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

  • newIndiana Baptists increase CP, address sexual abuse

    Indiana Baptists increase CP, address sexual abuse

    A budget increase -- and added support for Southern Baptist missions and ministries -- were approved by the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana during their annual meeting. Messengers also addressed the issue of sexual abuse through a motion and two resolutions. Read more...
    - 18 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 7:53pm -
  • newElection cycle 365+ Prayer online enrollment urged

    Election cycle 365+ Prayer online enrollment urged

    A Southern Baptist layperson is asking Christians to register online for a prayer emphasis she launched to cover the 2020 election cycle with prayer and fasting. Read more...
    - 18 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 7:48pm -
  • newSharing Gospel 2,020 times by fall 2020

    Sharing Gospel 2,020 times by fall 2020

    A mission team in North Africa is working toward the goal of sharing the full Gospel story -- mostly with Muslims -- 2,020 times by the fall of 2020. "If we ask big things, the Lord will respond," one worker said. Read more...
    - 18 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 7:40pm -
  • newFloyd: Florida Baptists generous in giving, Gospel sending

    Floyd: Florida Baptists generous in giving, Gospel sending

    "What your convention does is massive," Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee president and CEO Ronnie Floyd told Florida Baptists at their annual meeting. Read more...
    - 21 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 4:42pm -
  • newNew film explores dangerous work of dedicated family

    New film explores dangerous work of dedicated family

    LifeWay Films and Deidox Films to host Fathom Event Feb. 24-25, 2020. The documentary "Free Burma Rangers" tells the true story of one American family leading dangerous rescue missions in the Middle East. Read more...
    - 21 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 4:34pm -

Berean Research

  • Benny Hinn’s Confession – Full Transcript
    Full statement from Benny Hinn, popular wealth-and-health Word of Faith preacher, on September 3, 2019, speaking to his followers during a Facebook Live broadcast: So it’s all about our brokenness, our old man, we call that the flesh must be broken, must be out of the way. And today, sadly, among a lot of circles, […]The post Benny Hinn’s Confession – Full Transcript appeared first on Berean Research.
    - 70 days ago 5 Sep 19, 2:57am -
  • By WHOSE Standard?
    Saints, you’ll want to pay close attention to how the Social Justice Movement has been worming its way into churches of all denominations, but especially into the pews of the Southern Baptist Convention. It’s as if leaders have forgotten that Jesus came as Savior to wipe away our guilt and shame, and are instead demanding […]The post By WHOSE Standard? appeared first on Berean Research.
    - 24 Jul 19, 3:16am -
  • 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 -

