Prayer News | Where Christians Pray Through the News

Prayer List: Covid-19 Global Menace

Cases of Covid-19, the Wuhan Coronoavirus, have been reported in more than 200 nations and more than 80,000 people have died. – Stats from Wikipedia

Orders to stay at home are preventing normal funeral services for the victims. Some families and friends of the deceased are experiencing deep depression.

Severe economic problems are also on the horizon for the unemployed.

Prayer List

  • Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of people that have died from Covid-19.
  • Pray for a rapid recovery for those who are sick.
  • Pray for safety for doctors, nurses and family members caring for the sick.
  • Pray for financial needs to be met for people financially struggling after losing a job or receiving fewer work hours.
  • Pray for the spiritual needs of people to also be met.
  • Pray for opportunities to share God’s love and hope to people that are depressed from these circumstances.

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Assemblies of God News

  • newSeek God's Face
    Pressing into the Lord’s presence aligns us with His perspective and purposes.
    - 8 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 2:30pm -
  • newNavy Football Team Chaplain
    Holly Short has opportunity to speak into lives on the Midshipmen.
    - 11 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 12:00pm -
  • Following God’s Pioneer Calling
    Church planter, police chaplain Bill Riddle reflects on 70 years of ministry.
    - 1 day ago 26 Oct 21, 12:00pm -
  • Cooperation is Key
    U.S. Missions Executive Director Malcolm Burleigh anticipates greater cooperation with AG districts, ministry networks.
    - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 2:30pm -
  • Running a 55K to Get Kids to Camp
    For his 55th birthday, Mark Lehman, pastor of M1 Church in Mansfield, Ohio, ran 55 kilometers to raise funds to help kids attend camp.
    - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 12:30pm -

Baptist Press

Christian Headlines

    Christian Newswire

    • newOur Faith Under Fire Forms to Defend Religious Freedom in the U.S. Military
      NEWS PROVIDED BYOur Faith Under FireOct. 27, 2021RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 27, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- In response to the increasing attacks on the religious freedom of members of the U.S. Armed Forces, Our Faith Under Fire launched today as a defender of that freedom."Our Faith Under Fire is the only community benefit organization committed to not only defending the religious freedom of our military service members and their families but also to addressing the issue at its source by Source: Our Faith Under Fire
      - 7 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 4:02pm -
    • newThere is No 'Functioning' First Amendment in Washington, D.C. as Long as the US Capitol Continues to Prohibit Peaceful Free Speech Activities on the Capitol Grounds
      NEWS PROVIDED BYChristian Defense CoalitionOct. 27, 2021WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- The US Capitol Police are still denying all permits for peaceful First Amendment events on the grounds surrounding the US Capitol. Over the past several months, Rev. Patrick Mahoney has been prohibited from conducting a Good Friday Service, National Day of Prayer Gathering, 4th of July Prayer Service, and a 20th Anniversary Remembrance and Prayer Vigil for 9/11. In Rev. Mahone Source: Christian Defense Coalition
      - 7 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 3:59pm -
    • newRatio Christi Campus Apologetics Alliance Files Suit Over Discrimination at University of Nebraska-Lincoln
      NEWS PROVIDED BYRatio ChristiOct. 27, 2021 LAFAYETTE, Ind., Oct. 27, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- ADF represents Ratio Christi in lawsuit against university for discrimination based on its views.The university denied Ratio Christi's request of $1,500 in student activity funding to bring in a respected philosopher who taught at UNL for several decades because, according to the university, it could not promote "speakers of a political and ideological nature." The university told Rat Source: Ratio Christi
      - 8 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 3:25pm -
    • newThe Kendrick Brothers' 'Show Me The Father' Releases on Digital and DVD December 7
      EXCLUSIVE BONUS CONTENT INCLUDES BONUS SCENES, MAKING-OF-FEATURETTES AND MORE DOUBLE FEATURE DVD ALSO AVAILABLE, FEATURING COURAGEOUS LEGACY- AN UPDATED AND EXTENDED ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THE KENDRICK BROTHERS' CLASSIC FILM"Impactful and Inspiring." -- Christian Film Review"Wonderful! A must-see movie! It will inspire you!" -- The Dove FoundationNEWS PROVIDED BYEPIC Agency Oct. 26, 2021CULVER CITY, Calif., Oct. 26, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Award-winning filmma Source: EPIC
      - 24 hours ago 26 Oct 21, 11:00pm -
    • Ratio Christi Campus Apologetics Alliance Files Suit Over Discrimination at University of Houston-Clear Lake
      NEWS PROVIDED BYRatio Christi Campus Apologetics AllianceOct. 26, 2021LAFAYETTE, Ind., Oct. 26, 2021 /Christian Newswire/ -- Ratio Christi Campus Apologetics Alliance files suit over discrimination at University of Houston-Clear Lake.ADF represents Ratio Christi after university denied the group recognition based on its views.University of Houston-Clear Lake excluded Ratio Christi because it requires its leaders to agree with its values and mission. Other organizations have leade Source: Ratio Christi
      - 1 day ago 26 Oct 21, 10:18pm -

