Members of Early Rain Covenant Church have reported harassment and the detention of leaders on the fifth anniversary of a crackdown on the Chinese church. Five years ago, at the church located in Chengdu, Sichuan province, over 100 members were arrested during a period of half a year.
The Christmas narratives echo through the ages with as much relevance as they had in the first century. Still we we struggle with despots, injustices, uncertainties, and lack of real peace. Yet we can have confidence that the good news of great joy for all people is real, available now, and coming in fullness.
Bethlehem remains a symbol of hope, resilience, and God’s enduring promise. The Palestinian Christian community are reflecting Jesus' light to those around them: comforting the hurting, loving the broken, and proclaiming peace where there is strife; so that the light that shone from the manger in their city, Bethlehem, will continue to shine through them to the world.
Let us all remember our Syrian brothers and sisters in faith this Christmas. Pray with them in solidarity, that their hope will be strengthened as they endure immense challenges.
Lilly Nassar, a mother of three in Bethlehem, Palestine, has had her career as a Holy Land tour operator ruptured by pandemic and war. Undeterred, she is studying for a new career and finding new ways to share her love for her precious homeland.
The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for a blast that killed four worshippers at a Catholic Mass on Sunday (Dec. 4) in an area of the Philippines that had become an autonomous Muslim region in an attempt to end such violence.
In a move that threatens to heighten communal tensions, the Janajati Dharma Sanskriti Suraksha Manch (JSM), an affiliate of the pro-Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has announced its intention to stage a protest rally on Christmas Day in Agartala, the capital of Tripura.
New regulations for “religious activity venues” in China advance officials’ desire to replace spiritual instruction with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) political teaching, rights experts say.
The trial of Rhoda Jatau, a Christian mother of five in Nigeria’s Bauchi State, will continue following a judge’s refusal to dismiss the case against her. Jatau has been in prison since last May, accused of sharing a video on WhatsApp that condemned the lynching of Deborah Emmanuel Yakubu, a Nigerian student killed by her classmates for sharing her Christian faith.
An exiled prisoner of conscience from Nicaragua told members of U.S. Congress he was arrested without a warrant, stripped naked and subjected to multiple interrogations about Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced to over 20 years in prison for sermons criticizing the government's human rights violations.
Four missionaries including a pastor and his wife from Gospel Echoing Missionary Society (GEMS) were brutally assaulted in a village near Garhwa district of Jharkhand. Pastor P. Sarvanan and his companion P. Andrew are admitted in a GEMS hospital since November 21, after complaints of severe headache and dizziness, informed Andrew to Christian Today.
The Christmas narratives echo through the ages with as much relevance as they had in the first century. Still we we struggle with despots, injustices, uncertainties, and lack of real peace. Yet we can have confidence that the good news of great joy for all people is real, available now, and coming in fullness.
