Brazil: Much of Latin America and the Caribbean is in the midst of what believers proudly call an ‘evangelical revolution’. According to the IBGE, Brazil's census board, the country's Catholic population fell from around 89% in 1980 to 74% in 2000, while its Pentecostal flock grew from 3% to 10%. A public expression of this new evangelicalism is the ‘March for Jesus’. Over half a million Christians gathered in Rio de Janeiro in early June this year. The annual event was held under the slogan ‘I belong to Jesus. I am a champion’, in honour of the participants' faith and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which Brazil is hosting this year. Another ‘March for Jesus’ is planned in Sao Paulo on 12 July, a day before the World Cup final. This one is expected to draw 2 million participants. It’s the country’s largest religious gathering, and more popular than the Salvador Carnival.

Latest reports suggest that the Christian Sudanese mother-of-two who was sentenced to death for apostasy, released, and then detained at the airport yesterday, has been freed once more. Meriam Ibrahim was sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging on May 11. Though she was brought up as a Christian her whole life, Meriam was found guilty of converting from Islam and was also accused of adultery after marrying a Christian man - a union deemed invalid under Sharia law. Her punishment gained international attention, and campaigners from all over the world called on the Sudanese government to allow her to walk free. Her shock release from prison on Monday was therefore welcomed after the courts found her to be innocent of all charges. However, the BBC reported yesterday that Ibrahim had been arrested and taken into custody at Khartoum airport while trying to leave the country.

Thousands of British Muslims are gathering at a mass peace rally in Surrey aimed at promoting religious tolerance and rejecting extremism. An estimated 5,000 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA), considered the biggest Muslim youth group in the United Kingdom, will participate in the three-day event starting on Friday to promote dialogue about peace and rejection of religious extremism. ‘The Ahmadiyya Youth at the rally will be reminded of their duty, as Muslims, to serve their country and play a positive role in society,’ the AMYA said in a press release on Friday. Rafiq Hayat, president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, said that the community was ‘troubled by the violence and terrorism that is based on a highly toxic extremist ideology that uses religion to further a fascist agenda. We share Prime Minister David Cameron's concern about how events in Syria and Iraq can have a potential impact on the UK,’ Hayat said.

A former LA deputy sheriff arrested while street preaching in Scotland has been told by police he will no longer face charges. Tony Miano was arrested in Dundee after a member of the public complained he had been using ‘homophobic language’. He was on a weeklong street-preaching mission in the city in January with evangelist Josh Williamson when he was arrested under hate-crime legislation. (See Prayer Alert 2.2014). The Christian Legal Centre, which represented him, said he was held by police for 24 hours and that they refused to watch video footage of his street preaching. Mr Miano, 50, said it ‘took months’ for the prosecutors to watch the footage. ‘When the prosecutors finally managed to get the video footage off my camera they could plainly see that the accuser had made allegations about my speech that were simply untrue,’ he said.

When children pray, God seems to move more powerfully. John Robb, chairman of the International Prayer Council, shares this observation with confidence. He witnessed it when he was director of prayer at World Vision, a large international development and child-care organization. ‘Staff often observed the Lord’s miracles when our project children prayed. We actually surveyed this phenomenon in five very poor countries where staff asked the kids to pray for specific infrastructural changes, such as the resolution of community splits, and many other needs. They did this for two years, and all were astonished by the miracles that occurred. When the children prayed, the parents got healed from terminal illness, governments chose those villages for the wells or the clinics, or the terrorists were kept out of those communities where the kids were praying.’

Last weekend Britain’s multinational churches took to the streets to celebrate the birth of Christianity in vibrant style. Pentecost festivals called 'the Biggest Birthday Party Ever' took place across the country drawing on the culture of some of the world’s fastest growing churches – sharing free food, dance and music as expressions of their Christian faith. For example churches in Islington, London, staged a free multi-cultural festival in Caledonian Park with music, dancing and food from almost every continent. There was a Ghanaian choir, Argentine opera, Ethiopian and Eritrean traditional music, Mexican music and dance, a Spanish choir and Brazilian traditional music as well as jazz, soul, gospel and folk. Coventry's Big Birthday Bash run by HOPE Coventry organised a free BBQ funded by the local churches, including African drumming, a Chinese choir, and a huge birthday cake cut by the Lord Mayor. The events were linked as part of HOPE.

The 35th Prayer for Revival gathering started this week with pastors and churches from across the city and the region praying together in unity. Organisers are delighted that more churches are joining and actively supporting and praying for each other. The intent of Prayer for Revival is church leaders standing in agreement by involving themselves in cooperating with Jesus in building healthy churches that impact communities; bringing the rule the reign and works of Jesus across the cities, regions and beyond. The pastors and churches choose to honour one another by speaking well of each other and praying for success, growth and blessings in one another’s churches. Their ethos -‘Your success is our honour’ is a kingdom value that emphasises the words of Jesus, ‘It is more blessed to give than receive.’ It is an ‘in honour preferring one another.’

In a country of 76 million where 99.9 percent of the population are Muslim, positive pro-Christian news is rare. But, Turkey's Ministry of Education has requested that Behnan Konutgan, Director for International Needs Network, would lead a group of Christians to create a Christian curriculum for a religion class for the public schools. ‘Because Turkey is on its way to joining the European Union, they have created a new thing for next year,’ said Konutgan. ‘They will have an elective course for the schools for 5, 6, 10, and 11 grades. They promised to print it. This is wonderful!’ According to the report, Christian students in the past were required to take Islamic education classes. Now any Christian student in a public school can request the alternate religion class. ‘This is the first in the history of Turkey. Pray that this project will be done,’ added Konutgan.

Some 4,000 children have been protected from trafficking following Tearfund's 'No Child Taken' campaign at this year's Big Church Day Out at Wiston House, Steyning, West Sussex. The festival, now in its sixth year, partnered with Tearfund to raise awareness and generate support to prevent the unlawful trafficking of children across the globe. Big Church Day Out continues to grow each year and focuses on gathering people from across the church family, along with attracting increasing numbers of non-churchgoers because of its value as a great family day out. Crowds of more than 20,000 gathered on the Bank Holiday weekend and were greeted with a mixture of rain and glorious sunshine, classic festival weather. The incredibly varied line-up included artists from all over the world, with genres ranging from Latin rock to R&B, bluegrass to gospel choirs, and much more. It was attended by families and church groups, all connecting with each other on their journey of faith.

Ali, a Kurd, suffered from alcohol addiction when friends persuaded him to make the Hajj (pilgrimage) to Islam's holy city, Mecca. It was in Saudi Arabia, where liquor is banned, and the religious ritual might cure him, they suggested. When he got there, he cried out to God for help (if indeed He was there) and fell asleep. Jesus then appeared to him in a dream and touched him, saying: ‘You believe in me now; leave this place.’ After taking a shower next morning, he discovered what he thought was dust on the part of his chest Jesus had touched, but in fact the hair on his chest had turned white in the shape
of a hand! At the traditional celebration marking his return from Hajj, he announced to his incredulous family that he had seen Jesus in Mecca and had come back a Christian.