    Christian Post

    Christian Research Network

    Christian Sentinel

    • Charisma’s 25th Anniversary Hall of Shame (Repost from the year 2000)
      Charisma Magazine's 25th Anniversary edition looks at the legacy of those who have graced its covers.  The list is a Who's Who of people who have brought shame to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The post Charisma’s 25th Anniversary Hall of Shame (Repost from the year 2000) appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
      - 5 days ago 22 Oct 21, 2:53pm -
    • Stephen Strang in the Pits (2006 article I wrote posted by request)
      Do you think Jesus would be happy with Mr. Strang, selling out the Church for the almighty dollar?The post Stephen Strang in the Pits (2006 article I wrote posted by request) appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
      - 5 days ago 22 Oct 21, 2:25pm -
    • My Moriel Memories Part 5 – Open Letter to Jacob Prasch from Jackie Alnor
      I’m very happy to complete this series that pained me more than you know to write. To say no to the prompting of the Holy Spirit would have been a grave sin on my part.The post My Moriel Memories Part 5 – Open Letter to Jacob Prasch from Jackie Alnor appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
      - 37 days ago 20 Sep 21, 3:54pm -
    • My Moriel Memories – Part IV by Jackie Alnor
      “Spiritual abuse is always a power issue. In order for abuse to happen, by definition, it has to come from a place of higher power…The post My Moriel Memories – Part IV by Jackie Alnor appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
      - 40 days ago 17 Sep 21, 11:35pm -
    • My Moriel Memories Part III – by Jackie Alnor
      I’m looking through you, where did you go I thought I knew you, what did I know You don’t look different, but you have changed…The post My Moriel Memories Part III – by Jackie Alnor appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
      - 42 days ago 15 Sep 21, 10:06pm -

    Christianity Today

    • A Court Win for One Pro-Life Med Student Raises Concerns for Others
      In Canada, Christians who want to be doctors have questions about religious liberty and their right to express unpopular opinions on social media.Evangelical med students and pro-life physicians across Canada celebrated with Rafael Zaki when the Coptic Christian won a Manitoba court appeal that quashed his university’s decision to expel him over Facebook posts.But that doesn’t mean they’re ready to start broadcasting their own personal beliefs about abortion, euthanasia, or the value of human life on social media.“I think it’s fair to say that students are not comfortable disclosing their faith perspective,” said Larry Worthen, executive director of the Christian Medical and Dental Association of Canada (CMDA).The CMDA regularly hears from students concerned about their rights to hold minority opinions on abortion, which is legal in all stages of pregnancy, and medical assistance in dying, which the Canadian government recently expanded to sick and disabled people without terminal illnesses. Though few students are actually expelled, several every year come into conflict with school administrators because of their faith.The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the “fundamental freedom” of conscience and religion, as well as “thought, belief, opinion, and expression,” but that didn’t keep the University of Manitoba from expelling Zaki over what he shared on Facebook.Worthen describes Zaki’s situation as “extreme” but says it does raise concerns.“This seems to us to be quite disturbing and appalling in this day and age, that the Charter rights that were guaranteed under our national constitution were not considered by the medical school in the processing of this concern and issue,” he said.Zaki, who emigrated to Canada from Egypt as a child, enrolled in the ...Continue reading...
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    • The Paradox of Playfulness
      Christians can engage in whimsy not because life is easy, but because life is difficult.In the early 1980s, my grandfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor. The surgeons told my grandparents that they were confident in their skill, but it was still brain surgery (in the early 80s!) and not without risk. Still, if he didn’t have the procedure, he would lose his eyesight.The night before he went under the knife, his nurses were surprised to hear music coming from his hospital room. His four adult children had driven from far and wide and gathered with their mother by his bedside. Instead of worrying or weeping, they were singing hymns.Were they nervous? Of course. But on the eve of what could be their last morning together, they chose to express their love through play. There were tears, but there was also the joy of voices lifted together—the very same voices that had been blending since my grandparents first set their tots around the piano decades earlier. My grandfather has always espoused the words of one of my favorite hymns: “Heart of my own heart, whatever befall / Still be my vision, O ruler of all.”I wasn’t at that bedside; I hadn’t even been born yet. But the story has echoed down through our family for decades and changed the way we live, even on the cusp of potential tragedy.While the influence of play can scarcely be overstated, its importance is commonly overlooked. We are often far too focused on completing the necessary tasks of life to spend time pursuing frivolity. Put another way, who has time to play when the challenges facing us are so very, very serious?As Thomas Hobbes famously wrote, life can be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Scripture describes our lives as fading as quickly as “the flowers of the field” (1 Pet. ...Continue reading...
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    • Worried Christians ‘Wait and See’ After Sudan Coup
      With believers unable to communicate, international advocates weigh in on how the Sudanese church—buoyed by recent religious freedom gains—considers the military seizure of power.Amid a near complete phone and internet blackout, Sudan’s Christians are on high alert following a military coup.Yesterday the head of the North African nation’s transitional Sovereign Council, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, arrested its civilian prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, his wife, and other officials.Hamdok, who called the arrests a “complete coup,” called for protests. The Forces of Freedom and Change alliance, which organized the original 2018 revolution that ousted 30-year dictator Omar al-Bashir, called for civil disobedience.Thousands have filled the streets and were met with repression. Reports say 10 people have been killed and 80 injured.CT spoke with an American ministry leader who was able to contact a Christian source in Sudan. The leader requested anonymity to preserve their ability to travel. The source was very careful in communication.“All I can really say is that it is very important to pray for peace and security for all in Sudan,” said the leader, “and that the voice of the people would be heard.”Meanwhile, a Sudanese Catholic leader felt secure enough to be specific.“The international community should put their pressure on the junta to value the life of their citizens,” Yunan Tombe Trille, president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, told ACI Africa, “[and] to hand back the power to civil government.”The military eventually supported the revolutionary movement and in July 2019 agreed to share power within the Sovereign Council. The arrangement: The initial 21 months would be led by a military figure, then 18 months of civilian leadership, followed by elections.Peace deals with rebels in Darfur and the Nuba Mountains ...Continue reading...
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    • Ghana Churches Push Law to Combat Promotion of Homosexuality
      Parliament is set to debate a controversial bill that would increase sentences for same-sex relationships and ban advocacy rights groups.The majority of Christian churches in Ghana are backing a proposed law that, if passed, could send lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people to prison for five years and those who advocate for their rights for 10.The controversial Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill was drafted in part by Edem Senanu, chair of Advocates for Christ-Ghana. He told CT he believes the law is necessary because of the “escalating promotion of the LGBTQIA+ community in Ghana.”A South Africa-based group that advocates for LGBT rights attempted to organize a conference in Ghana in July 2020 and an LGBT resource center opened in Accra, the capital, in January 2021. Though the conference was canceled and the resource center closed, they raised concern among conservative Christians in the West African country.“It was an escalation,” Senanu said. “It seemed strange and also an affront that anyone could openly set up an office to promote the LGBTQIA+ community, using their clout and influence and financial resources to recruit young people to join their ranks.”Ghana law currently prohibits “unnatural carnal knowledge,” a statute carried over from British law when Ghana achieved independence in 1957. The crime carries a three-year sentence but is rarely enforced.The bill increasing the penalties for same-sex relations was presented to parliament in June by eight lawmakers, led by Samuel George, with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party currently in the opposition. It is due to be debated after parliament resumes on October 26.The Christian Council of Ghana, which includes Anglicans, Methodists, and Presbyterians, and the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council ...Continue reading...
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    • Afghan Muslims Are Asking Questions. These Christians Are Ready to Answer.
      From sharing online messages about Jesus to serving in resettlement communities, church leaders approach this missional moment with prayer and patience.Mike Christian and his wife lead a small congregation called the Afghan-American Church of the Bay Area. But their main ministry is not gathering with a dozen or so Afghan believers during the week. It is engaging with the tens of thousands of Afghan seekers from around the world who reach out through messaging apps, social media, and online outlets.Mike, who was born in Afghanistan and worked alongside the US military there, adopted the name “Mike Christian” after his conversion. It was a signal to fellow Afghans that they could speak with him if they were curious about Christianity. His popular Facebook page shares Bible verses and Christian messages in Dari alongside an invitation to get in touch.The recent Taliban takeover has created a unique opportunity for some Afghan Muslims to rethink their faith, just as a massive influx of Afghan evacuees are fleeing to the United States for resettlement. It ’s the younger generation, and especially the women, Mike says, who are most disenchanted with Islam, and most open to learning about the God of Christianity.“We receive tons of text messages, emails, WhatsApp, and phone calls from Afghanistan,” Mike told CT in an interview. “They ’re saying, ‘We don ’t like Islam. We don ’t want that kind of religion. We want to become a Christian. Please help us. Show us how we become a follower of Jesus.’”“I just keep praying,” he says, “‘Lord, you have the power to change Afghan people—to join your church, to seek you and believe in you, to pray and repent.’’”The couple fields hundreds of questions a day from curious Afghans, describing the good news to them and connecting ...Continue reading...
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    Forum 18 News Service