Christian Headlines

Christian Post

Christianity Today

  • My Journey from Castro to Christ
    After fleeing Cuba, my family was barely surviving. Then a California church gave us a new lease on life.From the earliest time I can remember, I had an intense longing for peace. Born in Havana, Cuba, in the early 1950s, I was aware from a young age that our country was in a constant state of violence. At night, it was common for our family to hear gunfire and bombs going off in the distance. These were the beginning years of Fidel Castro’s Cuban Revolution.By the latter part of the 1950s, the sounds of war were getting closer to our neighborhood and louder by the day. On January 8, 1959, Castro marched into the streets of Havana, and I thought peace had finally been achieved. It wasn’t long, however, before ordinary Cubans began to grasp the true nature of the new communist regime. The government started taking over farmland and businesses, which roused a movement dedicated to overthrowing Castro.In May of 1961, the government took control of all the island’s private schools, a move that hit close to home. My family had founded the Pitman Academy and operated it for decades, but the government takeover drove them out of business and stripped them of all their assets. Seeing no future on the island, we decided to make our escape later that year, boarding a commercial ship from Spain headed for Veracruz, Mexico. We left in the middle of the night, taking nothing but the clothes we were wearing.Acts of CompassionMy grandfather had some distant cousins living in Mexico City. After we landed in Mexico, they took us into their home for a few months. Once my grandfather and my other aunts and uncles arrived, we were able to rent a one-bedroom apartment, where 15 of us lived for over six months. The refugee life didn’t bring anything like the peace for which I had hoped.In April of 1962, members of my immediate ...Continue reading...
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  • One-on-One with Bryan Jarrett on Resourcing Rural America, Part 1
    We've not looked at rural as a mission field. We haven't seen it through missiological lenses.Ed: Talk to me about the Water Tower Network. Where does the name come from?Bryan: It was born out of our passion to serve rural churches and the identifying trade in most small towns is the water tower. We decided to do rural pastors training, form cohorts of pastors and start the network so we bought a ranch and this has become our training ground.Ed: Talk to me about your cohorts. What do you do if you're in a cohort?Bryan: Pastors come in to Dallas every 60 days. They come in on a Monday night and we just connect relationally and have fun. A lot of these guys are in assignments where they struggle financially, so we try to take them to do things they would never splurge on. We want to let them know they're not alone. Tuesday is resourcing when we are focused on things that they need help with the most—budgeting, legal advice, preaching help.Sometimes they can join us in person, and sometimes they attend via Skype. We give thousands of dollars worth of resources to them throughout the year—things like computer support and equipment, tech support, etc.The first time we are together, we assess their needs and then we let the needs of each cohort be tailored so that we spend that year investing in what they need the most.Ed: You're in a part of Texas that's slowly being eaten by Dallas, so it's not rural anymore. So where did this passion come from?Bryan: I grew up in a rural church and my cousins and I were in a family church in a rural area. There was probably a gap between me as a little kid and the next person who was about 60 years old. In some ways, I resented it. So growing up, my heart turned from God. I didn't feel like I connected with church or understood the gospel fully.So ...Continue reading...
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  • Tony Evans Becomes the First Sole African American to Author a Study Bible, Commentary Named for Him
    Celebrating 50 years of historic ministry, the Dallas pastor discusses his advice to Kirk Franklin and how his new releases highlight the black presence in Scripture.Pastor Tony Evans has been a megachurch leader, a radio broadcaster, and the author of dozens of books.Now he has a new title: the first African American to have both a study Bible and a full-Bible commentary with his name.“Paying attention to context is extremely important if you want to accurately understand what the Bible is saying,” he writes in opening instructions of the new, 1,429-page commentary. (Editor’s note: Evans was the first African American to earn a doctorate in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary.) “If you don’t pay attention to the context, you are in danger of trying to make the Bible say something that it doesn’t actually say.”Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, his predominantly black nondenominational church, marked the fall release of the two tomes at a gospel-star-studded celebration on Friday. During the almost three-hour “Kingdom Legacy Live” event, musicians Kirk Franklin and LeCrae both described Evans as the father figure they needed, in person or via his radio broadcast, “The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans.”The evening featured video tributes to Evans, 70, from other luminaries, such as former President George W. Bush and former football player Herschel Walker. It also included words of gratitude from family and friends for Evans’ ailing wife, Lois. Priscilla Shirer, one of Tony and Lois Evans’ four children, recalled how her mother worked to pack up and mail cassette tapes of her father’s sermons in the early days of the ministry the couple co-founded.Just before the event, Evans talked to Religion News Service in an exclusive interview about his new biblical volumes, coping with his wife’s health challenges, ...Continue reading...
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  • What Would Jesus Ask?
    Asking ourselves questions found in the Bible can transform our spiritual life.Have you ever been around a child who did not stop asking questions? Do you recall doing the same thing when you were young?Even as adults, much of our day is still spent asking others for information—soliciting feedback on a project, for example, or requesting status updates on an event. We probably spend even more time each week with those closest to us enquiring about work, school, marriage, parenting, leadership, time management, and the direction of our lives. But have you ever paused to consider asking inspired questions?What are Inspired Questions?Inspired questions are the ones found in the inspired Word of God—the Holy Scriptures. They help us sense the presence of God in our life and empower us to become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s moving. They reveal our hearts in ways other questions cannot. They help us discern God’s calling on our lives. They drive us deeper into our own reading of the Holy Scriptures. They are a uniquely powerful tool for unlocking key information in the Bible. They persuade us toward a godly direction. Indeed, they are for everyone who lives on this planet for the simple fact that God’s Word is for everyone. The fact that the Spirit inspired them means we are meant to ask and consider them as well.Yet in the age of secular counseling, and now question-centered therapy, inspired questions have largely been set aside. Even though they are among the most effective and time-tested ways to help us diagnose our spiritual condition, strengthen our walks with God, and foster our journey with others, many Christians don’t understand what they mean for our spiritual growth. Maybe now is the time to notice and note the question-driven nature of the Bible. ...Continue reading...
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  • One-on-One with Steve Green, President of Hobby Lobby on 'This Beautiful Book'
    Today I talk with Steve Green about "This Beautiful Book", which was just released.Ed: You and your family founded the Museum of the Bible in D.C. You clearly believe the Bible is important and have worked extremely hard to educate as many people as possible about the Bible. Where does your love for the Bible come from?Steve: My wife and I both grew up in Christian families who actively served in their churches. As children and teenagers, we went to Christian camps and youth conferences. (Actually, the first time we met was at a church camp, although we didn’t start dating until later.) Our parents raised us to look to the Bible for life guidance and hope.Like so many young families, we had to wrestle with raising children, making ends meet financially, dealing with debt and budgeting. In our case, we looked to the Bible for answers.We believe, like billions of people in the world, that the Bible is what it claims to be, the inspired word of God. We spend time in it regularly. In times of hardship, we go to the Bible. In times of worship and joy, we go to the Bible.Ed: The subtitle for your new book is “An Exploration of the Bible’s Incredible Story Line and Why It Matters Today.” Why does the Bible matter today?Steve: The Bible is the best-selling book around the world, regardless of culture, economic status, education levels, and political and social situations. Its status has remained unchanged. Daniel Radosh, writing for the New Yorker, points out, “The familiar observation that the Bible is the best-selling book of all time obscures a more startling fact: the Bible is the best-selling book of the year, every year.”[1]The Bible resonates with all of humanity like no other book.Throughout the years, the Bible has continued to have an impact on individual lives and ...Continue reading...
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Forum 18 News Service

