In Depth:  Luke Randall

Luke Randall

A skiing ministry in a village in the Swiss Alps is continuing to grow after almost 40 years, having developed from a small chaplaincy programme into a thriving church.

Verbier, a small village 1,500 metres above sea-level with a population of about 3,000 permanent residents, is a top ski and summer resort which hosts many English-speaking residents and holidaymakers, in which a small-scale winter chaplaincy programme was formed in 1986.

Luke Randall

One third of the Costa Rican population identifies as evangelical and the highest percentage of evangelicals is aged between 18 and 24 years old, according to a new survey.

The Perception of the Costa Rican Population on Religious Values and Practices 2024, carried out by the Ecumenical School of Religious Sciences and the Institute of Social Studies in Population of the National University (UNA), revealed that 1.65 million of Costa Rica’s 5.18 million population identify as evangelicals, amounting to 33%, with the highest percentage found in the 18 to 24 age bracket, report Evangelical Focus.

Luke Randall

The first in a series of three conferences exploring the approaches of Evangelicalism and Neo-Calvinism will take place in Sao Paulo this May, at which the historical development and future of both theological approaches will be considered by a panel of experts.

The event, organised by a collaboration of scholars from the University of Edinburgh, Fuller Theological Seminary and the Theological University of Utrecht, takes place at Mackenzie University, Sao Paulo following an invitation from the Mackenzie Chancellery. It will focus on the different approaches of both positions, and the growing influence of Neo-Calvinism around the world, before follow-up events are hosted in Asia and Africa.

Luke Randall

Christians in Sudan face continued targeting and are victims of “heinous crimes” amidst the ongoing civil war in Sudan which shows no signs of easing any time soon.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) workers with contacts on the ground in the country which is being torn apart by civil war, told en that they “reject any suggestion that the conflict shows signs of abating,” and revealed that Christians have been targeted by both warring parties since the conflict began.

Luke Randall

Christian MPs in Chile have signed the ‘Commitment to Life’ document, publicly expressing their opposition to a new draft law proposing the legalisation of free abortion.

The document expresses the dissatisfaction of MPs from across the political divide with the proposed change in legislation. In it they re-committed to defending life and to supporting women enduring difficult pregnancies amidst challenging circumstances, reports Evangelical Focus.

Luke Randall

Free evangelicalism has remained at a similar level over the last 13 years in Switzerland, defying a sharp decline in mainstream Protestant evangelicalism and Catholicism, new data shows.

New statistics released by the Federal Statistics Office in Switzerland show that while only one in every five people in the central European nation identified with the Protestant Swiss Evangelical Church (SEK) in 2023, decreasing to 19% from 34% in 2000, the number of free evangelicals remained at 5%.

Luke Randall

Prison sentences given to Christians in Iran in 2024 were six times harsher than in the previous year, and over four times as many were sentenced last year than in 2023, a new report has revealed.

The shocking new statistics were revealed in ‘The Tip of the Iceberg’, a report co-released by Article 18, Open Doors, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Middle East Concern.

Luke Randall

A Protestant leader has said that he fears churches may be forced to close following the implementation of concerning new laws which restrict freedom of religion in Kyrgyzstan.

The new Religion Law and an Amending Law came into effect last month. The legislation dictates that religious activity can only be conducted in public with state permission, and that religious groups must be registered to legally exist, with a minimum registration requirement of 500 adult members, up from the 200 required previously.

Luke Randall

An evangelical professor of philosophy has called on Christians in Romania to discern wisely as they prepare to vote in the nation’s delayed presidential election later this year.

Independent far-right candidate Calin Georgescu (see photo) looked to be on course for a possible victory in the first round of voting last year, before the constitutional court remarkably intervened to determine the results null and void, citing possible Russian interference. This delayed the first round of ballots until May.

Luke Randall

There is ‘no clear evidence’ that Christianity continues to grow in China in the 21st century following rapid growth during the preceding decades, according to a newly released academic paper.

The article, titled ‘The Growth of Christianity in China May Have Come to an End’, was published in Sage Journal at the start of the year, and drew upon research from 19 nationally representative surveys gathered since the turn of the century, as reported by China Christian Daily.

Luke Randall

Christians returning to their homes in Gaza have insisted they will not leave their homeland, while believers in Lebanon face an uncertain future.