    • RUSSIA: "Unjustified, unmotivated cruelty against peaceful, unresisting believers"
      Jehovah's Witnesses continue to be tortured, and Russia is not following its UN Convention against Torture obligations to punish the perpetrators. After one victim complained, they were amazed "that it was the very same investigator [assigned to the complaint] as is conducting the criminal case [against the other Jehovah's Witnesses]." Officials have repeatedly responded to Forum 18's enquiries by either not answering its questions, or asserting that no torture took place or that a case has not been opened against the suspect torturers.
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    • UZBEKISTAN: Jailed for learning to pray and discussing Islam
      Four Muslim men jailed for up to six years in a labour camp after meeting together to learn how to pray, to discuss Islamic topics such as prayer, fasting, peaceful jihad, good deeds and other matters, and to attend a mosque. This is the latest known case where Muslim men who met to pray and discuss their faith have been jailed with the use of a police agent provocateur.
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    • KAZAKHSTAN: New religious meeting restrictions now in Senate
      Religion Law changes to widen state religious censorship and make holding religious meetings more difficult are now in parliament's upper house. Any religious community which does not own its own building, or wants to hold a pilgrimage or other event away from their own place of worship, would have to have advance state permission for the meeting or event – including regular meetings for worship - if the amendments are adopted.
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    • TAJIKISTAN: Prisoner of conscience barred from attending only son's funeral
      Prisoner of conscience Shamil Khakimov was stopped from attending his only son's funeral in September, and has not been hospitalised for the specialised medical treatment he needs. This is despite multiple reminders – the most recent on 13 September – from the UN Human Rights Committee that the regime's human rights obligations require this. Freedom of religion and belief and other human rights of prisoners of all faiths continues to be violated.
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    • DONBAS: Donetsk: Three Protestant churches banned
      The unrecognised Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine, has this summer banned three Protestant churches. One of the churches appears still able to meet for worship as it tries to gain registration. The rebel entity's latest Religion Law change restricts registered religious associations' activities to "participants and/or members". In June the Culture Minister ordered musical and other artistic institutions to display lists of banned books and organisations.
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    Get Religion

