
Religious favoritism, discrimination surface in Indonesia
A job ad by a regional Religious Affairs Office in Indonesia discriminating against non-Muslims has been modified following objections, sources said.

A job ad by a regional Religious Affairs Office in Indonesia discriminating against non-Muslims has been modified following objections, sources said.
When God calls us out from our homes, we go as strangers to lands that are strange to us. Yet, God goes ahead of us and stays with us, challenging us to always trust in him. Here is the experience of one young woman who has been challenged to use her gifts for the sake of the gospel and a better world.
After a miraculous healing and turning to Jesus, an Indian family has faced persistent persecution. Recently it became so fierce they were forced to flee. Nevertheless, a powerful witness to faith in Christ remains in their village that we pray will one day bear much fruit. Here is their first-hand story.
As new Christians (especially if you're non-Western) we are too often taught that our ethnic identity should be ignored or even suppressed in favor of a spiritual identity. Our teachers ignore the fact that Evangelical Christianity is heavily interpreted through a Western lens. Non-Westerners will flourish in Christ if they are encouraged to embrace the redeemed benefits of their unique ethnicity, because that is part of them being a gift from God as a blessing to the Church and the world.
As the younger generation challenges the status quo in Nepal, local churches find their voice, offering hope, and stability in uncertain times. A young Nepali believer, Surendra Bajracharya, writes that this is an opportunity for the church, especially its younger members, to respond to God’s calling and reach out to their peers beyond the church walls—young people burdened with broken dreams in a trembling nation.

Students and campus groups are preparing for IFES World Student Day 2025 on Thursday (Oct. 16), which marks the 50th anniversary of the movement’s global prayer days. Organized by the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), the annual global event invites students, ministry staff, supporters, and churches to unite in prayer for students and local IFES ministry in more than 180 countries and territories.

The Church in India is witnessing remarkable growth, a sign of God’s work across the country, said Rev. Vijayesh Lal, General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI). But he cautioned that alongside the encouraging expansion there is a pressing need for greater depth in discipleship, leadership, and community engagement.

The Trump administration has called for the immediate release of an underground church pastor detained in China whose children are American citizens. The State Department’s demand follows a sweeping crackdown by Chinese authorities on unregistered religious groups.

As ethnic unrest intensifies in Bangladesh, Christian leaders say fear and uncertainty are spreading among the country’s religious minorities, who feel increasingly vulnerable amid growing political instability and a breakdown of trust in state protection.

A pastor acquitted of a false blasphemy charge after 13 years of languishing in prison tragically died two days after his release, a rights group said.

More than six months after police in southern India dismissed the death of a pastor as a road accident, Christians in the region say there is strong evidence the continually threatened evangelist was murdered.