  • UZBEKISTAN: Haj pilgrims face state control, bribery, blacklists
    Uzbekistan imposes severe restrictions on haj pilgrims, including using blacklists to bar devout Muslims, arbitrarily restricting who can go on the pilgrimage. Controls are complex and multilayered, involving the SSS secret police, the Muftiate, and the government's Religious Affairs Committee. The system's complexity facilitates corruption.
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  • TURKMENISTAN: Two new conscientious objector jailings
    On 29 October, Ashgabad City Court rejected appeals of two 18-year-old Jehovah's Witnesses, David Petrosov and Selim Taganov, against their one-year jail terms for refusing compulsory military service on grounds of conscience. Nine conscientious objectors are now jailed, six of them in 2019. The United Nations ruled that Turkmenistan violated the rights of three more conscientious objectors jailed in 2013.
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  • CRIMEA: Four months in Russian prison punishment cell
    Prison officials in Russia's Kabardino-Balkariya Region will not say why they put Crimean prisoner of conscience Renat Suleimanov in a punishment cell in July, where he remains. Suleimanov was jailed as an "extremist" as an alleged adherent of the Tabligh Jamaat Muslim movement. The criminal trial of Jehovah's Witness Sergei Filatov has begun. Imam Rustem Abilev was fined three months' average wages.
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  • RUSSIA: 32 people on trial after nationwide ban
    32 Jehovah's Witnesses are now on criminal trial due to 2017 nationwide ban, with one more Jehovah's Witness on trial for alleged "public calls for extremist activity". "Extremism" trials of two Muslim readers of Said Nursi's works and two more Jehovah's Witnesses have been delayed.
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  • DONBAS: Luhansk: Worship bans, clergy bans, punishments
    Worship is banned in all Protestant churches and Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Halls, as the unrecognised Luhansk People's Republic bans exercising freedom of religion or belief without permission. Courts punish those leading unapproved worship. Prosecutors are investigating an Orthodox priest on "extremism" criminal charges. With no permanent resident priest, Catholics hold Mass by Skype. With bans on clergy visiting, many communities suffer isolation.
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Get Religion