    • newProPublica covers horrors at Liberty University. But do all Christian colleges hide rape cases?
      Yes, Liberty University is back in the news — for valid reasons. Yes, the news involves accusations of sexual violence.Let’s start with the basics. It’s never good for a Baptist institution when the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention publishes a story like this one: “Ex-Liberty spokesman says he was fired for raising concerns.”The only thing missing from that somewhat soft headline is, well, the sex angle. However, that promptly shows up in the lede. Once again, we are talking about the overture in a story from a conservative, Baptist press office: A former spokesperson for Liberty University is suing the evangelical school after being fired, alleging in a lawsuit filed Monday (Oct. 25) that his termination came in retaliation for voicing concerns that sexual misconduct accusations were mishandled. Scott Lamb, a vice president-level executive at the school where he was hired in 2018, said in an interview with The Associated Press that he pushed for answers about what was being done to investigate claims raised in a lawsuit filed over the summer by 12 women, and was continually dissatisfied. The women’s lawsuit, which is still ongoing, alleged the school had a pattern of mishandling cases of sexual assault and harassment and had fostered an unsafe campus environment. A student-led movement has since been established to advocate for systemic reforms, and the nonprofit investigative journalism outlet ProPublica published a deeply reported investigation … with findings similar to the allegations raised in the lawsuit.Now, the key to all of this is the brutal contents of that ProPublica piece: “ ‘The Liberty Way’: How Liberty University Discourages and Dismisses Students’ Reports of Sexual Assaults.” If you want a quick summary of the accusations — in another rather conservative source — check out this report at The New York Post: “Liberty University accused of making it ‘impossible’ to report rape, lawsuit alleges.”The ProPublica report is, of course, hostile to Liberty University in every way possible. It’s also clear that Liberty officials appear to have gone out of their way to earn that hostility — in large part by refusing, at ever twist in the plot, to speak on the record about the university’s perspective on these issues.
      - 5 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 5:30pm -
    • newDon't neglect the Supreme Court's potentially weighty case on religious schools funding
      Media eyes are trained on the U.S. Supreme Court's December 1 argument on Mississippi's abortion restrictions, preceded by a fast-tracked November 1 hearing about the stricter law in Texas. But don't neglect the Court's December 8 hearing and subsequent decision on tax funding of religious schools in the potentially weighty Carson v. Makin case (docket #20-1088).University of Baltimore law Professor Kimberly Wehle certainly wants us to pay heed, warning October 14 via TheAtlantic.com that this is a "sleeper" appeal that "threatens the separation of church and state." In her view, the high court faces not just the perennial problem of public funding for religious campuses. She believes the justices could decide "religious freedom supersedes the public good" by aiding conservative Christian schools that, based on centuries of doctrine, discriminate against non-Christian and LGBTQ students and teachers.Journalistic backgrounding: Thinly-populated Maine provides an unusual context for this story because the majority of its 260 school districts do not operate full K-12 systems and instead pay tuition for public or private schools that families choose for upper grades. Religiously-affiliated schools are included, but not if Maine deems them "sectarian."Notably, the parents' plea for tuition is backed by major institutions of the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention and other evangelical Protestants, the Church of God in Christ (the nation's largest African-American denomination), Latter-day Saints (formerly called "Mormons") and Orthodox Judaism, alongside the 63-campus Council of Islamic Schools. A reporter's question: Has such a religious coalition ever formed in any prior Supreme Court case?Of further interest, the case engages a major religious-liberty theorist, Michael W. McConnell, director of Stanford University's Constitutional Law Center and former federal judge on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. He wrote that circuit's 2008 opinion in Colorado Christian University v Weaver (.pdf here), which tossed out a law that barred "pervasively sectarian" colleges from a state scholarship program.In Carson, McConnell filed a personal brief September 8 that hands the Supreme Court a history lesson (.pdf here) on religious freedom as conceived when the Constitution's First Amendment was framed. He has explored this ground since a significant Harvard Law Review article in 1989.
      - 10 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 1:00pm -
    • All those fast-growing Christian schools: Are they really bastions of racism, intolerance?
