complaint here is directly related to press coverage about persecution.The bottom line: If people don’t know something’s happening, they can’t very well protest it. If such violence had occurred in Nashville rather than Nigeria, it would dominate nightly news broadcasts and saturate social media feeds. American churches would be launching fundraising campaigns for victims’ families and addressing it in their weekly gatherings. In this case, however, the American church has barely acknowledged it. Unfortunately, when violence occurs somewhere “over there” instead of in our backyard, it is often dismissed as just another story. American churches must do better… Yet the leadership of the American church, with its superpastors and megachurches, is whistling through the graveyard. The beast that we have created, which relies on upbeat music and positivity to attract donors to sustain large budgets, leaves little room for pastors to talk about the suffering of global Christians. Like most of the culture, the American church is more concerned about college entrance scandals and "Game of Thrones" than persecution. Inoculated by entertainment and self-absorption, they are completely detached from the experience of the global church. The American church is feeding itself to death while the worldwide church is being murdered.You can also substitute “American media” in there, too, although it’s accurate to note that most U.S. readers are notorious for not caring about international news. Christians are basically the same with the possible exception of news about Israel.What the editorial is asking for is something on the line of what happened in 40 years ago when a quarter million people demonstrated in Washington, D.C., in December 1987 on behalf of Soviet Jews.
    - 35 mins ago 20 Jun 19, 8:55pm -
  • newReligion ghosts in anti-vax wars: Why do some believers say this is a religious liberty fight?
    From the start, there have been religion-news hooks in the news coverage of the movement claiming that vaccines against some childhood diseases — measles and others — do more harm than good.For starters, large communities of Orthodox Jews live in New York City, which all but guarantees coverage by newsrooms that help define what news matters and what news does not. In this case, I think that we are dealing with an important subject — one that editors should assign to teams that include religion-beat professionals.Here at GetReligion, I have received emails from readers that, in so many words, say: This is what happens when religious traditionalists start shouting “religious liberty” and saying that God wants them to do something crazy.Let me state right up front: There are church-state implications in some of these cases, with the state claiming the right to force parents to take actions that violate their religious convictions. Then again, people who follow debates about religious liberty know that clashes linked to health, prayer, healing and parental rights are tragically common. Click here to see some GetReligion posts about coverage of cases in which actions based on religious beliefs have been labeled a “clear threat to life and health.”So let’s go back to the measles wars. Many of the mainstream news reports on this topic have covered many of the science and public health arguments. What’s missing, however, is (a) material about why some religious people believe what they believe and (b) whether decades of U.S. Supreme Court rulings apply to these cases.Consider, for example, the long, detailed Washington Post story that just ran with this headline: “Meet the New York couple donating millions to the anti-vax movement.” Here’s the overture: A wealthy Manhattan couple has emerged as significant financiers of the anti-vaccine movement, contributing more than $3 million in recent years to groups that stoke fears about immunizations online and at live events — including two forums this year at the epicenter of measles outbreaks in New York’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. Hedge fund manager and philanthropist Bernard Selz and his wife, Lisa, have long donated to organizations focused on the arts, culture, education and the environment. But seven years ago, their private foundation embraced a very different cause: groups that question the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
    - 5 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 4:12pm -
  • newGrab a company charge card: What religion reference works belong in newsroom libraries?
    My May 30 Memo proclaimed the third edition of the “World Christian Encyclopedia," due next year, as a “must-buy” for media organizations because it will provide current overviews and statistics about each religious group in each country on earth, and much else.This time around, The Guy proposes other religion works media shops savvy enough to maintain reference libraries should have on hand for unexpected breaking news as well as timeless features. Writers might want some items in their personal collections. The following covers print, but some e-editions are available.BasicsThe first essential is a couple comprehensive one-volume encyclopedias or dictionaries describing all world religions, as issued by several reliable publishers. You’ll also want the hefty ($215!) “Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.”Save money by using a good public or college library for the multi-volume encyclopedias on religion, Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaica, Islam, etc. However, via amazon.com you could get the 1987 “Encyclopedia of Religion” for only $275. (Publishers: We really need a 21st Century equivalent of James Hastings’ less abstract “Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics” from 1913!)  Acquire similar one-volume reference books on Catholicism and Judaism, which on some matters can be supplemented by century-old, multi-volume encyclopedias online here and here. For Protestantism, there’s the latest “Handbook of Denominations in the United States” and more comprehensive one-volume “Encyclopedia of Protestantism.” For Islam, get John Esposito’s dictionary and/or Cyril Glasse’s one-volume encyclopedia. For other world faiths, if those overview volumes do not suffice  tap experts as needed.   Baylor professor Gordon Melton compiles the remarkable “Encyclopedia of American Religions,” pretty much mandatory for describing gazillion offbeat sects you’ve never heard of.