  • newReporters' reminders: (1) Two stories can be one story, so (2) watch religious media for ideas
    The following is an example of how two separate stories can be analyzed as one story. It also demonstrates why the complete religion reporter working in the mainstream Media will continually look for material in specialized news outlets.Story #1, which The Guy depicted April 4, is the demise of the once mighty Christian Booksellers Association, founded in 1950 at the beginning of the post-war evangelical boom and lately a victim of the woes hitting all brick-and-mortar retail. (The group was later renamed CBA: The Association for Christian Retail, to signify that members sold much more than books).Story #2, which hit almost simultaneously, is the financial peril and potential collapse of what has been an equally prominent organization, National Religious Broadcasters, formed in 1944.Writers can learn all the sorry details from a June 20 exploration on the website of freelance writer Julia Roys, a Nov. 6 follow-up for the watchdog group Ministry Watch by beat veteran Steve Rabey, and a rundown in the Sept. 28 issue of World magazine, which commendably has an investigative reporting team run by the author, Michael Reneau.All three articles raise an important and related question journalists might pursue separately: In light of the NRB situation, can donors rely much on certification by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability?Now, why does The Guy propose that the troubles of CBA and NRB be treated as a single story?Despite their non-sectarian names, both organizations are thoroughly evangelical Protestant, and together have been key players in that U.S. movement in the same way for decades. Their two bustling trade shows each year were all-important for networking, shaping the subculture, promoting popular theologies and showcasing stars old and new.Both were especially vital for the complex world of “parachurch” ministries, which lack the interconnections provided by denominations. The broadcasters’ group, whose meetings drew notables from U.S. presidents on down, also played a role in lobbying government on behalf of media interests.
    - 3 mins ago 14 Nov 19, 2:00pm -
  • newThe Rev. Fred Rogers was a remarkably kind man. So is Tom Hanks. Any religion content here?
    It’s the big question journalists ask when investigating the life of the Rev. Fred Rogers, the ordained Presbyterian minister who became one of the most iconic figures in television history.Was this man as stunningly kind and compassionate as he seemed to be when he gazed through a television lens and into the minds and hearts of millions of children? Was he real? This was, of course, the question at the heart of a brilliant 2018 documentary entitled, “Won't You Be My Neighbor?”Now, only a year later, the same question is the hook for the plot of a new feature film entitled, “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood.”Further complicating matters is the fact that Mister Rogers, in this film, is played by actor Tom Hanks, an actor whose career — especially the second half of it — has been haunted by similar questions: Could Hanks truly be as nice, as kind and as sensitive as his coworkers say that he is? Is Hanks real?These two questions come together in a long, first-person New York Times arts feature by Taffy Brodesser-Akner that ran under this rather meta double-decker headline: This Tom Hanks Story Will Help You Feel Less Bad Hanks is playing Mister Rogers in a new movie and is just as nice as you think he is. Please read this article anyway.It’s a must-read story, even though it has — #Surprise — a massive God-shaped hole in the middle of it.What role did faith play in the work of the seminary-trained Rogers? Apparently none.What did Hanks — a churchgoer — think about the faith-driven side of Rogers life and work, a topic that Rogers talked about on many occasions? Once again, the answer seems to be — nada.Are these questions relevant in a Times feature in which the pivotal moment, in the real story behind the movie plot, was Mister Rogers pausing to pray with a troubled journalist? Yes, we are talking about real, personal prayer. Here is a long chunk of the Times piece that is hard to edit or shorten:
    - 17 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 9:15pm -
  • newRussia, the Kurds, Trump and some Syrian Jews: When in doubt stress the political angle
    A common complaint from those steeped in religious belief is that the mainstream media generally pay scant attention to religion issues unless there’s a political angle to exploit (or even better, a scandal; the sexier the better).As a mainstream media member, mark me down as among the often guilty. But unapologetically so. Because to quote a certain White House acting chief of staff (as of this writing, that is), “Get over it.”That’s just the way it is in our material world and no amount of high-minded whining will change it. So critics: it’s disingenuous to deny that religion and politics are not frequently entwined, for better or (more often) worse.GetReligion head honcho Terry Mattingly tackled this question in a recent post and podcast devoted to Russia’s self-proclaimed role as chief protector of Middle East Christians — in particular those with Orthodox Christian bona fides. His point was that religion was an essential part of the equation, in addition to the obvious political and economic realities.Syria, where Russia has taken over as the major outside power broker now that President Donald Trump has relinquished the United State’s role there, is a current case in point.But Christians are not the only faith group of concern to the Kremlin. Syrian Jews, despite being few in number, have also stirred Russia’s interest. It’s as clear a case of politics overshadowing religious connections as you’ll find.This recent analysis published by the liberal Israeli English-Hebrew daily Haaretz alerted me to the situation. (Paywall alert.)The piece was thin on just what Syrian Jews Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated, during a recent trip to Hungary, he is concerned about. Was he referring to the less than two-dozen Mizrahi Jews (Jews long connected to Arab lands) estimated to still reside in Syria?
    - 21 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 5:22pm -
  • newSurprise! National Geographic's definitive issue on women gives religion short shrift
    This month’s issue of National Geographic is a special issue on women that appears to be the start of a yearlong project. All the contributing writers, photographers and artists were female.So here is a rather obvious fact to note right up front. Being that women lead the way in religious observance around the planet, I thought there would be at least some representation of women in religion.So I read through the entire issue. Answer: There is and there isn’t.Since the text of the issue isn’t online yet, I can’t cut and paste much. So what did they include?There’s a picturesque double-page spread of five nuns from Kerala, India in their brown habits. The text says: Their superiors keep pressuring them to keep quiet and stop making trouble, but they refuse. When a nun in Kerala told church leaders multiple times that a bishop had raped her repeatedly, nothing happened, so she turned to the police. Months later, in September 2018, these fellow nuns joined a two-week protest outside the Kerala High Court. The bishop, who maintains his innocence, eventually was arrested…Instead of supporting the nuns, the church cut off the protesting nuns’ monthly allowance.That was the only mention I could find of any Christian women in the entire issue.Much better represented were Muslim women, such as France’s first black Muslim woman mayor Marième Tamata-Varin (p. 58); the anti-hijab movement in Iran (p. 59) and Meherzia Labidi, the Tunisian politician who likes being veiled (p. 72).
    - 24 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 2:12pm -
  • Defying stereotypes: The Atlantic's Emma Green paints a nuanced portrait of Trump voters in Iowa
    You’ve heard the same stat over and over: 81 percent of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.That is true, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.Yet in the three years since Trump’s shocking upset of Hillary Clinton, many in the mainstream press have pushed the idea that all white evangelicals — well, 81 percent of them anyway — love Trump and everything about him.In typical stories along those lines, there’s no room for nuance and no room for white evangelicals to have complicated feelings about Trump. It’s as if the reporters conveniently forget that there was another candidate on the ballot. A candidate who, like Trump, was one of the most unpopular major party nominees in history. And who, unlike Trump, clashed with many white evangelicals on issues such as abortion.Given the preponderance of the aforementioned narrative, it’s especially nice when an award-winning Godbeat pro like The Atlantic’s Emma Green produces a piece — as she is so apt to do — that defies the worn-out stereotypes and digs deeper on the familiar stat so often repeated.I’m talking about Green’s report out of Iowa this week titled “They Support Trump. They Want Him Impeached.”The headline is partly clickbait and partly a mostly accurate assessment of Green’s report, which opens with this compelling scene: SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — The small towns that run across Iowa’s northwest corner form a district that is as politically red as it gets in America. There are vast stretches of farmland; public-school football teams pray together after games; Christian music regularly plays over the loudspeakers in shopping centers. Voters here in Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District have sent Representative Steve King back to Washington every year since 2003, and 81 percent of those in Sioux County, near the district’s northwest corner, chose Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016, a higher pro-Trump percentage than anywhere else in the state. Still, even some of these hard-core Republicans wouldn’t mind if Trump were impeached before Election Day 2020. Polling suggests the president’s base nationwide is firmly opposed to impeachment, and that people’s opinions on the inquiry are split neatly along partisan lines. But at least in Sioux Center, where Republican presidential candidates regularly make pit stops during the primary season, some conservatives still feel ambivalent about Trump’s policies and character. In my conversations around town, people were skeptical that the impeachment inquiry would go anywhere, but they smiled ruefully at the fantasy of a President Mike Pence and a clean slate of Republican candidates in 2020. While voters in this area clearly preferred Trump over Clinton in 2016 and told me they have appreciated some of his work over the past two and a half years, there’s a difference between defending Trump and supporting him. However skeptical people here may be of Democrats’ motives and the likelihood of success, impeachment offers a distant dream of a return to Republican “politics as usual.”
    - 2 days ago 12 Nov 19, 10:30pm -

