
Muslim mob disrupts Christian retreat in Indonesia
As police and soldiers looked on, about 200 Muslims on Friday (June 27) stormed a Christian youth retreat at a home in Indonesia, driving out participants and damaging property, sources said.
As police and soldiers looked on, about 200 Muslims on Friday (June 27) stormed a Christian youth retreat at a home in Indonesia, driving out participants and damaging property, sources said.
For decades the global missions community has talked about deeper collaboration with local ministry leaders as partners. But self-perception can misread reality. The post-COVID political shifts in China are a reality check, according to a long-term expatriate living through changes that are shattering the illusion that he knew better than the locals about how to advance the gospel in a foreign context. It is a new era for missions, demanding a new depth of humility.
The rise of Artificial General Intelligence is now unstoppable. It is not an overstatement to say that it is transforming life on earth as humans know it. No sphere of human interaction is immune, least of all the religious sector. Now, more than ever, we need to be spiritually discerning about AI/AGI use in our faith walk. Let us take care not put our trust in something that has neither heart nor soul.
India’s famed Emperor Ashoka was an ancient convert from Hinduism to Buddhism. He demonstrated that a person is NOT forced by others to convert from one religion to another. Today, “religious conversions are forced,” is the flawed premise of all anti-conversion laws of India. Who could have forced mighty Emperor Ashoka to change his religion? The Emperor’s famous religious conversion was his choice.
In a perfect world, where legal systems hold political power to account and protect minorities against human rights abuses we might expect an end to persecution. But we do not live in a perfect world. People with power continue to act with impunity against those who think and live differently to them. Christians have a way to cope with this reality and a real and living hope for a future free of persecution.
The Asia Evangelical Leadership Forum concluded Friday evening in Seoul with a solemn and hopeful call to rededicate the Church in Asia to Jesus Christ and his commission to make disciples. The three-day gathering, held June 11–13 under the theme “Disciple or Die 2,” brought together evangelical leaders from across the continent for strategic collaboration on advancing disciple-making as the central focus of Christian mission.
Gwen De Rozario, Executive Director of the Family & Children Commission of the Asia Evangelical Alliance (AEA), presented a detailed strategy report at the Asia Evangelical Leadership Forum in Seoul on Friday (June 13), calling on church leaders across the continent to prioritize family discipleship as a central method for long-term church growth and generational continuity.
A judge in Pakistan on Thursday (June 12) acquitted a Christian of blasphemy and terrorism charges after the prosecution failed to prove its case against him, his lawyer said.
At the Asia Evangelical Leadership Forum (AELF) in Seoul this week, younger leaders outlined an ambitious strategy to mobilize and mentor a new generation of disciple-makers. As part of one of the four key thrusts of the forum—Youth Empowerment—two co-leaders presented their findings and vision to fellow delegates, arguing that young people are not only receptive to the gospel but are uniquely positioned to catalyze spiritual renewal in their communities.
In a sweeping keynote address on the morning of the second day of the Asia Evangelical Leadership Forum (AELF), Mark McClendon, Regional Director for CBN Southeast Asia & South Korea, called on Christian leaders to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) not as a threat but as a God-given opportunity for the global Church to complete the Great Commission.
As church growth stagnates in many parts of the world, evangelical leaders at the Asia Evangelical Leadership Forum (AELF) in Seoul issued a clear call to return to the core mandate of the Christian faith: making disciples.