    - 9 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 1:00pm -
  • Gray Lady goes neo-tabloid: Evangelicals, Trump, Falwell, Cohen, Tom Arnold, 'cabana boy,' etc.
    I think that it’s safe to say that Jerry Falwell, Jr., has had a rough year or two.I don’t say that as a cheap shot. I say that as someone who has followed the adventures of the Falwell family and Liberty University with great interest since the early 1980s, when elite newsrooms — The New Yorker came first, methinks — started paying serious attention to the late Rev. Jerry Falwell.Of course, there is a good reason for political reporters and others to dig into Falwell, Jr., affairs. His early decision to endorse Donald Trump, instead of Sen. Ted Cruz, helped create the loud minority of white evangelicals who backed The Donald in early primaries. Without them, including Falwell, Trump doesn’t become the nominee and then, in a lesser-of-two-evils race with Hillary Clinton, squeak into the White House.So that leads us to a rather interesting — on several levels — piece of neo-tabloid journalism at the New York Times, with this headline: “The Evangelical, the ‘Pool Boy,’ the Comedian and Michael Cohen.” The “evangelical,” of course, is Falwell.Everything begins and ends with politics, of course, even in a story packed with all kinds of sexy whispers and innuendo about personal scandals. Thus, here is the big summary statement: Mr. Falwell — who is not a minister and spent years as a lawyer and real estate developer — said his endorsement was based on Mr. Trump’s business experience and leadership qualities. A person close to Mr. Falwell said he made his decision after “consultation with other individuals whose opinions he respects.” But a far more complicated narrative is emerging about the behind-the-scenes maneuvering in the months before that important endorsement. That backstory, in true Trump-tabloid fashion, features the friendship between Mr. Falwell, his wife and a former pool attendant at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach; the family’s investment in a gay-friendly youth hostel; purported sexually revealing photographs involving the Falwells; and an attempted hush-money arrangement engineered by the president’s former fixer, Michael Cohen. The revelations have arisen from a lawsuit filed against the Falwells in Florida; the investigation into Mr. Cohen by federal prosecutors in New York; and the gonzo-style tactics of the comedian and actor Tom Arnold.Basically, this story is built on real estate and court documents (that’s the solid stuff), along with a crazy quilt of materials from sources like Cohen, reality-TV wannabe Arnold, BuzzFeed and a pivotal anonymous source (allegedly) close to Falwell who readers are told next to nothing about, even though he/she is crucial to this article’s credibility.One key anonymous source? That’s right.
    - 1 day ago 19 Jun 19, 8:00pm -
  • How to keep 'Uncle Ted' McCarrick in the news? Educate readers and keep Vigano talking
    Not long after I broke into the journalism business over 20 years ago did my mother ask me a very interesting question: “Where do you get all that news that ends up in the newspaper?”It was a question any news consumer should ask. I gave a simple — although in hindsight — a somewhat unhelpful answer.“It’s complicated,” I replied.I went on to explain how reporters use interviews, documents, press releases and news conferences to put together the news.It really isn’t that complicated. Journalists have made it a practice for years to make their jobs sound like (me included) as if they were doing brain surgery. As one editor would always tell me when things got hard at work: “We’re not saving lives here.”Maybe not, but being a reporter is a massive responsibility. Never has the process of journalism — and what it is that reporters and editors actually do — come under the microscope as it has the past few years. I suppose that’s a result of Donald Trump getting elected president and the allegation that fake news helped him get elected.Whether it did or not, that’s not the point. What is the point is that citizens — the people we reporters call “readers” — have become more aware of the process. At least they want transparency from news organizations when it comes to how and why we report on stories.This takes me to my point. As we near the one-year anniversary of the revelations that exposed the past misdeeds of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the story doesn’t look like it is subsiding anytime soon. In a recent post, I highlighted the importance of the papal news conference and how American media outlets were potentially being manipulated by the Vatican press office. Also, tmatt offered this post on a related topic: “Big journalism question: Would new U.S. bishops hotline have nabbed 'Uncle Ted' McCarrick?”Like with everything in life (and journalism), it’s complicated.Longtime Vatican observer John Allen wrote a column for Crux on how those papal news conferences that take place among the seats of aboard the plane taking Pope Francis back to Rome aren’t what they used to be. The piece ruffled some feathers among the Vatican press corps, even triggering a rebuttal piece from Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter. This is how he opened that column:
    - 1 day ago 19 Jun 19, 4:15pm -

Mission Network News

  • Somalia sees bloodiest terror attack in country’s history
    https://www.mnnonline.org/news/somalia-sees-bloodiest-terror-attack-countrys-history/Somalia (MNN) -- Over 300 people were killed in Somalia's bloodiest attackThe post Somalia sees bloodiest terror attack in country’s history appeared first on Mission Network News.
