Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages in Gaza on Monday (Oct. 13) as Israel began freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners under a U.S.-backed ceasefire that has paused two years of war and paved the way for U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East — a moment of relief that regional church leaders say must become the start of a “true, lasting peace rooted in justice, mercy, and truth.”
As the ceasefire and exchange of people signals relief in Gaza and Israel, those who live and serve in the Holy Land know how fragile this peace can be and how difficult it will be to rebuild livelihoods. Hope of lasting peace will only be found when all people living in the land are able to live freely and are treated with dignity. In the meantime, followers of Jesus in the land remain faithful, trusting not in geopolitics but in the Prince of Peace.
Five years ago, on August 4, 2020 one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history rocked Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Today the entire nation is still struggling to recover from the tragedy on top of many other pressures, external and internal, bearing down on the population of Lebanon. Here, we receive an insider's perspective.
Christian Zionists' proclamation of unconditional love for Israel feels hollow in the Middle East. The General Secretary for the Middle East & North Africa Evangelical Alliance continues, "rather than opening doors to the gospel, it hardens suspicion. If evangelicals support Israel merely to trigger Armageddon, then our love is no love at all—it is manipulation".
The recent assertion by Israel's President Netanyahu, that his country is the sole thriving sanctuary for Christians in the Middle East, is a myth. Christianity has long thrived in the Middle East since the time of Jesus, and indigenous Christians continue to play significant roles in nations surrounding Israel. Within Israel, however, indigenous Evangelicals are treated like second-class citizens, even as Evangelicals outside of Israel are courted to support Netanyahu's purposes. This situation
The Bishop of London, Rt. Rev. and Rt. Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, has been appointed as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to lead the worldwide Anglican Communion of 85 million members in 165 countries.
A post-conference reflection by African public theologian Israel Olofinjana urges Majority World Christian leaders to reclaim agency in global mission, proposing a missiology rooted in local contexts, the work of the Holy Spirit, and the lived reality of suffering rather than Western managerial models and imported theologies.
Christians in Türkiye suffered an upsurge in hate crimes in 2024 compared with the previous year, according to a human rights report.
Arab Christian leader Botrus Mansour has been named secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), pledging to serve as a bridge-builder for a global evangelical movement that spans continents, cultures, and a wide spectrum of traditions.
The World Evangelical Alliance has appointed Advocate Botrus Mansour as its new Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer, marking the first time an Arab Christian leader will head the global body representing more than 600 million evangelicals in over 148 countries.
The number of countries with Christian majorities declined between 2010 and 2020, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center, highlighting a notable shift in global religious affiliation. As of 2020, Christians remained the majority in 120 out of 201 countries and territories analyzed—down from 124 in 2010. That means Christian-majority nations accounted for 60% of all countries surveyed, compared to 62% a decade earlier.
A small tribe in the Papua Province in Indonesia have a reason to celebrate following the release of the first complete Ngalik Bible that took nearly 50 years of laborious work done by three generations of missionaries and across two continents.
