The number of Jews immigrating to Israel has dropped 43 percent in the six months since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. From April to September 2023, 23,073 people moved to Israel under the Law of Return. From October 2023 to March 2024, the number dropped to 12,977.
Read MoreOver the next month churches will hold the annual event known as Graduate Sunday. Those days may include tables of photos in the foyer, graduates in their caps and gowns, a meal for senior and a sermon by the youth pastor, leaving parents to wonder about the science behind the speed of time.
Read MoreIn several districts of central and southwestern Uganda, places with high levels of poverty, a beacon of hope shines bright these days. It’s The Share the Light Gospel Initiative — led by an American couple, Brian and Mary Kluth through HealthyCharity.org — that’s illuminating lives and brightening the future of hundreds of Christian families.
Read MorePresident Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package on April 24 that drew bipartisan support for Israel, Ukraine and other allies, and pledged to begin sending weapons and military equipment to Ukraine within hours.
Read MoreMegachurch pastor John Lindell apologized to his congregation on Sunday for inviting sword-swallower Alex Magala and disgraced pastor Mark Driscoll to the Stronger Men’s Conference two weekends ago in Missouri. The apology follows a week of controversy sparked by Driscoll’s sharp condemnation of Magala’s “strip” act.
Read MoreIslamic extremists waging an insurgency in Mozambique have increasingly targeted Christians and churches in the first three months of this year. As a result, priests and their followers — a total of 100,000 people — have been forced to flee following increased attacks that have left scores of dead and some church buildings destroyed.
Read MoreU.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson heard from select evangelical leaders in a press call in advance of the chamber’s weekend passage of a $95 million foreign aid package. The U.S. must support Israel, Ukraine and other allies in a battle that threatens democracy and religious freedom beyond Europe and the Middle East, the leaders said.
Read MoreColumbia University’s president canceled all in-person classes and urged faculty and students who do not live on campus to stay away, after a weekend of anti-Israel protests swelled and included threatening messages to the school’s large Jewish student population. The extraordinary move was announced in an early-morning Monday email.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The United Methodist Church’s General Conference will meet in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 23 to May 4, 2024. Originally scheduled for 2020 and delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting of the church’s legislative body comes at a critical time for the United States’ second-largest Protestant denomination.
Read MoreOklahoma Christian is the only site outside of New York City to have survivor trees from both tragedies. Just west of the university’s library stands a tall American Elm, an offspring of a tree that remained standing after the Oklahoma City bombing. The April 19, 1995, attack, an act of domestic terrorism that claimed 168 lives, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Congress of the XXV World Russian People’s Council, headed by Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, issued a document on March 27 entitled: “The Present and Future of the Russian World.” In the document, the leadership of the XXV World Russian People’s Council describes the conflict in Ukraine as a “Holy War.”
Read MoreA Baptist pastor and religious freedom advocate in war-torn Myanmar was rearrested by junta leaders after mere hours of freedom. Hkalam Samson, former head of the Kachin Baptist Convention in Myanmar and a civic activist, had been released April 17 from a six-year prison sentence alongside 3,300 other prisoners in a mass amnesty customarily granted at Myanmar’s New Year, celebrated April 13-16 this year.
Read MoreChristian ministries are raising concerns about a proposed addition to Department of State regulations that would limit the employment decisions of those accepting foreign assistance. The Accord Network, Samaritan’s Purse, Christian Legal Society and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and others, filed an official comment about the proposed changes.
Read MoreChanging population patterns and crumbling buildings requiring costly repairs have creating a challenging environment for Britain’s network of thousands of churches, many of which date back hundreds of years. It’s a situation that has resulted in a major campaign to save these churches — and increasingly inventive ways of maintaining their existence.
Read MoreJust three months after he was installed as president of the Rainbow Push Coalition, the Rev. Freddie Haynes II abruptly resigned this week as leader of the historic Civil Rights organization. Last July, the Rev. Jesse Jackson had selected Haynes to lead the organization starting in 2024.
Read More“The Roof,” released as part of the second season of the platform’s “Launchpad” series, tells the coming-of-age story of a two-spirit Northern Cheyenne teenager (played by Phoenix Wilson) who is sent to live with their grandfather (played by Academy-Award winner Wes Studi). The two learn to connect and the teen gains an understanding of what it means to be two-spirit, while the grandfather opens up about his life.
Read MoreZimbabwe’s renowned cleric and Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministry founder Walter Magaya recently built a modern soccer stadium in less than six months at his Yadah Complex in the capital city Harare. The project comes at a time when Magaya is facing several scandals, including being accused of rape and financial wrongdoing.
Read MoreA law criminalizing gender transition care for minors in Idaho can be applied while two anonymous teenage plaintiffs’ challenge to the law continues in court, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 15.
Read MoreBeverly LaHaye, a prominent conservative Christian activist who founded Concerned Women for America, passed away Sunday at the age of 94, CWA announced. LaHaye formed CWA 45 years ago to advocate for biblical principles at all levels of public policy. Since then, it has become the “nation’s largest public policy women’s organization,” with chapters in nearly every state, CWA said on its website.
Read MoreThe religious freedom case pitting a Christian group against local activists over Sunday access to a New Jersey beach may not be resolved in time for this summer. A hearing — originally scheduled for April 17 — has been postponed and a new date of May 16 set, just two weeks before the traditional start of the summer beach season.
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