    - 17 Oct 17, 4:00am -
  • Emergency medical flight gets conjoined twin infants to life-saving surgery
    https://www.mnnonline.org/news/emergency-medical-flight-gets-conjoined-twin-infants-life-saving-surgery/DRC (MNN/MAF) -- Conjoined twins saved through ministry’s medical flightThe post Emergency medical flight gets conjoined twin infants to life-saving surgery appeared first on Mission Network News.
    - 17 Oct 17, 4:00am -
  • Christmas short-term mission opportunities!
    https://www.mnnonline.org/news/christmas-short-term-mission-opportunities/Int'l (MNN) -- Short-term mission trip opportunities this ChristmasThe post Christmas short-term mission opportunities! appeared first on Mission Network News.
    - 17 Oct 17, 4:00am -
  • The faces and stories behind World Food Day
    https://www.mnnonline.org/news/faces-stories-behind-world-food-day/International (MNN) -- On World Food Day, ministry spotlighting long-term solutionsThe post The faces and stories behind World Food Day appeared first on Mission Network News.
    - 16 Oct 17, 4:00am -
  • State elections draw near in India, spark anti-Christian sentiment
    https://www.mnnonline.org/news/state-elections-draw-near-india-spark-anti-christian-sentiment/India (MNN) -- Christians are being watched closely The post State elections draw near in India, spark anti-Christian sentiment appeared first on Mission Network News.
    - 16 Oct 17, 4:00am -

PE News

  • newMinistering at 89
    Widow Priscilla Edwards remains faithful in teaching classes at prison.
    - 7 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 3:00pm -
  • newThis Week in AG history -- June 20, 1942
    T.J. Jones began his ministry in England, but his passion for ministering God's Word led him to the United States where he ultimately became an instructor at North Central Bible Institute in Minneapolis.
    - 10 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 12:00pm -
  • Defusing Soldier Stress
    More than 6,000 veterans have committed suicide annually during the past decade. AG chaplains at Fort Bragg are working to reverse this tragic trend.
    - 2 days ago 19 Jun 19, 6:00am -
  • Braeswood Assembly of God Repeats as JBQ Champions
    The Chosen Ones, a Junior Bible Quiz teams from Braeswood AG in Houston, Texas, were crowned champions at the annual National JBQ Festival.
    - 2 days ago 18 Jun 19, 3:29pm -
  • SEU Selected to Train U.S. Air Force Junior ROTC Flight Academy Students
    Southeastern University was one of only 11 universities across the nation to be chosen to host the U.S. Air Force JROTC Flight Academy.