There are ongoing tensions and uncertainties about the fragile pause in hostilities between Israel and Hamas. However, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in place since late November, seemed to be holding.

Luke Randall

Church services have been cancelled as fighting continues to intensify in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – with 70 Christians found beheaded in one church.

M23 rebels, who have been seizing territory since early 2022 with the help of around 4,000 Rwandan troops, now control the two of the largest cities in DRC - Goma and Bukavu.

Luke Randall

Wycliffe Associates are to use Starlink to improve connectivity with isolated Bible translators.

The Bible translation organisation hope that the SpaceX satellite internet provider, which provides broadband to over 100 countries and aims to eventually provide global broadband, will enable their translators to access the internet at high speeds - and transform the capabilities of their work in the world’s remotest locations.

Luke Randall

A Christian pro-democracy campaigner, who said his motivation for joining activism was that ‘we should be salt and light’, has been sentenced to almost five more years in prison, having already served three since 2021.

He is one of 45 pro-democracy demonstrators falling victim to a government crackdown on anti-establishment demonstrations.

Luke Randall

A Ukrainian-born Jewish missionary says his evangelistic approach to Jewish people has changed since the attacks on 7 October 2023.

Misha Vayshengolts, who works for International Mission to Jewish People and lives in Tel-Aviv (interviewed by en last year), revealed that he has had to change how he communicates with Jewish people since Hamas attacked and killed over 1,200 Israelis.

Luke Randall

The future for Christians in Syria remains uncertain following the recent toppling of Bashar Al Assad’s government by Islamic group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The fall of Assad’s regime has been met with widespread relief around the world, but how Christians will be treated remains unclear.

Sat-7, which supports the church in the Middle East, has spoken to several Syrian pastors following the change in regime, and found many to be fearful, but also hopeful that a better future may be ahead. One pastor expressed fear about the future, saying ‘change is always fearful, and entering a new era that is unknown and unstable is not accepted by human nature, and leads to worry, but we believe that God is present.’

Luke Randall

More than 7,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2023, representing 90% of the overall worldwide total killed because of their faith, making it the deadliest country in the world for Christians.

The African country has been a dangerous place for Christians for years, mainly because of Islamic terror groups such as Boko Haram, (who infamously kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls in 2014 and regularly post online videos of their members beheading Christians) as well as Fulani Herdsmen and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). A particularly brutal attack saw 200 Christians slaughtered and 500 more injured by Islamic fundamentalists between 23 and 25 December 2023.

Luke Randall

Christians are being persecuted by authorities in Algeria, with 58 churches having been closed down by the government since 2018, leaving only one open.

In a video at the UK parliament with ADF International, Pastor Youseff shed light on this growing persecution. The pastor, who has previously been sentenced to prison twice since 2008, revealed that there have been almost 60 prison sentences handed to Christians in the country, mostly ranging from two months to five years.

Luke Randall

Donald Trump bas become President of the United States for the second time, and while he naturally takes the limelight, he has appointed several Christian influences in key positions around him.

Vice President J.D. Vance’s Catholic background is well-documented, but others with a more evangelical worldview include House Speaker Mike Johnson, Israel Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and Secretary of Defence nominee Pete Hegseth.

Luke Randall

Discrimination against Christians is on the rise in Europe, according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe’s (OIDAC Europe) annual report.

The non-governmental organisation recently released its annual ‘Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe Report,’ which revealed that there were more than 2,400 anti-Christian hate crimes committed in 35 European countries in 2023, as reported by police forces and civil society, which included acts of violence, threat and harassment.

Luke Randall

Twenty thousand Christians marched through Manipur, India, holding empty coffins aloft to demand that the bodies of Christians who were allegedly killed by police forces in a gunfight were released.

Ten Kuki-Zo youths were allegedly killed in the incident by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jiribam district, and their bodies are still in a morgue awaiting post-mortem results at the time of writing.

Luke Randall

A nine-year-old Christian girl from Bangladesh says she has only survived extreme persecution for her faith because of Jesus’ love. She has been completely excluded at school and in wider society, is constantly bullied and has even watched her house burn down.

Rumana, whose family live in a village in northwest Bangladesh, which has an almost exclusively Muslim population. When her family became Christians, they were ostracised from the community, with even non-Muslims hesitant to associate with them due to fear of being similarly mistreated.

Luke Randall

Believers in Syria may be gradually marginalised over time – and eventually face death, a leading expert is warning.

