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 Under the draft guidance for the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, university societies would be forced to hand over presentations to be vetted.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.

Gendercide–choosing abortion because of the baby’s gender–could be on its way out of the UK within the next few months after MP’s upheld a parliamentary motion to fast-track a new law last week. The amendment, which prohibits abortion based on the baby’s gender, was signed by more than 70 MP’s. If passed, the amendment will be added to the Government’s Serious Crime Bill by May 2015. The proposed law would mean that doctors who commit gendercide can be prosecuted. Conservative member Fiona Bruce is one of the main supporters of the amendment. She related in The Daily Telegraph that the Government has shown a lack of interest in this issue, claiming that the coalition Government ‘persistently denied’ that sex selective abortions were happening in the UK. Referring to the statistical analysis that the Government used to back up its claims, Bruce said:

A Christian organisation has received a public apology after its event was banned from a Government-owned venue because of its traditional marriage beliefs. In 2012, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre prevented Christian Concern from holding a debate which was to feature speakers for and against gay marriage. The centre cancelled the event the night before it was due to take place, saying the group’s views were  ‘inappropriate’ for a Government-owned building. But Christian Concern took legal action, and has now reached an out-of-court settlement with the conference centre and the Department for Communities and Local Government which owns the venue. It said: “The Centre accepts that some people have deeply held views about the nature of marriage, and that every individual has the freedom to express these in accordance with the law. (See Prayer Alert 5-7-2012)

Muslims have the strongest faith in modern Britain while only one in six who identify with Anglicanism or other mainstream protestant churches are convinced of the existence of God. Women are almost two-thirds more likely than men to believe in God, a major study of attitudes among middle-aged Britons has found. Atheism and agnosticism are now the majority creed among the male population but almost two thirds of women believe in Heaven or an afterlife. The findings also suggest that Muslims have by far the strongest faith , with Christians from smaller evangelical churches the only group coming close to the same levels of certainty. By contrast only one in six members of the main Protestant denominations say they believe without doubt in God. Just a third of Roman Catholics in the study said the same compared to 88 per cent of Muslims and 71 per cent of those categorised as evangelical Christians.

The 2015 World Watch List from Open Doors ranks 50 countries where persecution of Christians for religious reasons is most severe. The worst 10 are Muslim nations, yet Christians need to be aware that not all Muslim countries persecute Christians. Take the West African nation of Benin. It's one of 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the body which describes itself as ‘the collective voice of the Muslim world.’ Benin’s president, Boni Yayi, was born into a Muslim family. However, he is now a devout Evangelical Christian. He worships at his local Pentecostal church, where he sometimes also preaches the sermon, and has expressed a desire to ‘evangelise the world’ when his presidential term ends in 2016.

In China there are more Christians today than there are members of the 87 million-strong Communist Party. They grow by an average of 10% a year, which means there will be 250 million Christians by around 2030, making China’s Christian population the largest in the world. While in the 1980s the faith grew most quickly in the countryside, in recent years it has been burgeoning in cities. A new breed of educated, urban and socially and economically active Christians has emerged. This rapid growth of the Church is forcing an official re-think on religion. In fact, the Party is even asking Christians for their help.

Pauline Cafferkey, from Glasgow, was diagnosed with Ebola in December after returning from Sierra Leone. On 4 January it was announced she was in a critical condition. (See last week’s Prayer Alert.) The hospital has now said in a statement that she was ‘showing signs of improvement’. The 39-year-old had volunteered with other UK NHS staff for the charity Save the Children in West Africa. The full statement from the hospital said: ‘The Royal Free Hospital is pleased to announce that Pauline Cafferkey is showing signs of improvement and is no longer critically ill. she remains in isolation as she receives specialist care for the Ebola virus.’ Ms Cafferkey has been treated with experimental drugs and has received blood plasma from another British nurse, Will Pooley, who recovered from an Ebola infection last year.