    - 2 days ago 18 Jun 19, 11:30am -

Persecution Blog

  • Missionary Pilot Shares The Rest of the Auca Martyrs' Story
    Growing up the home of missionary parents in Ecuador, Gene Jordan has always known the story of five men—Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian—who gave their lives in the jungle to reach an isolated Indian...      Related StoriesVOM Radio: "When We Say Yes to God"Nate Saint Memorial School: End of an Era"Holy, Holy, Holy" in a Sudanese Prison 
    - 24 Jul 17, 4:06pm -
  • After Arrest, "I Was Terrified"
    “Dr. Andrew” is working to share the gospel in the Middle East, but he hasn’t always had a heart to share Christ’s love with Muslims. Growing up in a nominal Christian family, Andrew was harassed by Muslims his whole life....      Related Stories"Holy, Holy, Holy" in a Sudanese PrisonPetr Jasek: God Opened the Prison DoorMiddle East Christians "Standing in the Fire" 
    - 27 Jun 17, 10:07pm -
  • Being a True Vessel for God's Use
    “Brother Matthew” is a pastor and church planter in South Asia, working among Muslims to share the gospel. After threats against his life and an attack on his brother, he was encouraged by family members to leave his country. He...      Related StoriesVOM Radio in Central Asia"Holy, Holy, Holy" in a Sudanese PrisonAfter Arrest, "I Was Terrified" 
    - 7 Jun 17, 4:56pm -
  • VOM Radio in Central Asia
    "Tanya" is a Christian worker in Central Asia, living and ministering in a country where she must always be cautious about what she says openly and who she says it around. Listen to hear how Christians in the former Soviet...      Related StoriesBeing a True Vessel for God's Use"Holy, Holy, Holy" in a Sudanese PrisonPetr Jasek: God Opened the Prison Door 
    - 9 May 17, 7:17pm -
  • Nate Saint Memorial School: End of an Era
    The end of an era comes next month. In August 1985, I clutched my mom’s hand and squeaked my rubber flip-flopped way down the gravel path from the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) “base” to the cinderblock Nate Saint Memorial school....      Related StoriesMissionary Pilot Shares The Rest of the Auca Martyrs' StoryVOM Radio: "When We Say Yes to God" 
    - 27 Apr 17, 8:14pm -

Religion News Service

  • newArchbishop revokes school’s Catholic designation over refusal to fire gay teacher
    (RNS) — The Midwest Jesuits plan to appeal the decision, possibly bringing the case before the Vatican.The post Archbishop revokes school’s Catholic designation over refusal to fire gay teacher appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 1 hour ago 20 Jun 19, 8:26pm -
  • newPhiladelphia Episcopalians explore what happens when church is separated from Sunday
    (RNS) — Rather than focusing on Sunday attendance, the once-shuttered St. Stephen's is invested in being present for the community.The post Philadelphia Episcopalians explore what happens when church is separated from Sunday appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 2 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 7:36pm -
  • newSupreme Court determines cross on Maryland highway can stay
    WASHINGTON (RNS) — In a 7-2 decision, the high court determined that the Bladensburg Cross erected by the American Legion does not violate the Constitution’s establishment clause.The post Supreme Court determines cross on Maryland highway can stay appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 2 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 7:04pm -
  • new“The Other Side of Heaven 2” hopes Christian films can compete against summer blockbusters
    "The Other Side of Heaven" is getting a sequel after 18 years, and filmmaker Mitch Davis is counting on Americans of faith to help the film compete against the blockbusters.The post “The Other Side of Heaven 2” hopes Christian films can compete against summer blockbusters appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 3 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 7:00pm -
  • newDiet and free exercise: who gets to say whose belief is sincere?
    (Sightings) — In the Masterpiece Cake case, Justice Kennedy wrote, “The reason and motive for the baker’s refusal were based on his sincere religious beliefs and convictions.” How did he know? How can we ever know?The post Diet and free exercise: who gets to say whose belief is sincere? appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 3 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 6:25pm -

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  • newRoy Moore announces repeat Senate bid
    Roy Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, announced Thursday his plans to seek the Republican nomination for his state’s seat in the U.S. Senate once again. Moore lost to current Democratic Sen. Doug Jones in a 2017 special election to replace former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., after Sessions became U.S. attorney general. Moore’s bid in 2017 fell apart largely because of accusations from multiple women who claimed he made unwanted sexual advances toward them when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers. Moore denied the accusations and said they were a “witch hunt” designed to stop his campaign.Moore earned a following among a contingent of Alabama voters who supported several of his controversial moves as chief justice, such as his defiance of federal court orders preventing a public display of the Ten Commandments in front of the Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery. But major national Republican leaders are not thrilled by his decision to run again.“He can do what he wants to, but we’re certainly going to oppose him in every way,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., before Moore’s announcement Thursday.President Donald Trump also tried to dissuade Moore from making another run for the Senate and possibly hurting GOP chances to win back the seat. “Republicans cannot allow themselves to again lose the Senate seat in the Great State of Alabama,” Trump tweeted last month. “Roy Moore cannot win, and the consequences will be devastating.”Image: Category: ElectionsArticle Title: Roy Moore announces repeat Senate bidKeywords: PoliticsElectionsCampaign 2020U.S. SenateRoy MooreAuthor: Kyle Ziemnick
