Undaunted by the slaughter of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya, the director of the Bible Society of Egypt saw a golden gospel opportunity. ‘We must have a Scripture tract ready to distribute to the nation as soon as possible,’ Ramez Atallah told his staff the evening an IS-linked group released its gruesome propaganda video. The world stopped for a moment on hearing the news of 21 Coptic Christians, murdered by IS on the shores of a beach in Tripoli. Coptic Christians don’t get much attention on the world stage, but this was different. The pictures of those orange-clad men on the beach surfaced everywhere, the stories of their lives gaining more attention every day. Less than 36 hours later, the booklet ‘Two Rows by the Sea’ was sent to the printer. One week later, 1.65 million copies have been distributed in the Bible Society’s largest campaign ever.

The words ‘Christ’ and ‘Jesus Christ’ have been removed from a list of banned offensive terms by Marks & Spencer. The u-turn follows an online barrage of comments after it emerged, Sunday 1 March that the terms had been banned. Customers who had previously tried to include them in greetings with online purchases of flowers were prevented from completing their orders, with an on-screen notification, reading: 'Sorry, there's something in your message we can't write.' The policy emerged this weekend when Geraldine Stockford, a pastor’s wife from Christ Church Teddington, was blocked from ordering a £35 bouquet of spring flowers as a gift. The message Geraldine had tried to enter ran: ‘Thank you for your care and practical help for Margaret in her last days. With love from her church family, Christ Church Teddington. ‘

SAT-7 TÜRK has become the first Christian channel on Turkey's national satellite. It has begun broadcasting on the government-regulated Türksat 4A satellite, meaning that it can now reach more than 50 million viewers across the country as well as other Turkish-speaking viewers around the world. Executive Director Melih Ekener has expressed his delight at the development. He said: ‘We are overwhelmed and truly believe it is a miracle that we can finally broadcast on Türksat. We have hoped, dreamed and prayerfully anticipated this launch since the station began airing on SAT-7 ARABIC in 2006. It is really a miracle and we are very thankful to God for what he has been doing. This would not have been possible without the Turkish authorities taking the time and interest to engage with Christians and accept our applications, granting us a frequency on the official state satellite. We praise God for this moment.

A former California pastor who miraculously recovered from six brain tumors credits the Lord for his cancer remission. Scott Erdman was first diagnosed with melanoma in 1981, and fought the disease for decades. He expressed gratefulness that he has been cancer-free since 2010. Erdman's battle began when he was a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. The then 24-year-old found a lump in his armpit, and doctors eventually removed a tumor and 24 surrounding lymph nodes. Erdman decided early on that he would trust God for his restoration. ‘I've always been an individual that's really wanted the most for what I could give. So when this happened. God really took the issue of what was going to happen with my life, and I didn't ever really take it back,’ he told FoxNews.com.

Politicians in the Isle of Man have voted overwhelmingly to reject a Bill which called for assisted suicide to be legalised. Members of the House of Keys, the Manx Parliament, voted 17 to 5 to reject the call, put forward by the Minister for Home Affairs, Juan Watterson. The Isle of Man is one of the most recent places to oppose the introduction assisted suicide after the Welsh Assembly voted against it in December. Mr Watterson said: ‘I thought the vote would be a lot closer than that but that is the democratic process – it is what it is and you have to respect that.’ Peter Murcott, who campaigns against assisted suicide, said that the plans go ‘against Christian beliefs’. He said: ‘If you kill someone intentionally then in law that is murder and that is what euthanasia is’.

Gifted with incredible talents in storytelling, playing instruments and singing beautifully, this passionate company recounts John Newton's story with energy that you will never forget.  You will easily imagine you are on board ship, then amongst slaves being sold at an auction, eavesdropping on conversations between Newton and his love, Polly, then Newton and William Cowper, as if they were alive and living today. Moved with emotion as the ups and downs of John Newton's life story unfolded before us you will be left with a clearer understanding of the poignancy of Newton's life then and what it means to us now across our nation and the world today.

The former local has gone from public house to a house of God after residents clubbed together to raise enough funds to buy the dilapidated building. The move came after numbers at two local churches in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, dwindled and parishioners believed the new venue would be perfectly located to attract more people. Last Sunday Stoke Methodist Church opened its doors to a new set of regulars – including many locals who used to drink in old The West End pub. The holy watering hole now consists of an altar, a community cafe, a vestry and a quiet room - where the bar, pool tables and gambling machines once stood.  OnSunday Rev Nichola Jones said: ‘It’s not the building that makes a church, it’s the people, and they are all very excited about starting something new'. Jenny Walker, from Penkhull, in Stoke, who used to drink at the pub, added: ‘The transformation is just amazing and unbelievable.’

A free speech safeguard has been introduced into a new anti-terror bill, following widespread concerns that Christian Unions and other university societies could face censorship. Warnings about the threat to free speech have come from student charity UCCF, university leaders, a top QC and numerous peers. Under the draft guidance for the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, university societies would be forced to hand over presentations to be vetted. However, late last night the Government introduced an amendment which requires universities to give ‘particular regard’ to freedom of speech when fulfilling their duty to combat terrorism. It has also committed to rework a paragraph in the guidance which was at the centre of the controversy. The revised guidance will need parliamentary approval before it can be implemented. The Christian Institute welcomed the climb-down while noting that a ‘close watch’ on the guidance was needed ahead of it being finalised. (See also Prayer Alert 04-2017)

Amid the rugged beauty and fascinating culture of Mongolia, there is a spiritual awakening taking place. People there are coming to Christ because people have prayed, worked and given to make Him known in a place where Communism once forbade the practice of religion. ‘Today,’ writes Wayne Pederson, President of Reach Beyond ‘there are about 40,000 believers worshipping in some 600 churches across the country. That’s the good news. The challenge is that the 40,000 believers represent only about 1.2 percent of the nation’s population.’ The project’s future goal is to work with local believers to put a Christian radio station in each of Mongolia’s 21 provinces, blanketing the nation with gospel broadcasts

In recognition of her work researching and campaigning against female genital mutilation (FGM), 28 Too Many founder and executive director Dr Ann-Marie Wilson has been awarded a British Citizen Award. Ann-Marie, who is a CMS mission partner, is one of 28 people chosen from hundreds of nominations to receive the new awards, celebrating the selfless and often vital work they do for others. Each of them was presented with a medal at a ceremony in Westminster , 29 January. Ann-Marie first came across FGM whilst working in a refugee camp in Sudan in 2005 where she met survivors of this harmful practice. After hearing their heart-rending stories and learning more about FGM, Ann-Marie was shocked that so many people did not know about this widespread practice affecting over 140 million girls and women worldwide and which has devastating consequences.