      Usually most New York Times’ pieces about anything conservative and (particularly) Christian gets reams of nasty remarks in the comments section. But a recent story on the rapid growth of private Christian schools drew a wider range of constructive responses.I’m talking about Ruth Graham’s piece about a Christian school in an obscure corner of southwestern Virginia (drive west of Richmond, then head south) and how such schools are booming around the country in the wake of COVID-19 realities.It’s a trend that a lot of us have seen coming. The key question, for GetReligion readers, is how the story handled the “Why?” factor looming over this trend. We will start at the beginning: MONETA, Va. — On a sunny Thursday morning in September, a few dozen high school students gathered for a weekly chapel service at what used to be the Bottom’s Up Bar & Grill and is now the chapel and cafeteria of Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy. Five years ago, the school in southwestern Virginia had just 88 students between kindergarten and 12th grade. Its finances were struggling, quality was inconsistent by its own admission, and classes met at a local Baptist church.The Smith Mountain Lake real estate market is the largest marketplace for lake property in Virginia unless you can afford expensive beachfront to the east. Now, it has 420, with others turned away for lack of space. It has grown to occupy a 21,000-square-foot former mini-mall, which it moved into in 2020, plus two other buildings down the road. Smith Mountain Lake is benefiting from a boom in conservative Christian schooling, driven nationwide by a combination of pandemic frustrations and rising parental anxieties around how schools handle education on issues including race and the rights of transgender students.Homes in Franklin County, which includes Smith Mountain Lake, are selling at 35% above assessed value, so people are definitely moving to this exurb because, well, they can.Everyone is working remote these days and if you don’t HAVE to live near a place like Washington, DC (about a four-hour drive to the north), why would you?
      - 1 day ago 26 Oct 21, 3:59pm -
    • That question again: What's happening to religious believers and others stuck in Afghanistan?
      This is a case in which I don’t want to say, “We told you so,” but -- well — we told you so.If you dug into this recent podcast-post — “ 'What's next in Afghanistan?' Warning: this news topic involves religion” — you’d know that the GetReligion team has been worried about what will happen to elite news coverage of human rights issues and, specifically, religious freedom, in Afghanistan under this new Taliban regime. In fact, that podcast included many themes from an earlier GetReligion podcast-post with this headline: “When the Taliban cracks down, will all the victims be worthy of news coverage?”It appears that there are two problems.Reality No. 1: It’s hard to cover the hellish realities of life in the new-old Afghanistan without discussing the messy exit of U.S. diplomats and troops from that troubled nation. Thus, new coverage will please Republicans, who are infuriated about that issue, and anger the White House team of President Joe Biden, which wants to move on. New coverage allows Republicans to “pounce,” as the saying goes.Reality No. 2: There are many valid stories inside Afghanistan right now, but some are more explosive than others in terms of fallout here in America. This is especially true when dealing with stories about Americans who are still trapped there. Then there are religious believers — including Christians and members of minority groups inside Islam — who face persecution and even executions because of their beliefs. It appears that some journalism executives (and foreign-policy pros) continue to struggle with the reality that religious issues are at the heart of the Afghanistan conflict.Thus, cases of political and religious persecution in Afghanistan are “conservative news.” For a quick overview, see this National Review piece: “In Afghanistan, ‘Almost Everyone Is in Danger Now.’ “ Note this snarky line: The sort of headline that shouldn’t just be local news. … Those knee-jerk Biden critics over at . . . er, the Connecticut affiliate of NBC News report: “43 Connecticut Residents Still Stuck In Afghanistan. ”Here is a key chunk of that NBCConnecticut.com report:
      - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 4:30pm -
    • Plug-in: Ransom demands and prayers -- 17 with Anabaptist mission group kidnapped in Haiti
      As a journalist who covers religion, I’ve been blessed to report firsthand from countries such as Israel, Mexico, Nicaragua and South Africa.As a result, when violence and war flare in those places, the news doesn’t seem a million miles away. Instead, I envision real people and places.The same is true of Haiti, where I reported on a well-drilling ministry in 2018. We took safety precautions, but I never felt unsafe as I traveled with a U.S. mission team in the capital of Port-au-Prince.Three years later, circumstances have changed in that impoverished Caribbean nation, rocked in recent months by a presidential assassination and natural disasters.The latest: a gang’s kidnapping of six men, six women and five children working with Christian Aid Ministries, a global missionary organization based in Millersburg, Ohio. A gang leader has threatened to kill the hostages if a ransom of $1 million per head is not paid.Coverage of the mission group by the New York Times’ Ruth Graham and Elizabeth Dias resonates with me.”Christian missionary workers typically labor in obscurity, running medical clinics, building wells and delivering Bibles without fanfare — until crisis erupts,” Graham and Dias write.Here at ReligionUnplugged.com, Michael Ray Smith talks to missions leaders about the surging number of kidnappings in Haiti, where gangs have gained control of roughly half the capital.Other related stories that help explain what’s happening:• As abductions in Haiti increase, churches and ministries find themselves in the crosshairs (by Jamie Dean, World)• An around-the-clock prayer effort to save the Haiti hostages (by Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham, New York Times)
      - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 1:00pm -