    - 37 mins ago 20 Jun 19, 8:53pm -
  • newU.S. general, Trump say downed drone wasn’t in Iranian airspace
    UPDATE: The commanding general of the U.S. Air Forces Central Command in southwest Asia disputed Iran’s claim that the U.S. drone was flying in Iranian airspace when it was shot down. Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella said the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone was 21 miles from the nearest Iranian territory and flying at a high altitude when struck by an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps surface-to-air missile.President Donald Trump, after first calling the strike “a very big mistake,” said later on Thursday during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House that the incident may have been unintentional: “I think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it.” He added that the drone was unarmed and unmanned and “clearly over international waters.”OUR EARLIER REPORT (11:48 a.m.): The Iranian Revolutionary Guard on Thursday said it shot down a U.S. drone, marking the country’s first direct attack on the United States amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. The RQ-4 Global Hawk drone entered Iranian airspace near the Kouhmobarak district in the southern Hormozgan province, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Hossein Salami said the drone violated the national border. “Borders are our red line,” he said. “Any enemy that violates the borders will be annihilated.” The U.S. military’s Central Command called it an “unprovoked attack” and President Donald Trump tweeted that “Iran made a very big mistake.”Russian President Vladimir Putin on a televised call-in show on Thursday warned the United States against pursuing military action against Iran, saying it would be “catastrophe for the region.”Relations deteriorated between the United States and Iran after Trump withdrew from an international nuclear deal with the country more than a year ago. The United States blamed Iran for recent attacks on oil tankers, and Iran this week said it will soon exceed the uranium stockpile limit set by the nuclear deal. The Trump administration committed to send 1,000 more troops to the Middle East in response to Iran’s “hostile behavior.”In a separate report, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed a missile strike against Saudi Arabia. A cruise missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels targeted a power plant in Jizan, near the Saudi border with Yemen. “We are closely monitoring the situation and continuing to consult with our partners and allies,” she said. The rebels have clashed with a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen since 2015 in a bid to restore power to the internationally recognized government.Image: Category: InternationalArticle Title: U.S. general, Trump say downed drone wasn’t in Iranian airspaceKeywords: InternationalIranMiddle EastForeign PolicyMilitaryAuthor: Onize Ohikere
    - 51 mins ago 20 Jun 19, 8:39pm -
  • newClassic Toy Story
    Classic Toy StoryMoviesWoody and company are back with another hilarious adventure in warmhearted Toy Story 4MoviesMegan BashamIt’s hard to believe it’s been nearly a quarter of a century since Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest of the Toy Story gang first charged onto screens, forever changing the face of animated movies. It was the first entirely computer-generated feature-length film. It was also the first full-length release from Pixar, the studio that has gone on to build an unparalleled reputation for filmmaking excellence.When Toy Story 3 hit theaters nine years ago, it was reportedly the end of the line for the franchise. And most viewers felt it couldn’t have done a better job saying goodbye. Andy was growing up, going off to college, and finally ready to pass his favorite toy pal off to a new youngster. So when Disney suddenly announced there would be a Toy Story 4, the reaction of many critics was: Do we really need another one?My answer—if the films continue to offer the innocent hilarity the latest does—is yes, please, keep them coming!It’s astounding how few G-rated major releases there are anymore. In the last decade, at least half of them have come from Pixar. Even most children’s films earn a PG rating, and with their potty humor, sly double-entendres, and cheap substitution of pop-culture references for real jokes (I’m looking at you, DreamWorks), they deserve it.There’s never been any of that in the Toy Story films, and in Toy Story 4, there still isn’t. Instead, there’s the kind of creativity and humor we’ve come to expect from the franchise. We catch up with Woody in his new life in little Bonnie’s playroom where he’s no longer