As the situation in Syria continues to unfold, Christians face ongoing uncertainty about how their new rulers will treat them.

Luke Randall

UK Christians have prayed continuously for 700 hours about the crisis in the Middle East, as part of a prayer session organised by charities Tearfund and 24-7 Prayer, as conflicts continue in the region.

Tearfund asked people to pray for the situation as conflicts continue in Gaza and Lebanon, and tensions increase between Israel and Iran.

Luke Randall

Evangelicalism is on the rise in Spain, with the number of evangelical places of worship having increased by 96 over the last year, according to newly released statistics.

New data on worship places released by the Observatory of Religious Pluralism in Spain, reveals that evangelical Christianity has more places of worship than any other minority faith group, with 4,455, up from 4,359 in 2023.

Luke Randall

Members of Iglesia de Jesuscristo (which essentially means Christchurch) have been contributing to the relief effort in Valencia, following the disastrous flooding recently seen in the city.

Over 200 people have died after the Eastern Spanish city and its surrounding area was hammered with a year’s worth of rain fall in just eight hours. Julian Milson (pictured with his wife Nicky), who works with Crosslinks, revealed that church members from the Spanish Reformed episcopal congregation have gone with thousands of others into affected areas by bus to assist with the humanitarian effort and cleanup. Milson said that volunteers have been ‘put to good use’, but that the organisation of assistance on the ground has been ‘patchy’.

Luke Randall

The Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) has called for the Nigerian government to strengthen religious rights, following their discovery that Christians have been the most violently persecuted group in Nigeria during the last four years.

A study by ORFA revealed that 16,700 Christians have been violently killed out of an overall civilian total of 55,900, mainly by Islamist extremists. This makes them the most discriminated-against people group in the country. Other groups to feature high on the list were security forces and terror group members.

Luke Randall

Christians are facing significant persecution for their faith in Pakistan, with recent incidents reported by the British Asian Christian Association (BACA) including arrests, robbery, rape, forced abortion and murder.

In one incident, 30-year-old Marshal Masih, from Lahore, was shot 16 times in front of his wife and three children, and died of excessive bleeding due to a delayed response from emergency services.

Luke Randall

During the Covid pandemic, Christians had to learn how to engage with church differently because of national restrictions. Now, two NASA astronauts have taken virtual church to a whole new level.

Christians Barry Wilmore and Tracy Dyson, who were among the four astronauts on the Boeing Starliner’s flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in June, are members of Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas.

Luke Randall

Christians in central Mali have been told to support Islamic terrorists in their fight against the country’s military power or leave.

Pastors in the Mopti region were told by extremists that they could either provide men to join their fight against the army, give them money to hire mercenaries, or convert to Islam and close their churches, or they would be forced to leave the area.

Luke Randall

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has said, in a statement at the 56th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in Geneva, Switzerland, that the Nigerian government must do more to protect Christians from the ‘brutal violence’ of extremist groups.

The WEA spoke of ‘patterns of repeated violence’ by extremist groups in Nigeria which are wiping out communities and displacing thousands. It called on the country’s government to do more to ‘disarm violent groups’ and ‘boost security’ in the nation.

Luke Randall

A woman from Afghanistan was given a Bible by her boss, and this led to her, her husband and her entire family converting from Islam to Christianity.

Khada, whose name has been changed for security reasons, remains in Afghanistan, where life has become even more difficult since the Taliban’s takeover of power in 2021, and she is a member of a secret church.

Luke Randall

Venezuelan Christians face an uncertain future amid controversy concerning the result of the recent national election.

Nicolás Maduro was recently declared the winner by a government-controlled agency, granting him a third term in office, and the continuation of 25 years of rule by the Socialist PSUV party.

Luke Randall

A Christian woman from North Korea has successfully escaped from her country five years after her first attempted defection, having spent time in prison and re-education camps.

So Young, whose name has been changed for security reasons, was returned to North Korea, after escaping the first time, by the Chinese authorities. China does not view North Korean defectors as refugees who require protection, but as illegal immigrants to be returned.

Luke Randall

More than 5,500 people have attended the third ‘Jesus Festival’ in Paray-le-Monial, France.

The Christian festival featured music from several French and international artists including rock group Glorious, Mirella, MLK Worship, Hopen, Dévotion, Noah Mungongo, and Sandra Kouame, Australian group PlanetShakers and solo artist, Dan Luiten.