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

  • newThis Week in AG History -- Nov. 15, 1930
    God used the apparent resurrection and obedience of a 60-year-old woman to spark a great revival in Madagascar.
    - 1 hour ago 14 Nov 19, 1:00pm -
  • newUrban Strategies
    Organization brings transformation by equipping churches to meet community needs.
    - 16 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 10:00pm -
  • Momentous Service
    “Choco” De Jesús is installed as the first Hispanic executive in the U.S. Assemblies of God.
    - 1 day ago 13 Nov 19, 1:29pm -
  • Opening a New Door to Bible Fun and Learning
    When popular games and the Bible Fact-Pak are combined, everyone gets to participate and have fun.
    - 1 day ago 13 Nov 19, 10:00am -
  • A Brutal Life Redeemed
    Frankie Killmer is seeking God’s direction at Northpoint Bible College after a violent childhood and youth.
    - 3 days ago 11 Nov 19, 7:00am -

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

  • newTony Evans: On his new Bible and commentary, Kirk Franklin boycott, wife's health
    DALLAS (RNS) — The Dallas pastor says his new study Bible and commentary aim to foster ‘a well-ordered life in a chaotic world.’The post Tony Evans: On his new Bible and commentary, Kirk Franklin boycott, wife's health appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 14 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 11:51pm -
  • newFederal judge gives Buddhist death row inmate another stay of execution
    (RNS) — The Texas death row inmate’s execution has now been stayed twice this year over concerns for religious freedom.The post Federal judge gives Buddhist death row inmate another stay of execution appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 15 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 10:36pm -
  • newRNS Updated Budget — Wednesday, November 13, 2019
    NEWS STORY RNS-Ukraine-Jews: Why are so many players in the impeachment trial Jewish? (RNS) — Public hearings in the presidential impeachment inquiry begin today Wednesday (Nov. 13), as a parade of witnesses march into the Longworth House Office Building to offer televised testimonies. As viewers following the saga may have already gleaned, there’s a disproportionate […]The post RNS Updated Budget — Wednesday, November 13, 2019 appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 16 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 10:33pm -
  • newWhy are so many players in the impeachment trial Jewish?
    (RNS) — It’s mostly a coincidence, and there’s certainly no connection between them, but there are a few intriguing historical notes that might shed light on this curious set of circumstances.The post Why are so many players in the impeachment trial Jewish? appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 16 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 10:30pm -
  • newAbortion preeminent issue, global warming not urgent, say bishops
    (RNS) — Breaking with tradition, the meeting did not include a report on the recently concluded Amazon synod. The post Abortion preeminent issue, global warming not urgent, say bishops appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 16 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 10:27pm -

Today's Creation Moment

  • THE END IS FEAR
    Remember when Bible-denying cartoonists mocked evangelists carrying “The End Is Near” signs? Today, the people holding those signs are not Christians but are climate-change alarmists … and anyone who dares laugh at them will be persecuted for being a science denier and often a whole lot worse. The signs now read “The End Is Near in 12 Years”, and there are many people – especially politicians – who are touting it to gain power, redistribute wealth, undermine capitalism and take away our way of life. Nothing must stand in their way – not even the freedom to make our own decisions regarding the car we drive, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the words we speak and even the thoughts we think. Do the research and you’ll see that such alarmists are not peddling truth. They are peddling fear, and, judging from how many people believe the hoax, they are indoctrinating millions of people into their environmental faith, both in America and around the world. Children, in particular, are exposed to this end-of-the-world scenario, kids who are too young to analyze the data and come to a rational conclusion. When Christians, on the other hand, frighten children by....
    - 57 days ago 18 Sep 19, 2:28pm -
  • Recurring Donations

    - 10 Apr 19, 5:10pm -
  • Radio Archivo
    Current Volume: Volumen 199   Volumen 198 Volumen 197 Volumen 196 Volumen 195 Volumen 194 Volumen 193 Volumen 192 Volumen 191 Volumen 190 Volumen 189 Volumen 188 Volumen 187 Volumen 186 Volumen 185 Volumen 184 Volumen 183 Volumen 182 Volumen 181 Volumen 180 Volumen 179 Volumen  178 Volumen 177 Volumen 176 Volumen 175 Volumen 174 Volumen 173 Volumen 172 Volumen 171 Volumen 170 Volumen 169 Volumen 168 Volumen 167 Volumen 166 Volumen 165 Volumen 164 Volumen 163 Volumen 162 Volumen 161 Volumen 160 Volumen 159 Volumen 158 Volumen 157 Volumen 156 Volumen 155 Volumen 154 Volumen 153 Volumen 152 Volumen 151 Volumen 150 Volumen 149 Volumen 148 Volumen 147 Volumen 146 Volumen 145 Volumen 144 Volumen 143 Volumen 142 Volumen 141 Volumen 140 Volumen 139 Volumen 138 Volumen 137 Volumen 136 Volumen 135 Volumen 134 Volumen 133 Volumen 132 Volumen 131 Volumen 130 Volumen 129 Volumen 128 Volumen 127 Volumen 126 Volumen 125 Volumen 124 Foreign translations of the broadcast are provided on the following websites: www.hcjb.cz– Creation Moments in Czech www.scienceandapologetics.org – English and Russian www.littlesamaritan.org – Creation Moments in Romanian
    - 12 Dec 18, 9:21pm -
  • Dashboard 2