the head honcho. In the capricious way of children, Bonnie is fairly indifferent to Woody’s cowboy charms. Instead, her favorite plaything is a spork that, with a bit of pipe cleaner and paste magic, she turns into a toy she names “Forky” (voiced by Tony Hale).Humble Woody is happy enough to play second fiddle to a spork. The problem is, the spork doesn’t realize he’s now a toy. Thanks to the miracle of writing her name on his popsicle stick foot, Bonnie brings Forky into the fullness of new life. Only, he keeps trying to jump back into the garbage can with the rest of the used plastic utensils.Forky’s confusion over his real identity is sidesplittingly funny—so funny my husband and I agreed we laughed harder at it than at any recent adult-targeted comedies. But it also offers the opportunity to speak some serious theology into little people’s lives. We may, like Forky, believe we are trash. We may even want to live in the trash. But it’s the love of the One who made us that tells us what we really are. And our Creator isn’t content to throw us away. If His name’s written on the bottom of our foot, He’s going to come and fish us out of the garbage no matter how hard we try to stay there.Am I reaching? Making too much of an ingenious plot device? Maybe. But consider: One of the film’s two screenwriters—Andrew Stanton—is a professing Christian. Stanton has been a co-writer on all of the Toy Story films. And it was he who wrote the first outlines of this story, including the character of Forky.Tom Hanks and the rest of the cast are now insisting this is going to be the last Toy Story movie. If it is, it was a wonderful way to say happy trails to Woody, in particular. And if it’s not, as long as the sequels keep bringing the warmhearted, innocent fun this one does, my family will watch them to infinity and beyond. MovieMovies
    - 1 hour ago 20 Jun 19, 8:16pm -
  • newPerkins to chair religious liberty commission
    WASHINGTON—The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has elected Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, as chairman for the 2019-2020 term. The USCIRF is an an independent body that advises the president, the State Department, and Congress on religious freedom and persecution around the world. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appointed Perkins to the commission in May 2018. USCIRF noted in a statement that Perkins has used the position on the USCIRF to speak out on behalf of persecuted religious minorities in Iran, Uighur Muslims in China, 16-year-old Boko Haram captive Leah Sharibu in Nigeria, and formerly imprisoned Pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey.“I would like to thank my fellow commissioners for entrusting me with the responsibility of guiding this Commission,” Perkins said in a statement. “It is an honor to work with this diverse group of dedicated professionals on such an important issue. I look forward to continuing our efforts to promote the fundamental human right of religious freedom for all people.”Image: Category: PoliticsArticle Title:  Perkins to chair religious liberty commissionKeywords: PoliticsReligionReligious LibertyPersecutionInternationalAuthor: Harvest Prude
    - 1 hour ago 20 Jun 19, 8:11pm -
  • newFull steam ahead for gene editing?
    Seven months ago, Chinese scientist He Jiankui sparked global outcry when he announced he had produced the first gene-edited babies. Now, a Russian scientist wants to try his hand at it. Denis Rebrikov, head of a genome-editing laboratory at Russia’s largest fertility clinic in Moscow, announced in the June 10 issue of Nature that he plans to implant gene-edited babies into women’s wombs by the end of the year.The international science community criticized He’s experiment, which he claimed protected the babies from contracting HIV from their HIV-positive father. Experts said the research was irresponsible and unnecessarily endangered the babies with little to no medical benefit.Rebrikov plans to use the same method to edit the same gene, CCR5, that He did. Rebrikov wants to edit the genes of embryos whose mothers have HIV, which he said puts them at a greater risk of contracting the disease than those whose fathers have it.Critics accused He of putting the babies at risk because editing embryonic genes can result in potentially harmful, unintended, and unpredictable mutations throughout their DNA, which can be passed to future generations. Rebrikov claims he is working on a technique to prevent “off-target” mutations.Jennifer Doudna, the molecular biologist who developed the CRISPR gene-editing system He used, expressed doubt that current scientific knowledge could prevent unintended mutations. “The data I have seen say it’s not that easy to control the way the DNA repair works,” she said.Subsequent research has found that people with naturally occurring mutations in CCR5 often suffer shortened life spans and a greater risk of dying from influenza.Russian law prohibits genetic engineering in most circumstances, but it is unclear whether those rules apply to gene editing an embryo. Rebrikov expects the health ministry to clarify the laws within the next nine months but admitted he is tempted to proceed beforehand, confident he will gain approval. “Russia now, I think, is a good country to do this type of experiment,” Rebrikov told Science magazine. “It’s not very free in politics, but it’s very free in science.”Konstantin Severinov, a molecular geneticist who recently helped design a Russian funding