Displaying items by tag: Religion

Church leaders are being encouraged to join their peers for an overnight conference that seeks to help ministers of the gospel release and channel the power within their congregations. As the body of Christ in a country that is presently trying to break through a whole host of challenges, including those around uncertainty and division, Evangelical Alliance member Share Jesus International (SJI) has sensed that it is the right time to hold the Ekklesia conference. It is SJI’s first event of this kind, and it will bring together interdenominational leaders and speakers from many different churches for a programme of prayer, worship, teaching, storytelling, and more.

President Buhari said that the independent National Electoral Commission has questions to answer over the postponement of the general election to 23 February. He warned those planning to snatch ballot boxes that they will pay with their life. Open Doors said, ‘For Nigerian Christians, elections draw attention to a long-term crisis and can intensify attacks on them. Christians are fearful because they have been targeted so often.’ The most recent was when Pastor Jatau’s car was ambushed and he and his family were dragged away. His body was found two days later but his wife, three children, and two sisters-in-law are missing. Kidnappers are demanding a ransom for the family. They were travelling to take up a new ministry when they were attacked. See

Las Vegas is one of five cities participating in a new nationwide programme to reduce chronic homelessness by 20%. Deacon Thomas Roberts said that a partnership will simultaneously tackle shelter issues and the root causes of chronic homelessness - mental health and addiction. ‘We think that it is important to recognise the reasons why people have become chronically homeless and to address those issues. I think that is where we can effect really meaningful change.’ Within five years, the project hopes to have built 100 homes: Roberts said this will be enough to support 20% of the 500+ people who have been homeless for at least two years. There will be mental health offices in the housing units or transportation to locations off site. The homeless don’t have transportation, so resources need to be accessible, otherwise you have not addressed the underlying cause of what got them homeless.

Andy Milne will lead a new Missional Youth Church Network (MYCN), in partnership with Church Army and the Archbishop of York Youth Trust. Beginning in the North of England, the vision is to establish at least thirty MYC over the next five years, enabling 11- to 18-year-olds to build community and discover faith in Jesus Christ. Local schools and colleges, churches and community projects will work together in partnership to reimagine church for this generation. Youth leaders and volunteers will become part of a wider learning network accessing training, encouragement and support for one another as they build for the future. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said he has spoken to many young people who were not keen on attending Church but were fascinated by the love of God and wanted to know more about Jesus. He said, ‘This is a live issue for them. Young people have so much to learn.’

The economic outlook across the Eurozone has deteriorated in 2019 as the probability of the entire Euro area falling into recession increases. Italy is in an officially-declared recession, and data suggest that Germany, France, and the broader EU are not far behind. Italy and the Netherlands showed industrial production plunging. In the past journalists, pollsters, and academics have debated over whether a recession creates a boom in attendance at evangelical churches. The church is not immune; often ministries in times of recession are forced by lower giving or higher costs (or both) to reconsider where their funds should go and what they need to change to make the most of their resources. See also https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/topics/e/economic-crisis-recession/

11 February marked the 40th anniversary of Iran’s revolution, ending a 2,500-year monarchy and creating the world’s first Islamic republic - now a complex and contradictory regime. Iran is a democracy trapped inside a theocracy - holding genuinely competitive elections, but candidates are selected by unelected clerics and lawyers. Large public demonstrations are common. Iranian women protest in the streets and online against strict female dress. Moderate president Hassan Rouhani has had his reforms undermined by the Supreme Leader. With President Trump re-imposing US sanctions, recession looms and inflation rises. An anti-West stance remains an essential element of Iran’s politics. Public frustration over economic hardship; a Supreme Leader aged 79; and uncertainty over succession. How strong is this republic?

Evangelism will be the ‘clear theme’ of the CofE General Synod, which meets from 20 to 23 February. A new evangelism report states that ‘focused efforts will be needed to multiply and replicate confident disciples who are equipped and released to live out their faith in the whole of their lives’. The report quotes Dr Michael Jinkins, of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, on baptism: ‘We are soaked to the skin in the death of Christ. We trail wet footprints of the drenching wherever we go.’ It concludes, ‘We need to prioritise how we help people drip their wet footprints into the people and places of their lives, spreading the aroma of the knowledge of Christ everywhere.’ There is an aim to fulfil the vision to motivate and enable worshippers to move from church attendees to advocates and apprentices who are outward-looking and confident in their faith and church.

Birmingham Mail recently reported clashes between parents and Parkfield Community School over a pilot curriculum challenging homophobia in primary schools. The deputy head of Parkfield, Andrew Moffat, who is openly gay, created the programme. The parents’ objection was not his sexuality, but the curriculum, called ‘No Outsiders’. They feel it goes against their religious beliefs regarding homosexual relationships. The school is mainly attended by Muslim children. Moffat has a lot of support in local government, and was given an MBE for services to education equality and diversity. Tristan Chatfield, the cabinet member for social inclusion, has suggested the parents are simply misinformed about what the school is trying to do. On 7 February dozens of parents gathered outside the school gates to object to transsexualism being taught to primary-age children. See

Wycliffe Associates is advancing Bible translation and has received requests to launch 619 translation projects worldwide, including groups in DRC, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Nigeria. ‘When they hear that the entire New Testament can now be translated in just months through ground-breaking technology, they are astonished, and they plead for a chance,’ said Wycliffe’s CEO. Traditionally, translations of the New Testament into another language have taken as long as 25 to 30 years. Pray for God's protection over Bible translation workshops for mother-tongue speakers, and for adequate funding for technology resources. Pray for God to keep translators safe when working discreetly in places where Christians face intense persecution. To date, the organisation has installed 90 print-on-demand units in 31 countries. By God’s grace they have distributed 5,485 tablets in 67 countries so far.

An estimated 180,000 people attended mass with the Pope in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, close to the birthplace of Islam.  The crowds gathered to hear him just a day after he called on Christians and Muslim leaders to work together in the rejection of war. He spoke about how Christians should live, pointing out that Jesus came to serve and not be served. He went on to say Jesus lived in poverty in respect to things, but displayed wealth in love. He healed so many lives, but did not spare his own. In his speech to an audience consisting of Abu Dhabi's crown prince, hundreds of imams, muftis, ministers, and rabbis, the Pope warned that the future of humanity was at stake unless religions come together to resist the ‘logic of armed power.’ ‘We will either build the future together, or there will not be a future. God is with those who seek peace.’