    ID the Future (Podcast)

    • Michael Denton Discusses The Miracle of the Cell
      New research keeps unveiling ever more ways in which this fine tuning exists, from the cosmos to the atoms of the periodic table, even to the subatomic level of quantum tunneling.
      - 12 Oct 20, 9:31pm -
    • Michael Denton: Remarkable Coincidences in Photosynthesis
      On this episode of ID the Future from the vault, we listen in on a few minutes from a lecture given by Australian biochemist Michael Denton, author of the brand new book The Miracle of the Cell. In this segment, Denton explains the “remarkable set of coincidences” that makes the creation of oxygen through photosynthesis possible. From the specific energy of visible light to the unique properties of water, this degree of fine tuning for life shouts intelligent design. For more on how the cosmos is designed for life, watch Discovery Institute’s documentary Priviledged Species, featuring Michael Denton.
      - 9 Oct 20, 7:16pm -
    • Dr. Michael Denton on Evidence of Fine-Tuning in the Universe
      On this episode of ID the Future from the vault, Casey Luskin sits down with Dr. Michael Denton, a Senior Fellow of the CSC who holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Denton is the author of Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, which has been credited with influencing both Phillip Johnson and Michael Behe, as well as Nature's Destiny: How the Laws of Biology Reveal Purpose in the Universe, which elaborates on the evidence of design in nature.
      - 7 Oct 20, 11:29pm -
    • The Demise of the Artifact Hypothesis
      Paleoentomologist Günter Bechly makes the case that recent findings have put the nails in the coffin of this “artifact hypothesis.” He goes on to argue that these findings are “not just a tiny problem but a fatal problem” for modern Darwinism.
      - 5 Oct 20, 7:28pm -
    • Scott Turner on Purpose in Nature, Part 2
      On this episode of ID the Future from the vault, Rob Crowther continues his conversation with J. Scott Turner, biologist at the State University of New York (SUNY), visiting scholar at Cambridge University, and author of the new book Purpose and Desire: What Makes Something “Alive” and Why Modern Darwinism Has Failed to Explain It. Turner critiques evolutionary biology’s bias toward mechanistic and gene-centric thinking, and contemporary biology’s failure to come to grips with the evidence of purpose and intentionality at many levels of biology. Viewing the brain as a computer, for example, obscures many things about the brain and the mind that exceed computers, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
      - 2 Oct 20, 8:55pm -

    International Missions Board

    Julie Roys Report

    • newActor Jim Caviezel’s Speech at Conference Connected to QAnon Goes Viral
      Actor Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in the 2004 film “The Passion of the Christ,” recently delivered a speech at a conference connected to QAnon that’s going viral.In the speech, Caviezel recites a line from Mel Gibson’s 1995 movie “Braveheart.”“You can take our lives, but you can never take our freedom,” shouted Caviezel.Caviezel then adds a faith-fueled addendum that appears to be at least partly of his own design. 
      - 2 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 8:35pm -
    • newChris Tomlin-Hillsong United Tour Removes Controversial ‘VIP’ Option—Sort Of
      After facing criticism online for commercializing worship, the Chris Tomlin Hillsong United tour has dropped its “VIP” ticket option for its early 2022 U.S. tour. But the move appears to be little more than semantics.An article published Monday by the Christian Post announced the change, stating that the concert tickets will “no longer include a VIP option allowing buyers to walk on stage with artists and take pictures in a catwalk-style photoshoot.”Yet, most of the originally advertised “VIP” features, including the catwalk photo-op, are still included in the tour’s special ticket options. 
      - 8 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 3:15pm -
    • Michigan Believers Gather in Prayer Vigil for Kidnapped Haiti Missionaries
      More than 100 people gathered Sunday in a small Michigan town to pray for the safe release of a local family among 17 members of a missionary group kidnapped by a gang in Haiti more than a week ago.The vigil in the western Michigan community of Hart took place after a video was released Thursday showing the leader of the 400 Mawozo gang threatening to kill those abducted if his demands are not met. 
      - 1 day ago 26 Oct 21, 6:15pm -
    • Former Liberty U Spokesman Files Whistleblower Lawsuit Concerning ‘Mishandling’ of Title IX Allegations
      Liberty University’s former vice president of communications, Scott Lamb, today filed a federal lawsuit, accusing Liberty of firing him in retaliation for his objections to the university’s “mishandling” of Title IX sexual misconduct allegations.“I allege that they’ve treated me unfairly for trying to do the work of an internal reformer, for trying to get the facts of the troubles they have brought upon themselves, and for speaking truth to power,” Lamb said in a statement to The Roys Report. 
      - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 9:32pm -
    • Georgia Pastor Indicted on COVID-19 Relief Fraud Charges
      A Georgia pastor has been indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges, related to stealing thousands of dollars in COVID-19 assistance funds and using some of the money to buy a luxury car.Mack Devon Knight, 45, of Refreshing Oasis Christian Center in Kingsland, Georgia is accused of lying to the Small Business Administration in applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia. 
      - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 8:15pm -

