Originally published in Eternity News Christians in Japan are asking the world for one million hours of prayer for their nation throughout the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Japan 1 Million is led by the Japan international Sports Partnership (JiSP) and Japan Evangelical Missionary Association (JEMA). They are calling on churches, individuals and families across […]
Asia
India’s Christians facing ‘existential threat’ from violent persecution
By Open Doors International The persecution of Christians is rising rapidly in India, driven by Hindu extremists’ goal of ridding the country of all non-Hindu religions and eradicating the Church by the end of 2021. Christians across the country are living in constant fear, as a systematic campaign of violent […]
Pakistani court upholds life sentence against Christian man in blasphemy case
Originally published in CBN News A court in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, upheld the life sentence of a Christian man who was accused of sending blasphemous text messages to an Islamic cleric in 2012. Zafar Bhatti was charged with committing blasphemy under Pakistan’s 295-C law and convicted in 2017. Bhatti, 56, still maintains […]
Project Pearl: how 20 brave Christians smuggled a million Bibles into China in one night
Originally published in Christian Today The beach was shrouded in darkness. The eerie silence was occasionally broke by the sound of waves gently lapping the seashore. Hundreds of Christians were silently clustered on the coast of Southern China. They were waiting to take part in what is now considered a […]
Covid-19: Christian doctor in India faces criminal charges for saying ‘Jesus heals’
Originally published in Uganda Christian News A young Christian doctor in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh has been suspended from a government program to help combat the deadly second wave of Covid-19 and is facing criminal charges for telling families to pray to Jesus if they get infected with […]
Megachurch opens Covid care centre in India
Since lockdown began last year Calvary Temple Church in Hyderabad, with more than 330 000 members, has distributed 700 tons of food supplies to families in desperate need. Now as India is in the grip of a devastating second wave, their church building has been converted into a 300 bed Covid care […]
‘Utterly devastating’, says head of Bible Society India
Originally published in Eternity Mani Chacko is the general secretary of Bible Society India (BSI). He gives Eternity readers an update on the BSI team and provides a snapshot of what life is like in the midst of such devastation. Every day, life is “utterly devastating”, says Chacko, who is based in […]
Four Christians beheaded in Indonesian terrorist attack
By Open Doors Southern Africa Four Christian men from Kalimago Village, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, were beheaded by Islamic extremists on Tuesday (May 11). Central Sulawesi is the same province where Sigi is located – the area where another four believers were murdered on November 27 last year. The […]
Easter prayer call after Indonesian church bombing
Originally published in Christian Today Christians are being called to pray for their fellow believers living in persecution hotspots after last Sunday’s bomb attack on an Indonesian cathedral. The blast in Makassar injured 20 worshippers as they were leaving a Palm Sunday service held at the start of Holy Week. […]
Malaysian Christians can call God ‘Allah’, rules High Court
Originally published in Christianity Today A Malaysian court ruled on Wednesday that non-Muslims can use the word Allah to refer to God, in a major decision in a divisive issue for religious freedom in the Muslim-majority country. The High Court decision squashed a 35-year-old government ban on the usage of Allah and […]