A high-ranking Nigerian official dismissed reports by international human rights organizations about widespread violence against Christians in his country as “not supported by the facts on the ground,” but some Nigerian Christian leaders disagreed.
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor sophomore Hannah Balkenbush knows exactly where her hope lies—in Jesus Christ. That conviction is the driving force behind Beautiful Hope Ministries.
Somalia tops the list of countries where access to the Bible is blocked by law, actions of religious extremists or acts by other nonstate actors, the Bible Access Initiative announced Oct. 2.
“He loves [Bacon Heights],” said his mother, Rosie Rodriguez. “He’s always around. I don’t think there’s one person in the whole church that doesn’t know his name.”
“All the pain, all of the differences, all the different cultures, different approaches, and the language, all of that is there, but the love of Jesus kind of unites us in such a special way,” Pastor Victor Akhterov said.
Religious leaders who resist state control face a wide range of punishment—from surveillance and fines to retribution against family members, imprisonment, forced labor and torture, the report states.
More than a dozen Texas families filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Sept. 22 seeking to stop their school districts from displaying a state-prescribed version of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms.
Andrew “AJ” Ireton owns a small construction company in Van Zandt County, but his clients know he won’t be available for a couple of months. The Baptist layman will be building a children’s home in eastern India.
Leo Regheta led 160 pastors and their families for a weeklong retreat in prayer and a peaceful time with God along the Black Sea in Odesa, Ukraine.
A 63-year-old Russian Pentecostal pastor received a four-year sentence for preaching against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an Oslo-based news service focused on human rights and religious freedom reported.