    Life News

    • newWisconsin Legislature Passes Four Pro-Life Bills to Save Babies From Abortion
      The Wisconsin legislature is expected to pass four pro-life bills Wednesday to educate and empower parents while protecting their unborn babies from being killed in abortions. The Republican-led state Assembly is expected to approve the bills after the state Senate passed them by a strong majority last week. The legislation soon will head to Gov. Tony Evers’ […]The post Wisconsin Legislature Passes Four Pro-Life Bills to Save Babies From Abortion appeared first on LifeNews.com.
      - 4 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 7:16pm -
    • newHundreds of Thousands of Americans Will March for Life Because “True Equality Begins in the Womb”
      When pro-life Americans gather Jan. 21, 2022 in Washington, D.C. to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, they will remind society that unborn babies are precious, valuable human beings who deserve equal rights under the law. On Wednesday, the March for Life revealed its theme for the 49th annual march: “Equality Begins in the Womb.” The […]The post Hundreds of Thousands of Americans Will March for Life Because “True Equality Begins in the Womb” appeared first on LifeNews.com.
      - 4 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 6:50pm -
    • newPro-Life People in Ireland May be Sent to Prison for Praying Outside Abortion Clinics
      Pro-life advocates who pray or hold signs outside abortion facilities across Ireland could be punished with jail time under newly proposed legislation. The Christian Institute reports abortion supporters claim the Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill 2021 would protect women from “distressing and intimidatory” behavior outside abortion facilities and hospitals that provide abortions. But […]The post Pro-Life People in Ireland May be Sent to Prison for Praying Outside Abortion Clinics appeared first on LifeNews.com.
      - 10 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 1:10pm -
    • newOhio City Passes Measure to Ban Abortions, Become a Sanctuary City for Unborn Babies
      The City of Mason became the second in Ohio to pass a Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance Monday night. In a 4-3 vote, the city council approved the pro-life ordinance to protect unborn babies by banning abortions within city limits, WKRC Dayton Now reports. The ordinance will go into effect in 30 days. The vote […]The post Ohio City Passes Measure to Ban Abortions, Become a Sanctuary City for Unborn Babies appeared first on LifeNews.com.
      - 10 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 1:05pm -
    • newPope Francis Must Tell Joe Biden to Protect Babies From Abortion
      A Catholic American president will travel to Rome this Friday to meet with Pope Francis. There is a very profound and obvious issue they could discuss: Is it OK for a politician of any religious faith, or even none at all, to violate the natural law and support the deliberate killing of unborn babies? President […]The post Pope Francis Must Tell Joe Biden to Protect Babies From Abortion appeared first on LifeNews.com.
      - 10 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 12:29pm -

    Mennonite Central Committee

    MinistryWatch

    Religion News Service

    • newZimbabwean nonprofit promotes ‘God’s way’ of farming
      (RNS) — Foundations for Farming has helped Zimbabwe experience its first food surplus in two decades.The post Zimbabwean nonprofit promotes ‘God’s way’ of farming appeared first on Religion News Service.
      - 2 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 8:29pm -
    • newCatholic bishop praises Jim Caviezel’s speech from QAnon-connected conference
      (RNS) — Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus in the 2004 film ‘The Passion of the Christ,’ included criticism of Pope Francis in his speech.The post Catholic bishop praises Jim Caviezel’s speech from QAnon-connected conference appeared first on Religion News Service.
      - 4 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 6:46pm -
    • newNew ‘Dune’ movie gives us a messiah for uncertain times
      (RNS) — Legions of fans of Frank Herbert’s mystical 1965 sci-fi novel have been waiting for someone to get the screen version right. The HBO Max adaptation goes a long way, with a few nods to modern sensibilities.The post New ‘Dune’ movie gives us a messiah for uncertain times appeared first on Religion News Service.
      - 4 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 6:44pm -
    • newA moving ‘reunion’ for descendants of Holocaust survivors
      As a result of Anna Salton Eisen’s research, family members of eight Holocaust survivors met for the first time recently. The post A moving ‘reunion’ for descendants of Holocaust survivors appeared first on Religion News Service.
      - 5 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 5:57pm -
    • newPope OKs Canada trip to help healing with Indigenous peoples
      The pilgrimage could be the occasion for a papal apology that has been demanded by many in Canada. Toronto Cardinal Thomas Collins said that this will help lay the groundwork for the Canadian pilgrimage.The post Pope OKs Canada trip to help healing with Indigenous peoples appeared first on Religion News Service.
      - 5 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 5:47pm -

    Trinity Foundation

    • Documentary Explores the Work of Missionary Pilots
      Ends of the Earth is a new documentary about Christian missionaries. It tells a captivating story while showing the work of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilots serving in Papua, Indonesia. Seventy-five years ago, following the end of War War II, pilot Betty Greene formed MAF to take the Gospel to hard-to-reach places. Greene’s missionary vision […]
      - 8 days ago 19 Oct 21, 7:46pm -
    • Paid to Speak: The Speaking Honorarium Business
      The church and ministry conference business is back with a vengeance with guest speakers often collecting large speaking honorariums. Many religious organizations refuse to disclose the size of honorarium payments, leaving donors and attendees in the dark as to how the money is being spent. Reciprocal speaking arrangements (you speak at my event and I […]
      - 21 days ago 6 Oct 21, 7:12pm -
    • Pandora Papers Data Leak: Scandalous Catholic Order Discovered to Have $300 Million in Offshore Trusts
      The Mexican Catholic religious order Legionaries of Christ (LOC) created financial trusts that are currently holding $300 million in assets following a sex scandal and a 2010 Vatican announcement it would seize the order’s assets, reports the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). Three financial trusts with ties to the LOC were created in New […]
      - 21 days ago 6 Oct 21, 6:56pm -
    • One Ministry Jet. One Day. Six Flights.
      On September 26th, ADSB Exchange tracked televangelist James Robison’s Cessna 560XL jet making six trips. The jet is registered to Zoe Aviation, a shell company owned by LIFE Outreach International. ADSB Exchange uses Universal Time Coordinated (UTC) rather than an American time zone to determine the date. The first flight, which left from Destin, Florida, […]
      - 21 days ago 6 Oct 21, 2:53pm -
    • Religious Fraud and Excess in The News: MORE PPP ABUSE…
      After we reported in December 2020, “Trinity Foundation Investigation: $78.6 Million in Government Guaranteed Loans Given to Televangelists“, more reporters did a lot more digging.  Earlier this year, AP investigators, REESE DUNKLIN and MICHAEL REZENDES, reported that Catholic dioceses around the US requested and received millions in taxpayer aid from COVID emergency Paycheck Protection Program […]
      - 21 days ago 6 Oct 21, 2:37pm -