program for gene-editing research, said gaining approval in Russia could prove more difficult than Rebrikov anticipates because the Russian Orthodox Church opposes gene editing.Many ethicists fear editing embryonic DNA will lead to experiments not to prevent or treat disease but to produce genetic enhancements like a higher IQ or greater athletic ability. Christian ethicists oppose gene editing of human embryos because it involves the destruction of other human embryos, and they warn of the societal ramifications of changing God’s design for humanity. When Science asked Rebrikov about that possibility, he said people who oppose genetic enhancement “want to have all these things in their children but only by divine providence, not by science. They are liars or stupid.” Associated Press/Photo by Ian Terry/The Herald (file) Snohomish County Cold Case Detective Jim Scharf during an April 2018 news conference in Everett, Wash., about the case against William Earl Talbott II Genealogy testing leads to murder trialHearings began last week in the first murder case built on family genealogy testing. Nearly 32 years ago, authorities found the battered body of 21-year-old Jay Cook under a bridge in Washington state. Two days later, in an adjacent county, they found the raped and murdered body of his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tanya Van Cuylenborg.Last year, investigators took a DNA sample from Van Cuylenborg’s clothing and ordered an analysis from GEDmatch, a free, volunteer-run geneology website where people can upload genetic information from tests through organizations like 23andMe or Ancestry DNA. The analysis allowed them to identify relatives of the person who left the DNA behind, and police were able to use public records and relatives’ social media posts to narrow their search to William Earl Talbott II, Wired reported.The investigators followed Talbott and obtained a DNA sample from a discarded cup he used. A crime lab confirmed that Talbott’s DNA matched that found on Van Cuylenborg, and he lived near where Cook’s body was found. Police arrested and charged Talbott with murder last year.In 2018, family genealogy testing led investigators to a California man suspected of being the notorious Golden State killer, a serial rapist and murderer who terrorized Sacramento, Calif, residents from 1976 to 1986.Since then, family genealogy testing has been used to identify suspects in at least 50 cases, including the arrest of an 82-year-old Wisconsin man in a double murder case from 1976. None besides Talbott’s has yet gone to trial.Although family genealogy testing may provide a powerful tool in crime investigations, critics warn it could spell the end of genetic privacy. No federal or state laws exist to regulate such investigations and protect the privacy of the general public. Questions also remain about the accuracy of such testing. —J.B. iStock/Halfpoint Built-in baby protectionsScientists continue to discover myriad ways that God designed natural protections for human babies in the womb. This month, at least two new scientific studies have uncovered new defenses.One study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that a pregnant woman’s peripersonal space—or the perception of items in the space around our bodies—expands during the last trimester of pregnancy and returns to normal after birth.Peripersonal space mainly incorporates those objects within arm’s reach of us and acts as a sort of safety bubble. The brain cells that fire when something touches a part of our body also fire if an object within our safety bubble moves toward us. The closer the object comes, the faster the brain cells fire. The psychological expansion of this space during pregnancy protects the mother’s growing abdomen, and therefore her baby, from harm. “So as the mother’s bump grows, in effect the expanded peripersonal space is the brain’s way of ensuring danger is kept at arm’s length,” lead researcher Flavia Cardini said in a statement.Another study, scheduled for publication in the June 27 issue of Cell, describes how a pregnant woman’s antibodies are transferred to her unborn child so that at birth, when the newborn’s immune system is most vulnerable, the baby possesses protection from certain disease-producing pathogens. The researchers discovered that the placenta selects specific antibodies in the mother to activate natural killer cells in the baby and delivers them to the unborn infant so that those cells are abundant and functional even in the first few days of life. —J.B. iStock/TolikoffPhotography Alzheimer’s and gum diseaseResearchers at the University of Bergen in Norway recently discovered that the bacterium that causes gingivitis, or gum disease, can move to the brain and excrete an enzyme that destroys nerve cells, potentially leading to memory loss and eventually Alzheimer’s disease. In the study, researchers found the enzyme in 96 percent of the 53 Alzheimer’s patients they examined.The scientists have developed a drug that blocks these enzymes and may postpone the development of Alzheimer’s. They plan to test the drug later this year. —J.B. Image: Deck: Russian scientist plans more babies with altered DNACategory: Science & TechKeywords: ScienceTechnologyGeneticsHealthBioethicsRussiaInternationalCrimeLaw EnforcementDiscoveriesDiseaseSlug: ScienceArticle Title: Full steam ahead for gene editing?Author: Julie BorgDigital Branding: BeginningsHide from Archive?: 0
    - 2 hours ago 20 Jun 19, 7:19pm -

World Watch Monitor