WEA fires up believers from 100+ nations
Luke Randall
Date posted: 24 Nov 2025
Over 900 evangelical leaders attended the World Evangelical Alliance’s (WEA) General Assembly for 2025 in Seoul.
The four-day event featured representation from 124 of the world’s 152 regional and national evangelical alliances, and was centred around the theme “The Gospel for Everyone by 2033”.
letter from Australia
Christians stand against conversion law
David Robertson
Date posted: 23 Nov 2025
Sydney Anglicans are taking a strong stand against the new conversion therapy laws introduced by the New South Wales Parliament.
The Sydney Anglican archbishop, Kanishka Raffe (pictured) made the following clear declaration: “I want to say this clearly and publicly to you all, that I will stand by any clergy person or church worker who finds themselves brought before a tribunal or court because of this poorly conceived law … We must not be silenced or intimidated from teaching God’s good plan for human sexuality and relationships. We will insist on the freedom to do so respectfully, but without fear, we will obey God. We can do nothing less.”
Jihadists ‘suffocate’ Malian capital
Luke Randall
Date posted: 23 Nov 2025
Islamic extremists are “suffocating” Mali’s capital city through a fuel blockade and dictatorial new rules enforced on those within it, including that women must wear headscarves when travelling by bus – a worrying development for Christians.
Malian church leader and Open Doors partner Charles Yabaga Diarra* revealed to that the attackers, who are believed en to be loyal to Jama’at Nasrat al Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), have led attacks in several areas across Mali and are now concentrating their efforts on cities bordering the Ivory Coast – where fuel comes from – including the capital, Bamako.
Iran: Jailed believer fractures spine
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 22 Nov 2025
Aida Najaflou, an imprisoned Christian convert in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, Iran, recently fractured her spine after falling from her bunk bed. She was briefly taken to hospital, where doctors recommended urgent surgery, but was returned to prison the same day, still in pain, and without receiving the necessary treatment.
According to Article 18 and Open Doors, her condition is particularly fragile; she lives with rheumatoid arthritis, and warned prison officials that climbing to a top bunk was dangerous for her. Her requests for a lower bed were ignored. “With a fractured vertebra and limited medical access, Aida faces additional suffering that could have been prevented,” Open Doors shared on X.
Screwtape takes to the stage in the US
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 21 Nov 2025
An American theatre company is bringing C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters to stages across the United States.
Fellowship for Performing Arts (FPA), based in New York City, is a not-for-profit production company creating theatre and film from a Christian worldview. Its founder, Max McLean – famous for depicting Lewis in biopic The Reluctant Convert (2021) – spoke of his personal connection with the book: “I was an adult convert to Christianity and, after reading the New Testament, someone gave me a couple of Lewis’s books. The one that really hit me was The Screwtape Letters.
Nicea 1,700: Global leaders gather
Joel Morris
Date posted: 21 Nov 2025
Istanbul, Turkey – Over four days, 22–25 October, more than 470 Christian leaders from around the world convened in Istanbul to commemorate the 1,700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, a foundational statement of Christian faith established in 325AD.
The conference, held in a Muslim-majority country, was notable not only for its historical significance to the church but also for its diverse international participation. Attendees included speakers and teachers from Egypt, Dubai, Kenya, Italy, Russia, India, USA and the UK, offering rich teaching and reflections on the enduring relevance of the Creed.
South Korea: Gospel work thrives
John-Edward Funnell
Date posted: 20 Nov 2025
I recently returned from a wonderful trip to Seoul in South Korea, where I was asked to speak at the “East Meets West” Conference held at SaRang Church as part of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Assembly [see additional WEA article here].
SaRang Church has a membership just short of 40,000 and has a heart for mission. They give huge amounts of resources to the re-evangelisation of Europe. “East Meets West” is led by Sam Ko, who has supported many revitalisation projects and church plants across our continent and has a lead role at the Union School of Theology in Wales.
Sudan: Suffering continues amid worsening crisis
Luke Randall
Date posted: 20 Nov 2025
Thousands continue to be killed and displaced in Sudan as the nation’s civil war rages on.
The situation has become increasingly desperate in El Fasher, where people have resorted to eating animal feed and animal skins due to an extreme food shortage.
Living as a Christian in the West Bank
Luke Randall
Date posted: 19 Nov 2025
Occupation, violence, and feelings of being forgotten, reign supreme for Christians in the West Bank, according to the General Secretary of the East Jerusalem Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA).
