DRC: Christians caught in crossfire
Luke Randall
Date posted: 21 Feb 2025
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.
letter from Democratic Republic of Congo
DRC: ‘Why is the world looking away?’
James Stileman
Date posted: 21 Feb 2025
‘Those who live in Goma live in fear. They do not know what is next. They ask why the international community has looked the other way.’
Those are the words of someone I saw in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) just a few months ago – and who, with his family, is now out of his home, having being compelled to flee as rebel forces advanced.
Urgent: Syrian Christians need prayer
Chris Sugden
Date posted: 18 Feb 2025
'Every Christian is afraid of what will happen in the coming weeks,' said a Syrian Christian leader recently.
They were speaking to the TBF Trust, a Christian organisation supporting persecuted believers.
Wycliffe shoots for the stars
Luke Randall
Date posted: 10 Feb 2025
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.
When harvesting honey’s not so sweet
Gary Clayton
Date posted: 4 Feb 2025
A South Sudanese pastor is rejoicing – two years after a honey-harvesting accident left him facing a lifetime of pain.
Elisama Edward, rural dean for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, Maridi, was flown to hospital after his plight came to the attention of Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
Activist jailed for four more years
Luke Randall
Date posted: 3 Feb 2025
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.
God’s grace at work in Central Asia
Mark Foster
Date posted: 3 Feb 2025
Anniversaries give opportunity to look back with thankfulness, and forward with hope and confidence. This year marks the 75th ‘birthday’ of Slavic Gospel Association (UK).
From relatively small beginnings the work has grown and prospered through God’s hand of blessing on it, so that today in the lands of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Far East Russia, hundreds of missionaries and Christian workers are helped prayerfully and financially by the supporters of the Mission. The Mission’s sponsorship scheme enables prayer partners to direct their support and their prayers to the work of faithful and trusted men and women, labouring to advance the cause of the gospel.
letter from Australia
Chastity & singleness: Changing the code
David Robertson
Date posted: 2 Feb 2025
Words matter. But some words matter more than others. Take this example from the Anglican Diocese of Perth in Western Australia concerning their code of conduct.
‘7.2 Sexuality is a gift from God and is integral to human nature. It is appropriate for clergy and church workers to value this gift, taking responsibility for their sexual conduct by maintaining chastity in singleness and faithfulness in marriage.’ It is now to be changed to ‘7.2 Sexuality is a gift from God and is integral to human nature. It is appropriate for clergy and church workers to value this gift, taking responsibility for their sexual conduct.’
USA: Christian education gains pace
Emily Pollok
Date posted: 1 Feb 2025
Several US states are moving towards publicly-funded Christian education, sparking heated debate over the separation of church and state amidst the rising tide of Christian nationalism across the country.
Texas and Ohio are pressing ahead with such plans – but in Louisiana and Oklahoma, supporters of similar moves are facing setbacks.
Israel: How outreach is changing
Luke Randall
Date posted: 29 Jan 2025
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.
New church takes off in Serbian city
Elma Mackay
Date posted: 28 Jan 2025
An evangelical church has been planted in Serbia’s fourth largest city, with ministry in Serbian and Portuguese.
The new congregation in Kragujevac consists of around 25 people and is the fruit of collaboration between Serbian believers from other towns, missionaries from Brazil, and the Scotland-based Christian organisation Blythswood Care.
After Assad's fall: Syrian Christians face uncertainty
Luke Randall
Date posted: 27 Jan 2025
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.’
What is the deadliest country for Christians?
Luke Randall
Date posted: 26 Jan 2025
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.
One in seven Christians face severe persecution
Rebecca Chapman
Date posted: 25 Jan 2025
One in seven Christians globally face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith, an increase of 15 million since last year, MPs were told at the parliamentary launch of the Open Doors World Watch List 2025 on 15 January.
The launch event was co-hosted by Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Winchester (pictured right), and the Rt Hon. Sir Stephen Timms MP, and included moving first-hand accounts of persecution given by Christians from Nigeria and Bangladesh.
Algeria: Authorities close 58 churches
Luke Randall
Date posted: 24 Jan 2025
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.
letter from America
When should Christians fight to protect?
Josh Moody
Date posted: 23 Jan 2025
A former marine, Daniel Penny, was recently acquitted of all charges - despite putting a black homeless man, Jordan Neely, in a chokehold and killing him while they and others were travelling on a New York underground train.
Neely, apparently well-known locally for his Michael Jackson impressions, had allegedly made violent threats against other travellers on the subway car (as carriages are known). But he reportedly says he could not have lived with his conscience if any harm had come to his fellow passengers.
California wildfires: ‘God at work in disaster’
Milla Ling-Davies
Date posted: 23 Jan 2025
As wildfires continue to blaze across Southern California, razing homes, schools and churches to the ground, local churches have been pulling together to lament, pray and provide relief – seeing God at work amid the tragedy.
The first and largest wildfire in California broke out on 7 January in the Pacific Palisades and was quickly followed by four more that same week – in Eaton, Hurst, Lidia and Kenneth. With 100 mph winds whipping up the fires, churches across the region reported extensive damage.
Wildfires: Climate change is ‘here & now’
en staff
Date posted: 23 Jan 2025
Leading climate scientist and evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe says the wildfires causing devastation in California are a stark reminder of the reality of climate change today.
Hayhoe, currently Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit international charitable organisation, says Los Angeles County was ‘tinder dry’ after receiving only 0.16 inches of rain since last May and experiencing ‘an unusually warm summer’.
