Eyes of Faith Operates in Biblical Calling
Many Christian groups make it their business to try to cure spiritual blindness. But Eyes of Faith Optical in West Middlesex, … Read More
Wolverines Fan Gives Glory to God For This Miracle
Just three years ago this month Brock Mealer was trapped under an SUV in a horrific accident that left him paralyzed … Read More
Violent Muslim Mob Utterly Devastates Christian Community
Christians in a small village in southern Egypt are rebuilding their lives and homes after hundreds of Muslims rampaged through their community firebombing houses and businesses over rumors of a romantic relationship between a Christian and a Muslim.
At least 23 homes and numerous businesses, all Christian-owned, were damaged or destroyed in the village of Al-Nawahid in Qena Governorate, 454 kilometers (282 miles) south of Cairo. Five people were injured, two seriously.
This Biblical Prophecy Could Be Fulfilled by 2030
Mart Green, is backing a cooperative effort to digitize Bible content and speed up the translation process
The businessman whose family’s $70 million gift lifted Oral Roberts University (ORU) out of debt is backing a cooperative effort to digitize Bible content and speed the pace at which translations are completed.
Every Tribe Every Nation plans to initially put 160 existing texts into digital format, although Mart Green said the process for converting several thousand will likely take 20 to 25 years.
Goodness, Gracious, the President Said What?
In the time-honored Presidential thanksgiving proclamation, President Barack Obama called on Americans to give thanks to our “gracious God.”
Despite the turbulent season the nation is facing, he encouraged Americans to look to the numerous blessings seen in the last year.
“As we stand at the close of one year and look to the promise of the next, we lift up our hearts in gratitude to God for our many blessings, for one another, and for our Nation,” he said this week.
The One Thing to Avoid Come Christmas
Don’t allow gift-giving expectations to put you deeper in debt and rob you of the true joy of the season
I know what you’re thinking: Here they come. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s; gifts to buy, meals to prepare, decorating, houseguests, parties to attend, church activities, neighborhood events, school productions–and a partridge in a pear tree.
It’s exhausting, isn’t it? Add the fact that the last few years have been financially disappointing for most of us, and it’s no wonder we get a heavy feeling in the pit of our stomachs when the calendar page flips over to November.
Though it’s Haunting America, This is Having Little Effect on Churches
Megachurches across the country are holding their own during uncertain economic times, a new survey shows.
Most megachurches continue to see attendance and giving rise, and the bigger the church is, the more likely it is to experience increases, Leadership Network reported in its 2010 Large Church Economic Outlook Report.
According to the Christian Post, survey results indicate that the economic downturn is having little impact on America’s larger churches. A full 100 percent of churches with 8,000 or more attendees experienced growth in attendance and giving from 2009 to 2010. And all surveyed churches with attendance of 10,000 to 14,999 plan to reach this year’s budget projections.
Overall, 81 percent of megachurches’ congregations with attendance of 2,000 or more saw more attendees and only 9 percent reported lower attendance. Sixty-seven percent of megachurches increased their budget, with the average increase being 3 percent, and the same proportion said they expect to meet their 2010 budget.
ISIS Threatens ‘Rivers of Blood’ for Coptic Christians
As bombings and other attacks continue against Christians in Iraq, Christians in Egypt have gathered to pray and plan for their own safety.
When a group of Islamic extremists on Oct. 31 burst into Our Lady of Salvation church in Baghdad during evening mass and began spraying the sanctuary with gunfire, the militant organization that took responsibility said Christians in Egypt also would be targeted if its demands were not met. Taking more than 100 congregants hostage, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) called a television station and stated that the assault came in response to the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt allegedly holding two Coptic women against their will who, the ISI and some others believe, converted to Islam.
The group issued a 48-hour deadline for the release of the women, and when the deadline passed it issued a statement that, “All Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers are legitimate targets for the muhajedeen [Muslim fighters] wherever they can reach them.” The statement later added ominously, “We will open upon them the doors of destruction and rivers of blood.”
Booming International Ministry Fuels Church Growth
A Spokane, Wash.-based ministry is spawning healing rooms globally
Prayer for healing is hardly new, but in recent years healing rooms have been spreading worldwide in a ministry trend that isn’t expected to slow.