Peter Nasir, a partner of Embrace the Middle East in his role with the East Jerusalem YMCA, lives in Jerusalem, and told en of the difficulties of life living in the West Bank, where residents are subject to occupying Israeli forces.
Syria: Fears as UK removes HTS from terror list
Luke Randall
Date posted: 19 Nov 2025
Syria’s Christian population continues to face a perilous future, following the UK government’s decision to remove the ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the Home Office’s proscribed list of terrorist factions. The decision follows the same call by the United States’ administration in the summer.
HTS - led by Ahmed al-Sharaa - remains a source of ongoing uncertainty, and there are persistent fears that Christians will face further persecution as HTS looks to establish an Islamic state in Syria.
Politics USA
Thanksgiving – for what?
Tony Bennett
Date posted: 19 Nov 2025
On Thursday 27 November, Americans will enjoy their annual Thanksgiving. But what’s its background? Who started it? And when? How has it evolved?
The oft-repeated myth is that Thanksgiving – an annual celebration of harvest – dates back to the first harvest following the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers in what today is the state of Massachusetts. True, there was a three-day harvest celebration in 1621, but this really cannot be regarded as the start of Americans’ modern-day tradition. The link between the thankful pilgrims and the modern-day Thanksgiving is really pretty tenuous and more the creation of some romanticised teaching of American history in the second half of the 19th century.
Authorities ordered to pay millions in Koh Case
Nicola Laver
Date posted: 18 Nov 2025
Malaysia's government and police have been ordered to pay millions in compensation to the family of a pastor who was abducted more than eight years ago.
Raymond Koh, then aged 62, was abducted in broad daylight on the morning of 13 February 2017 while driving his car in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur. He has not been seen since. CCTV footage from the time appears to show more than eight masked men in black surrounding the car.
Violent persecution in Mozambique
Luke Randall
Date posted: 18 Nov 2025
Violent persecution against Christians is mounting in Mozambique, with jihadist attacks having slaughtered thousands and displaced an estimated 600,000 people in the north of the country.
A recent incident saw militant jihadist group Ahlu Sunnah wa Jama’ah, known as al-Shabab, attack Napala village in the northern Chiúre district, killing 20 and displacing 2,000, adding to the already catastrophic national total.
US: Reactions to Nigeria being classed as CPC
Luke Randall
Date posted: 17 Nov 2025
There has been mixed reaction among missionary workers to the news that the US State Department has updated its classification of Nigeria to a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) due to its severe persecution of Christians.
The ongoing situation in Nigeria gained more publicity following comments by comedian Bill Maher, who described persecution as genocidal. Now, Trump’s administration has upped its designation of the country and has hinted at further action if violations of religious freedom are not halted.
Netherlands: Mixed feelings following election victory
Luke Randall
Date posted: 16 Nov 2025
Evangelicals in the Netherlands have been left with mixed feelings following the victory of Rob Jetten’s liberal D66 party, who ousted the right-wing PVV in a nail-biting General Election that went down to the wire.
Saskia de Graaf, Public Affairs Officer for MissieNederland (Dutch Evangelical Alliance), told en that while evangelicals are “grateful and relieved” that Christian influence remains in parliament, following success for conservative Christian parties SGP and ChristenUnie, “a lot of concerns” remain as the nation moves into a new and likely more liberal era of government.
Waiting game for Finnish free speech case
Luke Randall
Date posted: 14 Nov 2025
Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen remains “hopeful that justice will prevail” as she faces a waiting game following the hearing of her landmark free speech case at the Finnish Supreme Court.
The latest court involvement means her case will now rumble into its seventh year, despite her having been acquitted in two lower courts.
TV spin-off brings Christ to children
Lydia Houghton
Date posted: 8 Nov 2025
A children’s spin-off of popular TV series The Chosen, which tells the story of Jesus, is available on Prime Video.
The Chosen Adventures follows nine-year-old Abby and her best friend Joshua as they navigate life in the ancient city of Capernaum. When the children encounter a wise craftsman and teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, He helps them change the way they see the world, and they help spread His influence far and wide.
France: Assisted suicide plans criticised
Luke Randall
Date posted: 7 Nov 2025
Concerns have been raised about France’s proposed “Assistance in Dying Bill” by a United Nations (UN) committee.
The group has cited the impact it will have on disabled people as potentially problematic, along with the lack of alternative options to euthanasia and a lack of information on safeguards.
