Displaying items by tag: Praise

When Sara was 14, she left home and joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Attracted to the group’s Marxist ideology and in search of acceptance, Sara joined FARC to bring about a Colombian revolution. Years later she was urged by fellow guerrillas to denounce her family, who had become Christians; they knew the gospel ran counter to their violent ideology. But Sara left FARC, rejoined her family, got married, and now places her trust in Christ. Because God saved her from a violent life, she feels compelled to share His Word with others who have given their lives to the guerrilla group. She and her husband now distribute Bibles to youth. Their ministry has not gone unnoticed, as FARC leaders have threatened them many times.

An old video has appeared on social media of Premier League football star Angel Gomes being prayed for to be healed of pain from football-related injuries four years ago. When Gomes was 16 and captain of the England national under-17 team, he visited TB Joshua's Synagogue Church of All Nations for a service. The video shows a controversial prophet praying for healing which resulted in Gomes jogging, shaking his legs and squatting showing he was healed of pain. This week Gomes received questions about the 2016 video and replied saying he was from a Christian family and was going through some pain issues. ‘From the outside looking in it looks crazy, but I was just practising my faith.’ He added that he didn't really need to explain himself but a lot of people were asking him what the video was about, I was just practising my faith’.

About 1.3m children in England will be able to claim free school meal vouchers in the summer holidays, after a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford. The Manchester United forward, 22, welcomed the six-week voucher for eligible children, saying, ‘Look at what we can do when we come together’. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the move was a ‘welcome u-turn’. Boris Johnson praised Mr Rashford's ‘contribution to the debate around poverty’. During the lockdown the government has been providing vouchers to families whose children qualify for free meals, but had insisted this would not continue outside term time. However, following an open letter by Rashford, who had needed free school meals himself, and a petition signed by 266,000, this decision was reversed.

Community growing schemes are enabling churches to develop relationships with people who would never come to a Sunday service; because of that, opportunities arise for church members to pray with their neighbours in times of need or struggle. It is a new expression of what church is and can be when relating to the unchurched neighbourhood. Community gardening initiatives vary from gardens whose object is to provide social connection to sustainable food production, supplying foodbanks and other areas of need. Some churches are involved in both. The environmental adviser to the Archbishops’ Council sees the potential for community food-growing alongside therapeutic gardening in initiatives such as the Church Times Green Church Awards, churchyard initiatives, biodiversity projects, and the target to be carbon-neutral by 2030. There is a huge surge of interest from people wanting to grow something.

A priest in St Albans diocese is beating the ban on public worship inside churches while complying with lockdown restrictions. He will hold communion services in his church’s garden of remembrance. Canon Charles Royden has announced that he will be holding services under the ruling that allows an outdoor gathering of a maximum of six people. He is taking telephone bookings for five people to attend at half-hourly intervals in the church grounds on Sunday. He has already filled twelve services, from 9.30 am to 3 pm, and is taking reservations for the following weekend. Service duties will be shared with his colleague, Rev Dr Sam Cappleman. Canon Royden said the new rules say we can now share food and drink and enjoy outdoor picnics and barbeques. So the sharing of the holy sacrament is no longer prohibited. The possibility of catching Covid-19 from this practice is considered to be extremely low.

Eight minutes of phone footage captured his last breath, but in Houston they know George Floyd as a mentor to a generation of young men. Before moving to Minneapolis for a job opportunity through a Christian work programme, he spent almost his entire life in the black Third Ward, where he was called ‘Big Floyd’ and regarded as a community leader and elder statesmen. He wanted to break the cycle of violence he saw among young people, and used his influence to bring outside ministries to the area to do discipleship and outreach. The pastor of Resurrection Houston said, ‘George Floyd was a person of peace sent from the Lord, who helped the gospel go forward in that place. He wanted to see young men put their guns down and have Jesus instead of the streets.’

After Angel’s babysitter led him in a sinner’s prayer he felt there was a shield around him as a child, but as a teenager he followed his older brothers into crime, drugs, alcohol, rage, revenge, and jail. Finally, after committing an offence that could have imprisoned him for life, he listened to a preacher: ‘God loves you so much. He doesn’t want this for your life. He has more for you.’ His sisters were praying for him. He broke down, fell to his knees, and said, ‘Here I am, Lord. Here is my life. I am totally out of it. I do not know what to do. I have heard about you. I need you to take over because I am out of control.’ For years he mocked people who were healed and fell under the power of the Spirit on Christian television programming. But when he finally broke before God, he decided to go to church.

Kenya's government closed all churches in order to prevent further spread of coronavirus. So Rev Paul Macharia from All Saints' Cathedral has taken church services on the road. They travel to apartment blocks and provide sermons and music from the street below; allowing people to attend church while being able to maintain social distancing rules to tackle the new pandemic. This government-approved safe service is nicknamed B2B, ‘Balcony to Balcony’, taking place every Sunday, using amplifiers and loudspeakers. It has become popular, with large turnouts of families on their balconies.

Christians around the world will participate in a global outreach on Pentecost Sunday, 31 May, with the goal of sharing the Gospel with one billion people. The ambitious effort is an offshoot of Global Outreach Day, ‘GO2020,’, aiming to spark waves of new disciples as the very first Pentecost did two thousand years ago. The focus goes beyond salvation. Organisers are also asking for God to intervene in the midst of the pandemic crisis. With so many struggling with the instability, they believe the time is ripe to share the message of Christ and reap a harvest of souls. They will meet their goal of sharing the gospel with one billion people if every Christian reaches just five people in his or her social circle.

Praise God for a successful rescue operation of 360 children, women and men freed from a brick kiln. They had been made to work under debt bondage for the last six months and faced extreme violence when they asked to leave during the COVID-19 pandemic. IJM and its partner supported local officials in the operation to get them finally to safety. This is the third time in five years that authorities have rescued people from this same brick kiln, but in the past the owner has always been released on bail.