Launched in 1999, the International Association of Healing Rooms (IAHR) now oversees some 1,900 rooms in 52 nations, with roughly 1,000 in India alone. In healing rooms across the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa, people have been healed of blindness, brain tumors and even HIV, says IAHR founder Cal Pierce.
“What is so powerful is this work is done by ordinary people doing an extraordinary work through the power of the Holy Spirit,” Pierce says.
What Born-Again Politicians Means for South Asia
Evangelical Christians entered Sri Lanka’s Parliament for the first time this year, but observers question whether it will curb persecution … Read More
Fashion Statement Draws ‘Deluge’ of Calls
The plight of 33 Chilean miners trapped for two months 2,300 feet underground captivated the world’s attention. And when they were … Read More
The Need for This Biblical Mandate is on The Rise
Jeff Nene has been seeing a lot of familiar faces at Convoy of Hope events this year–and that concerns him. People … Read More
Nobel Prize-nominated Christian Taking on Chinese Government
Chai Ling fought for human rights at Tiananmen Square. Now she’s taking on China’s One Child Policy. Chai Ling is no … Read More
NIV Reverts Back to Older Editions, Eliminating This Key Change
The world’s best-selling Bible is getting an upgrade. Since its debut in 1978, the New International Version, known as the … Read More
Charisma Readers Shock Secular Media World with Staggering Statistics
Leading digital provider heralds charismatic magazine as leader in secular and christian publishing industries Long known as one of the … Read More
Islamic Militants Slaughter Christian Family — Including 5-Year-Old
Police suspect two Muslim extremists shot a Christian to death Thursday in Punjab Province shortly after the victim was granted … Read More
Pastor Tells Staff: Delete Facebook or Quit
A New Jersey pastor told his married church leaders to cancel their Facebook accounts or they would need to resign. … Read More
Pentecostal Sunday School Teacher Endures Brutality Just Walking to Work
Bill Wilson has spent the last 30 years taking Sunday school to inner-city kids
Bill Wilson has been thrown off a building, mugged and shot in the face. But none of that has stopped him from leading sidewalk Sunday school every week in New York’s inner city.
As he marks 30 years of ministry this year, he says the thing that has kept him going is simply commitment. “It’s like anything else; it’s a decision,” Wilson says.
Franklin Graham: ‘There’s a Lot of Potential for Violence’
Sudanese Christians face tough choices over whether to secede
The future remains uncertain for Sudan, which is still plagued by unrest as it faces a January referendum.
There are positive signs, particularly in the south, where for the first time banks are moving in–a sign that cash is gaining more value than livestock. World Vision and other aid organizations also have facilitated peace conferences and border-clan meetings, encouraging conversations between ethnic groups.
Millions Connect to God in This Unique Way
LifeChurch.tv never set out to be a leader in the app world – it simply wanted more young people reading the Bible. Yet Tuesday the Edmond, Okla.-based church celebrated reaching an astounding 10 million-plus users with a smartphone application that remains one of the world’s most popular.
YouVersion, the free online and mobile Bible LifeChurch.tv launched as an app in April 2008, includes 41 different translations in 22 languages. According to Bobby Gruenewald, LifeChurch.tv’s innovation leader and the app’s developer, someone new installs YouVersion every 2.8 seconds, while in the same time span 12 people open the Bible app.
“When we set out to find a way to help people engage with God’s Word and to have a deeper relationship with Christ, we never realized that God would use one idea in such a way that could change so many lives and draw people closer to each other and closer to Him,” Gruenewald said during a webcast on Tuesday.
Pakistani Mother Condemned for ‘Blasphemy’ Stunned, Shattered
First woman sentenced to die for speaking ill of Muhammad says she never got to defend herself.
Ashiq Masih, with his stooped posture, frail body and dull yellow eyes, stands in a small compartment in the Sheikhupura District Jail with his three daughters — Sidra, Eesha and Eeshum. The girls are weeping silently.
On the other side of a metal grille is Asia Noreen, the birth mother of two of the girls and the first woman in Pakistan to receive the death sentence on charges of blaspheming Islam’s prophet. Eeshum, 12-years-old and mentally disabled, whines like a baby for her mother, asking her when she will be back.