    United Methodist News Service

    • newWomen clergy still paid less
      A new study commissioned by the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women follows up on a similar study in 2017 and shows that while some progress has been made, women clergy are still underpaid when compared to their male counterparts.
      - 9 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 2:08pm -
    • Asbury's travels
      Bishop Francis Asbury played a key role in organizing Methodism in the U.S. What you may not know is that he logged 130,000 miles on horseback to do so.
      - 1 day ago 26 Oct 21, 4:13pm -
    • Bishop Asbury still shapes church today
      Francis Asbury played a key role in developing what is now The United Methodist Church. Fresh discoveries about his life remain reasons to celebrate.
      - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 10:14pm -
    • Center helps rape survivors restart lives
      Once-vulnerable women who learned trades at the United Methodist Church of East Congo’s Mama Lynn Center are supporting themselves and becoming indispensable to their families.
      - 2 days ago 25 Oct 21, 4:21pm -
    • Conference takes on 'child care deserts'
      Texas Conference partners with local churches to start child care centers in underserved areas, with a focus on literacy, health and discipleship.
      - 5 days ago 22 Oct 21, 3:39pm -

    The World And Everything In It (Podcast)

    • new10.27.21 Washington Wednesday, World Tour, and appreciating pastors
      On Washington Wednesday, Mary Reichard talks to The Heritage Foundation’s Joel Griffith about the role moderates Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are playing in the Democratic Party; on World Tour, Onize Ohikere reports on terror attacks in Uganda and a historic trial in Germany; and pastor and author Steven Lawson offers some encouragement for pastors. Plus: commentary from Joel Belz, truth in Pop Tart advertising, and the Wednesday morning news.Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Samaritan Ministries, connecting Christians who care for one another spiritually and financially when a medical need arises. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. From Ambassadors Impact Network, a group of faith-driven investors who finance private companies led by gospel-advancing entrepreneurs. More at ambassadorsimpact.com. And from Dordt University, offering reimbursed campus visits to show you firsthand how Dordt’s Christ-centered education leads to lifelong discipleship. Details at Dordt.edu/apply.
      - 16 hours ago 27 Oct 21, 7:15am -
    • 10.26.21 Governing Germany, marriage and mortality
      Jenny Lind Schmitt reports on how the new coalition government could change Germany’s approach to geopolitics; Myrna Brown talks to Steve West about a new California law with some unintended consequences for pro-lifers; and Amy Lewis meets a couple resting in God’s faithfulness through reminders of mortality. Plus: commentary from Whitney Williams, paying to nap, and the Tuesday morning news.Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Dordt University, offering reimbursed campus visits to show you firsthand how Dordt’s Christ-centered education leads to lifelong discipleship. Details at Dordt.edu/apply.From Samaritan Ministries, connecting Christians who care for one another spiritually and financially when a medical need arises. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast. And from Ambassadors Impact Network, a network of investors supplying more than 12 million dollars of growth capital to entrepreneurs who show and share Jesus through their businesses. More at ambassadorsimpact.com
      - 2 days ago 26 Oct 21, 7:15am -
    • 10.25.21 Legal Docket, Moneybeat, and History Book
      On Legal Docket, Jenny Rough details oral arguments in a case about malicious prosecution; on the Monday Moneybeat, Nick Eicher talks to financial analyst David Bahnsen about the Democrats’ attempt to save face over their floundering spending plan; and on History Book, Katie Gaultney recounts significant events from the past. Plus: a scaly pool party, and the Monday morning news.Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Ambassadors Impact Network, a group of faith-driven investors who finance private companies led by gospel-advancing entrepreneurs. More at ambassadorsimpact.com. From Dordt University, offering reimbursed campus visits to show you firsthand how Dordt’s Christ-centered education leads to lifelong discipleship. Details at Dordt.edu/apply. Additional support comes from Samaritan Ministries, connecting Christians who care for one another spiritually and financially when a medical need arises. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast.
      - 3 days ago 25 Oct 21, 7:15am -
    • A conversation with Caleb Kaltenbach - S2.E10
      Author Caleb Kaltenbach was raised by two sets of gay parents. So he’s thought a lot about what it means to love and show grace to people who disagree with us on fundamental issues of Biblical truth. In this interview with host Warren Smith, Kaltenbach talks about the advice he gives churches that want to create a welcoming community without sacrificing their commitment to God’s word.
      - 5 days ago 23 Oct 21, 7:15am -
    • 10.22.21 Culture Friday, Dune, and Word Play
      On Culture Friday, Nick Eicher and Myrna Brown talk to John Stonestreet about secular pushback to transgender idology; Collin Garbarino reviews Dune, a movie sci-fi fans have waited years to see; and on Word Play, George Grant waxes eloquent about the beauty of autumn. Plus: the Friday morning news.Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Covenant College, a distinctly Christian, liberal arts college on beautiful Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Explore more at covenant.edu.  From Samaritan Ministries, connecting Christians who care for one another spiritually and financially when a medical need arises. More at samaritanministries.org/worldpodcast.And from Christianbook.com. Great gifts to help you bring on the joy. Christianbook.com.
      - 6 days ago 22 Oct 21, 7:15am -

    World Magazine