Protestant Church leaders in Indonesia have accused Jakarta of perpetuating unrest and division instead of addressing human rights violations in the country, International Christian Concern reports. The Protestant Church Council, which comprises the Indonesian Christian Church in Papua, the Kemah Injili Church, and the Evangelical Church in Indonesia, published its accusations in a June 2 statement.
A new AP-NORC poll shows that over 25% of US adults who attended a church, mosque, or synagogue prior to the coronavirus pandemic have no plans to return to in-person services at this time, Christian Headlines reports. The survey was carried out from June 10–14 with 1,125 adults across the US and a margin of error of +/- 4.2 percentage points.
Wycliffe Associates, an international organization that empowers mother-tongue Bible translators and partners with local churches in the advancement of Bible translation, has begun transmitting Bible translation training and ministry support materials via radio signals.
Christians in impoverished parts of Indonesia appeal for food and essential hospital equipment as the second wave of COVID-19 engulfs the world’s largest Muslim nation, aid workers say.
An Iranian court has sentenced three Christians from the evangelical Church of Iran denomination to five years imprisonment each for “engaging in propaganda against the Islamic regime,” trial observers say.
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear arguments in an appeal from a florist who refused to serve a gay couple’s wedding.
A church in Mamasa in the West Sulawesi province of Indonesia was burned down during the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, June 27, International Christian Concern reports. No one was in the Toraja Mamasa church building at the time of the arson, and the destruction was discovered as people arrived later in the morning to worship at the Sunday service.
Rafat Obid, a leader of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC) in Khartoum, was detained and freed on bail on controversial charges, a human rights official told Worthy News Wednesday.
The European Union has formally launched its digital COVID-19 certificate, designed to make travel safe and easy for the fully vaccinated within its member nations — but at least one airline says the app has run into issues on its first day of use.
California added Florida, Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota and West Virginia to its list of states banned from state-funded, state-sponsored travel due to a wave recently passed legislation that California Democrats deems “discriminatory” toward LGBT individuals.
As Iran continues a relentless campaign of persecution against Iranian believers, on June 26 the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, northern Iran sentenced three Christians to five years in jail for “engaging in propaganda against the Islamic regime,” Christians Worldwide Solidarity reports.
It is believed that the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) Islamic terror group were responsible for planting the bomb which exploded inside a Catholic church just before the start of a confirmation ceremony in Beni City, DR Congo on Sunday, International Christian Concern reports. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the ADF has terrorized DR Congo for decades.
As Islamic militants continue the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, suspected Fulani Muslim militants murdered a Christian doctor in Niger state and 17 other Christians in Plateau state this month, International Christian Concern reports. At least 1500 Christians have been killed by Islamic militants this year alone; the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in its 2021 annual report that Nigeria has become a “killing field for Christians.”
Iranian Christians have urged prayers for a Christian convert after an appeals court upheld his 10-month prison sentence for “propaganda against the regime,” Worthy News learned.
More than 50 Christians from 13 families have recently been forced to leave their villages and escape into the jungle of India’s Odisha state by tribal animists enraged at the believers’ faith in Christ, Morning Star News reported Friday. India ranks 10 on the US Open Doors Watch List of countries that persecute Christians.
A court of appeals in Pakistan has upheld the life sentence of Zafar Bhatti, a Christian man who was convicted and imprisoned in 2017 for supposedly sending insulting text messages Islam’s prophet Mohammed, Morning Star News reports. Pakistan is one of nine nations the US has designated a “Country of Particular Concern” for severe violations of religious freedom.
Members of one of China’s largest unregistered churches face a new crackdown by Chinese authorities after their leading pastor was sentenced to nine years imprisonment on charges linked to his Christian activities Communist-run nation.
Several Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate sent a letter to the IRS Friday demanding the agency correct a ruling they say could have major implications for churches and faith-based organizations in the U.S.
Christians said Thursday they fear that the election of Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s president will lead to more persecution of religious minorities.
Security officials in Uganda have detained an imam who confessed to killing an evangelical church leader this month for evangelizing among Muslims, several sources confirmed Thursday.