    - 12 Aug 18, 11:46am -
  • test

    - 19 Jul 18, 5:09pm -

United Methodist News Service

  • newResponse to wildfires deepens with experience
    Some people dig in while others leave or work to help fire survivors. Responses are evolving as Californians get more experience dealing with wildfires.
    - 22 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 4:03pm -
  • Bishops encouraged to break down barriers
    Bishops both celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall and agreed to work toward helping refugees overcome roadblocks to settling in the U.S.
    - 2 days ago 12 Nov 19, 7:09pm -
  • Funeral chaplain puts faith to work
    United Methodist Elison Kamupira is a ‘pillar of strength’ for grieving families, an evangelist and a lively master of ceremonies.
    - 2 days ago 12 Nov 19, 4:58pm -
  • WCA looks toward new, traditionalist church
    Leaders at latest global gathering of Wesleyan Covenant Association say The United Methodist Church is certain to split.
    - 3 days ago 11 Nov 19, 8:47pm -
  • Bishops warned their funding imperiled
    Church financial leaders sounded the alarm that if current trends persist, the Episcopal Fund will run out of money in five years.
    - 6 days ago 8 Nov 19, 8:15pm -

World Magazine

  • newTrauma in the system
    A federal judge in Texas slapped a $50,000-a-day fine on the state for failing to protect children in foster care. A lawsuit claims the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) suffers from overburdened caseworkers and lack of oversight, resulting in children who leave the system and go into homelessness, poverty, and worse.In 2015, U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack found the state’s foster care system so rife with abuse that it violated children’s civil right to be safe from harm while in government custody. She ordered Texas to make reforms such as studying caseworkers’ workloads, hiring more caseworkers and reducing their turnover rates, and setting requirements for how often caseworkers must visit children.The state appealed and managed to get some of Jack’s orders overturned. In July, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state had to begin implementing the remaining reforms. By early October, Jack threatened to hold the government in contempt of court for continuing to drag its feet, saying DFPS was not cooperating with the monitors Jack assigned to track the agency’s progress. On Nov. 5, the judge decided enough was enough and levied the $50,000 a day fine for each day the state failed to guarantee sufficient supervision for group foster homes. That amount is set to go up to $100,000 a day later this month if the state doesn’t prove to the court’s monitors that the changes are moving forward.“I cannot find DFPS to be credible at any level,” Jack said. “I am going to have to rely on the monitors for everything.”Her original decision painted a bleak picture of a system in which “foster children often age out of care more damaged than when they entered,” and, as adults, place “a continued strain on the government through welfare, incarceration, or otherwise. Much of the problem comes from what the 5th Circuit judges called “crushing” caseloads on caseworkers in charge of coordinating foster children’s care. According to court documents in the case, professional consensus says a caseworker can handle a maximum of 15-20 cases at a time, and many recommend fewer than that. But the court found that 43 percent of DFPS caseworkers had more than 20 cases, and 9 percent had more than 30. Caseworker burnout results in a high turnover rate, so a child may have multiple caseworkers while in the system.In court, DPFS argued that caseloads did not have a measurable effect on children’s long-term outcomes. But foster parents say otherwise. Kelly Stanley, a social worker and former foster parent from Waco, Texas, said she had positive experiences with some caseworkers and volunteers, but those assigned to her foster children had high turnover rates. DPFS fired the second of three caseworkers for one of her children after Stanley reported that she regularly missed the required monthly visits to her home. “She was clearly falling apart,” Stanley said.The situation came to a head as the Stanleys were preparing to sign adoption papers. Stanley said their caseworker walked into the courtroom and explained they couldn’t adopt the boy who had been living in the home for a year because they had served the release papers to the wrong person. Instead of delivering them to the boy’s father, they delivered them to a man in the same jail with the same name. Two months later, the state returned the boy to his father, who by then was on probation.Stanley and her husband, a youth pastor at a Baptist church, are no longer foster parents, though they hope to be again someday. She said many people say they feel like they can’t foster because it’s too hard to take in children who may leave. “I don’t think people realize the reason we’re not doing this again is not because we don’t want to—it’s because we emotionally can’t handle the chaos and the trauma that they have put us through,” she said. “It’s not just the children who come to us who are traumatized.” Photo by Charissa Koh A homeless camp in Austin, Texas Clearing the campsAUSTIN, Texas—After a monthslong feud with the City Council, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, sent in crews to clean up homeless encampments on Nov. 4.This summer, the Austin City Council partially rescinded ordinances that banned people from sitting, lying, or pitching tents on most public property. Some Austin residents praised the council’s decision, but many raised safety and sanitation concerns. Abbott, whose governor’s mansion is in Austin, began tweeting examples of homeless people damaging property or disturbing pedestrians. He sent a letter to Mayor Steve Adler warning him to get the situation under control by Nov. 1 or Abbott would intervene. On Oct. 17, after hours of public testimony, the City Council decided to reimplement parts of the ban.But Abbott was not satisfied and deployed the Department of Transportation to clean up several encampments under bridges. On Nov. 7, he announced five acres of public land would become a homeless campsite with portable restrooms and hand sanitation. —Charissa Koh Associated Press/Texas Department of Criminal Justice (file) Bobby Moore Death to lifeThe Texas Court of Criminal Appeals changed inmate Bobby Moore’s sentence from death to life in prison on Nov. 6. Moore, 60, has been on death row for the last 39 years for shooting and killing an elderly store clerk in Houston. His attorneys argued Moore was mentally disabled and could not be executed, but Texas courts repeatedly disagreed. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that Moore’s disability, leaving the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals no choice but to change the sentence.—C.K. Image: Deck: Judge fines the state of Texas for not improving its foster care programCategory: ChildrenKeywords: Foster CareGovernmentState GovernmentEffective CompassionSlug: Effective CompassionArticle Title: Trauma in the systemAuthor: Rachel Lynn AldrichDigital Branding: CompassionHide from Archive?: 0
    - 15 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 10:45pm -
  • newHarebrained effort
    Harebrained effortMovieMoviesFarcical Jojo Rabbit minimizes the crimes of the HolocaustMoviesBob BrownIn his autobiography, Charlie Chaplin said if he had known the horrors of the concentration camps, he could not have made his 1940 satirical film The Great Dictator. Director Taika Waititi has no such reservations. In his new film Jojo Rabbit, marketed as an “anti-hate satire,” Waititi depicts the barbarians of the Holocaust as little more than buffoons. The story takes place during World War II. Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a 10-year-old German boy who lives with his mother (Scarlett Johansson) and discovers that she has been hiding a teenage Jewish girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie), in the house. As Jojo talks with Elsa, his heart softens and the film could have broken through Waititi’s playing the Holocaust for laughs, but the director repeatedly falls back to portraying the Nazis as dummkopfs rather than demonic.Some reviewers have played up several poignant plot twists, but I can’t see the concentration camps’ victims or their descendants laughing along with Jojo Rabbit. I hope modern audiences won’t, either. MovieMovies
    - 16 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 9:36pm -
  • newBeyond the report card
    A national achievement test shows American fourth and eighth graders falling behind in reading and barely holding steady in math, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which administers the test, says public schools are making progress with some key student groups even though overall performance is lackluster.NAEP exams, the results of which are known as the Nation’s Report Card, are given to select fourth, eighth, and 12th-grade students annually or biennially. Begun in 1969, the exams are the longest-running standardized tests of their kind, providing copious data for researchers to analyze. The recent results stem from tests administered earlier this year to nearly 100,000 fourth and eighth grade students across the country.U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pointed out that the test scores showed two out of three U.S. students are not proficient readers. Fourth grade reading declined in 17 states and eighth grade reading declined in 31.“Our children continue to fall further and further behind their international peers,” she said. “If we embrace education freedom, American students can achieve. American students can compete.”NAEP said the overall test scores do not reflect the socioeconomic and educational factors affecting students’ performance. Students with disabilities and those still learning English comprise about 15 percent of those tested this year. Unsurprisingly, they tend to score below the national average. But the trend over the last several decades for those two groups has shown steady upward growth.Grady Wilburn, a statistician for NAEP, said the test defines proficiency differently than many people understand it, and that leads to misconceptions about the results.“One thing that often gets confused is that ‘proficient’ on NAEP means mastery over challenging subject matter,” Wilburn said. “It is often a higher bar than state-level testing’s ‘proficient,’ which means they are performing at grade level.” A student rated “proficient” on the NAEP exam is actually performing above grade level compared with most state assessments.This year’s test results also showed that students in Washington, D.C., are improving, and the gap between urban school districts and the national average has narrowed. School officials in the nation’s capital celebrated their gains in both math and reading. District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee credited the 2008 implementation of universal pre-K as a reason for the success. The eighth graders who took this year’s NAEP tests were part of the first wave of students to benefit from the free citywide program.“Many of our students are getting a strong start in their learning,” Ferebee said. The chancellor also pointed to the district’s comparatively high teacher salaries that “allow us to be competitive at a time when there’s a nationwide shortage of good teachers.”Mississippi, a state that typically lurks near the bottom of education quality lists, also showed improvement. The state posted a 4 point average gain since the 2017 NAEP in fourth grade reading, and a 6 point gain in fourth grade math. Those gains were the highest in the nation in both testing categories.“Our achievement is at an all-time high in Mississippi,” state Superintendent Carey Wright said. For the first time in the state’s history, fourth-graders bested the national average in math and matched it in reading. Wright pointed to the state’s heavy emphasis on early literacy as a key factor in its success.