updates from the mission field
A town that had everything… except a gospel-preaching church
Jen Herbert and Matthew Martin
Date posted: 31 Oct 2026
Church planter and writer Seth Lewis is in no doubt about what Ireland’s growing towns need most.
“Carrigtwohill is a lovely community," he says. “It was a small village for a very long time, yet now it is just booming with growth. They can't build houses fast enough… There are new schools, there are shops, there are sports clubs, there's a huge industrial park that's expanding. They're building a new train station. Everything is coming here.
Russia: Church growth despite hostility
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 29 Oct 2026
Despite ramped-up restrictions on evangelical Christianity in Russia, the church is continuing to grow in an increasingly hostile environment.
Earlier this year, the country’s General Prosecutor’s Office ruled that foreign organisations, including Christian ministries, pose a threat to Russia’s national security.
Mongolia: Following Jesus to be polite?
OMF International UK
Date posted: 27 Oct 2026
Anna* still remembers the missions event in her hometown in Hungary where she won an MP3 player – and started wondering what global mission might look like in her own life.
Growing up in Hungary, global mission was not a common direction that Christians took – local mission took priority. But as a child, Anna loved to read missionary stories. As I chatted to her, she shared how she went from never having been on a plane, to leaving Hungary at 23 years old, volunteering at a Christian retreat centre in the UK, and eventually moving to Mongolia with OMF and her husband Mark*.
Sudan: ‘To do life amid such destruction is difficult’
Luke Randall
Date posted: 26 Oct 2026
Christians in Sudan have called for a legitimate peace process, featuring genuine civilian representation, to bring an end to the bitter civil war engulfing the nation, but they “do not have any hope” of a satisfactory resolution.
The calls have been made following representation from those loyal to the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, in a move seen by many Christians as problematic, due to them being one of the two warring parties, alongside the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as revealed by Open Doors.
Study: 125 million Christians lack access to a Bible
Luke Randall
Date posted: 24 Oct 2026
Bible access is restricted for more than 500 million Christians worldwide, while millions more cannot afford or reach one, according to a new study.
A report on worldwide Bible access, compiled by the Bible Access Initiative, assessed levels of access across 106 countries around the globe. It found that over 125 million believers want a Bible but do not have one, while “translation, publication and digital availability are not enough”.
Among the reclusive Amish: A growing awakening?
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 23 Oct 2026
Thousands of Amish people in the US are being saved after hearing the gospel in English, says a former Amish minister who was converted in 2021.
Jonas Kurtz, 29, was excommunicated from his community and is now an evangelist to Amish communities across North America. He reports an awakening among the Amish, and says God is at work.
Is the Trump cult waning?
Tony Bennett
Date posted: 22 Oct 2026
Is the Trump cult waning? That’s a question I’m often asked these days when I reveal my interest in American politics. But it’s always a good idea first to examine the question. Is “cult” an appropriate term to use regarding President Trump and the Republican Party?
According to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, a cult is “a system of religious devotion directed towards a particular figure or object”. Although that definition doesn’t entirely fit with the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement in America, it comes near enough to it that, at the very most, the only amendment I’d think of making to the question would be to ask: “Is the Trump ‘cult’ waning?”
Spanish Father in legal fight to be able to read Bible to his son
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 19 Oct 2026
A father in Spain is taking his legal fight to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to secure the right to teach his son evangelical Christianity, read the Bible to him and take him to church. The outcome will have wider implications for Christian families, particularly where the parents disagree on religious upbringing of their children.
In this case, the boy’s mother was separated from the father and opposed him being taught the Christian faith. In 2022, she secured a court order granting her exclusive parental authority to make decisions about the child’s moral and religious upbringing until the age of 12. He is now ten-years-old.
letter from South Asia
‘Something remarkable’ in India
Joseph D’Souza
Date posted: 18 Oct 2026
The frontline of faith in South Asia remains a place where the Kingdom presses forward, even as the pressure on Christ’s people grows heavier by the month.
This summer, India witnessed something remarkable. A generation of young people, insulted from the highest bench in the land and answered on the streets with tear gas, simply refused to be afraid. They gathered, they sang, and they would not be moved – and by God’s providence, a cabinet minister resigned.
letter from New Zealand
'Rugby is our religion'
Charley Ballinger
Date posted: 17 Oct 2026
When people hear the word “religion” in New Zealand, the responses vary widely. When an unbelieving friend spoke of religion this week, it was to joke: “Rugby is our religion”.