Luke Randall

Religious groups in Vietnam now have to register financial information with local authorities and are liable to be shut down by government officials for unspecified ‘serious violations’ under new laws implemented to manage religion.

Decree 95, the new strand under the 2018 Law on Belief and Religion, sees state oversight of religious activities increase in Vietnam, with churches required to register more information with government authorities, such as financial records and how they receive and report donations.

Luke Randall

A people group of 6,000 in Ghana is celebrating its own Bible – which took 37 years to complete.

The Koma translation has now been printed 5,000 times since it was finished in March.

Luke Randall

God answers prayer in amazing ways, and He did so in Kenya with just a few pens and pencils, as Robbie Toop of Mission Africa revealed.

The organisation has been sending mission teams to the African nation for ten years and sent Kathryn Lindsay, its first long-term worker, in 2023.

Luke Randall

The new heavyweight boxing champion of the world says he owes his title to Christ.

Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury to become the first undisputed four-belt heavyweight champion of the world in the history of boxing. The 37-year-old won by split decision at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, condemning Fury to a first defeat in his 16-year career ahead of a potential rematch later this year.

Luke Randall

Jean Graham Ford, sister of Billy Graham, has died aged 91. She leaves behind Dr Leighton Ford, her husband of 70 years, their two children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Jean was the youngest of four children, and was Billy’s only remaining sibling. She was a member of Myers Park Presbyterian Church and actively served as a women’s Bible Study leader. She served in ministry and evangelism, alongside her husband, with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and then with Ford’s own organisation, Leighton Ford Ministries. 

Luke Randall

Christian shot putter Yemisi Ogunleye has credited her silver medal at the World Athletics Championship 2024 to her faith in God. She achieved a personal best of 20.19 metres, within three centimetres of becoming world champion.

Ogunleye’s victory comes at a good time, with preparations underway ahead of competing at the upcoming European Championships and Paris Olympic Games this summer.

Luke Randall

Devout Bible-reading Christian Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former United States President Jimmy Carter, has died aged 96. She died peacefully at home surrounded by her family, having entered hospice care shortly before she died. She had been diagnosed with dementia earlier this year.

Mrs Carter was married to her husband Jimmy for over 77 years, the pair having met when she was just 18, and married the next year. She leaves behind her four children, 11 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

Luke Randall

Tens of thousands of Christians in South Korea have added technology supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to their spiritual diet, reports the Financial Times.

Many young Protestants in particular have started using AI-supported Christian apps, which has freed up pastors’ diaries to spend more time focusing on caring for members of their churches on a pastoral level.

Luke Randall

While world leaders have devoted a countless number of hours to finding a seemingly impossible solution to the ongoing Middle Eastern crisis, Misha Vayshengolts, who serves with International Mission to Jewish People in Israel, believes that ‘Jesus is the answer’.

In an interview with en, Misha spoke about what life is currently like in Israel, how recent events have impacted his work as a missionary, and why he thinks Jesus is the solution to the crisis.

Luke Randall

Evangelicals in Germany are standing firm on the issue of homosexual partnerships – declaring that they ‘do not find approval from a Biblical perspective.’

At its National Board, Union of Free Evangelical Churches (FeG) President Ansgar Hörsting called for members to seek unity as recommendations regarding the question of homosexuality were set out for member churches. He told the 400 delegates in attendance that ‘the relationship with God in Jesus is a firm foundation, and the Holy Spirit works and gives people orientation and support.’

Luke Randall

John Piper has questioned whether it is appropriate to drink coffee at church in a tweet which has had over 2.5 million views.

His message on Twitter/X read: ‘Can we reassess whether Sunday coffee-sipping in the sanctuary fits.’ This was accompanied by a quotation from Hebrews 12:28, which reads, ‘Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.’

Luke Randall

Reformed Christianity in South America is mushrooming thanks to great Bible resources, a leading evangelical worker there says.

Alberto Puente, who leads the Spanish Initiatives for the Charles Simeon Trust, which carries out workshops across the continent in South America, says that: ‘Reformed Christianity is growing thanks to the resources that are being produced by ministries like the Gospel Coalition, Ligonier and 9Marks. Several Christian Reformed associations have been formed and there are a few seminaries that have been founded in the past couple of decades.’