“When you improve kids’ reading ability, it’s not surprising that kids’ math ability falls in line,” Wright said. Associated Press/Photo by Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times Striking Chicago teachers rally downtown on Oct. 31. Chicago schools reopenChicago Public Schools teachers returned to their classrooms Nov. 1 after an 11-day strike. Their tentative contract contains more than $30 million in new district spending to shrink oversized classes and raise teacher pay by 16 percent over five years. The contract also features a surprise 40 percent pay raise for several groups of lower-paid workers, including teaching assistants and clerks.Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, noted the strike put many of the district’s nearly 400,000 students through hardships. Volleyball and golf athletes missed their state playoffs, and high school juniors lost their chance at qualifying for National Merit Scholarships because they were unable to take the PSAT.To recover some of the lost instructional hours, the contract calls for the district to make up five of the strike days. School officials have yet to announce when they’ll schedule those days, but students likely will have to wait a week longer to start their summer vacation in June.Chicago Teachers Union members will vote by secret ballot Thursday and Friday to accept or reject the proposed contract. While some teachers have stated publicly they will vote no, union leaders expect the majority of their members to approve it. —L.E. Associated Press/Photo by Mukhtar Khan (file) Children study inside a local mosque building in Srinagar, Indian-controlled Kashmir Kashmir schools stay closedHalfway around the world in Kashmir, 1.5 million students remain out of school for the 15th straight week, with no end in sight. Long school closures have become a semi-regular occurrence in the mountainous region as India and Pakistan nurse a decades-long dispute over its control. In early August, India unilaterally revoked the special autonomy status of a portion of Kashmir, severing phone lines and internet connections. Separatist militants launched a campaign of retaliatory attacks that have severely compromised everyday freedoms like attending school.“The long school closures in the valley are causing major disruptions in young people’s educational and professional development, producing feelings of insecurity, helplessness, and demoralization,” Haley Duschinski, an anthropologist at Ohio University specializing in Kashmir, told The New York Times.Although all private schools and most government schools are closed, Indian government officials demand that parents send their children to school. Families continue to keep their children home, wary of violence from separatist attacks and the increased military presence of Indian soldiers in the streets. —L.E. iStock/Wavebreakmedia Life-saving lessonAn Akron, Ohio, elementary school teacher received an award last month for teaching a lesson that saved a student’s life. Just two weeks after first-grade teacher Barb Fisher presented a unit on fire safety last May, 6-year-old Zhiouli Wilson became trapped in her basement during a serious house fire. Despite the confusion of flames and smoke billowing around her, the first-grader remembered her training to stay low and cover herself with a blanket.“The firefighter that rescued her said that she saved herself by what she had learned, what we had taught,” Fisher told WEWS-TV.Zhiouli was injured in the blaze but has since returned to school, often stopping by to give her Fisher hugs. —L.E. Image: Deck: Digging deeper into national standardized test resultsCategory: EducationKeywords: EducationPublic SchoolsChicagoLaborInternationalKashmirIndiaPolitical UnrestSlug: EducationArticle Title: Beyond the report cardAuthor: Laura EdghillDigital Branding: SchooledHide from Archive?: 0
    - 17 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 9:05pm -
  • newPublic hears impeachment testimony
    WASHINGTON—As the U.S. House of Representatives’ televised impeachment hearings kicked off Wednesday morning, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., called them “nothing less than an impeachment process in search of a crime.” Acting U.S. Ambassador to the Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent are the first witnesses to testify in front of TV cameras. Both have already answered questions behind closed doors.What do lawmakers expect to learn from the hearings? Democrats said the American people will hear for themselves evidence that President Donald Trump leveraged military aid to Ukraine for political favors. But defenders of the president pointed out that no witnesses have openly accused the president of proposing a quid pro quo. GOP representatives have submitted a list of witnesses they would like to question, but Democrats have the final say on who testifies, and it’s unclear if they’ll accept any of the names on that list.Dig deeper: Watch the hearings on C-SPAN.Image: Category: PoliticsArticle Title: Public hears impeachment testimonyKeywords: PoliticsCongressWashingtonWhite HouseU.S. House of RepresentativesImpeachmentAuthor: Harvest Prude
    - 21 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 5:30pm -
  • newTurkish president visits the White House
    President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are meeting on Wednesday for the first time since Turkey launched its military offensive in northern Syria last month. The leaders are expected to discuss Turkey’s move to purchase a Russian air defense system.How is Washington welcoming Erdogan? Several U.S. lawmakers criticized the visit due to Turkey’s record of human rights abuses. Trump moved toward warmer relations with the country after he announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria last month. Turkey quickly moved forward with an incursion against Syrian Kurds, who helped in the defeat of Islamic State (ISIS). An October report from Amnesty International documented possible war crimes committed by Turkey and its allies in Syria.Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report on how the U.S. withdrawal from the region allowed Turkish forces to target civilians.Image: Category: InternationalArticle Title: Turkish president visits the White HouseKeywords: InternationalWhite HouseTurkeySyriaForeign PolicyAuthor: Onize Ohikere
    - 21 hours ago 13 Nov 19, 5:25pm -

World Watch Monitor