And if the press from the All Blacks official website is accurate, on average 1 in 3 Kiwis is actively engaged in watching the All Blacks. The most recent test matches against the Springboks kicked off at 3:10 am NZ time. Meaning almost a third of the country’s entire population were sleep-deprived on Sunday 6th September. At our church we saw a slight dip in attendance, but it was also Father’s Day and happened to be raining cats and dogs, so perhaps there is no correlation!
Nigeria: Persecution is not slowing down
Luke Randall
Date posted: 16 Oct 2026
More than 4,200 Christians in Nigeria have been killed during 2026, with one dying every 86 minutes, according to a new report which suggests persecution in the West African nation is not slowing down.
Newly released research from Equipping the Persecuted (ETP) revealed that over five million believers have been displaced, while more than 600 communities have been destroyed this year, particularly focused in the nation’s Middle Belt, dubbed the “epicentre” of the crisis.
ACNA bishop censured for misconduct
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 15 Oct 2026
A bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, part of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), has been censured after taking part in a service alongside a bishop from the Episcopal Church, despite the two denominations being in broken communion.
Orthodox Anglicans were left upset and confused in August, when Bishop Chip Edgar publicly dedicated a school chapel with his counterpart in the Episcopal Church, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, during an ecumenical service – implying a unity and theological alignment between the two denominations that doesn’t exist.
One-year-old euthanised in Netherlands
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 15 Oct 2026
A one-year-old in the Netherlands has become the youngest known person to die by euthanasia.
The child, who died at the end of last year, had been born prematurely at 26 weeks and suffered brain damage, severe cerebral palsy, visual impairment and epilepsy. Upon the parent’s request, the child’s life was ended by gradual sedation with “coma-inducing substances”, according to a Dutch review committee report.
Lahore: New law protecting girls from child marriage
Christian Daily International / Morning Star News
Date posted: 13 Oct 2026
Christian leaders and attorneys are welcoming a Lahore High Court (LHC) ruling that says living in a marital relationship with a girl under 18 can constitute child abuse even if the minor consents.
They described the decision as a significant development in efforts to protect minority girls from child marriage and forced religious conversions. In an 11-page written judgment in the case of a Muslim minor, Hina Aslam, LHC Justice Munawar Iqbal Duggal ruled that a marriage involving a person younger than 18 falls within the definition of child marriage under the recently enacted Punjab Child Marriage Restraint Act 2026. The court said the new law had changed the legal position on child marriage and must be applied accordingly.
letter from Egypt
How an Egyptian holiday led to ongoing ministry
James Paice
Date posted: 11 Oct 2026
A holiday trip to Luxor in January 2023, coupled with reading the DayOne guide to Biblical connections to Egypt, planted the initial seed for what would become an unusual ministry.
Alongside historical photographs and archaeological descriptions, the DayOne guidebook contained a small paragraph detailing P64 – thought to be the earliest papyrus fragment of Matthew’s Gospel, acquired by the English Chaplain in the 1890s.
Iran: 'Pray we aren't released until our mission is complete'
Luke Randall
Date posted: 10 Oct 2026
As Christians in Iran continue to face hardship from all sides, their witness also continues - both outside and inside of prison.
As turbulence continues in Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) continues to hold on to power, leaving Christians and other minority religious groups vulnerable to discrimination, including prosecution and jail terms. Elam Ministries's Chrissy Parkes, however, has revealed that there are also reasons for encouragement: Iran’s church is standing firm amid the darkness around them.
I passed the ‘kill fence’, entered the prison and found grace...
Krish Kandiah
Date posted: 9 Oct 2026
Around the perimeter of Jefferson City Correctional Centre, Missouri, one of North America’s maximum-security prisons, runs what they call a kill fence. It sits between two razor wire fences. It looks innocuous enough until you see the warnings informing you that it carries a lethal voltage. One touch, they say, and it’s lights out.
You have to wonder why it needs the razor wire fencing, let alone the numerous men with machine guns lurking in watchtowers. This seemed to me, as I was ushered through the metal detector, to be quite literally overkill.
Christians 'effectively forced underground' in Algeria
Luke Randall
Date posted: 8 Oct 2026
Persecution of Christians continues to grow in Algeria, with Christians now effectively forced underground due to pressure on church premises, personnel and resources.
en has previously reported on growing persecution in the African nation, mostly driven by the state. A Voice of Persecuted Christians (formerly Release International) partner has told us about how the situation continues to deteriorate.
