Pastors, apostles and over 1,000 delegates gathered for the Family Impact Conference in Bukavu, a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to “reaffirm the sovereignty of God in the family unit”. The three-day conference held in mid-July 2024 saw delegates travel from other DRC cities of Kinshasa and Goma but also from as far as Nairobi, Kampala and Bujumbura.
South Africa celebrates Pride Month during October even as persecution of homosexuals is rising in other African states. This should be of concern for Christians as freedom of belief has long been a commitment of Protestant Christians. It doesn’t mean Christians must agree with differing beliefs, but it does mean that we must support the human right of others to hold, practice, and celebrate their beliefs as we have the right to hold, practice, and celebrate ours.
As the shock-wave from the shut down of most US Aid initiatives continues to impact real lives, the global Church has been given an opportunity to reinvent approaches to well-being that don't replicate bloated bureauracies or irresponsible charity. True justice must begin with lament and proceed with mutuality. Here's how we can move forward in a post-aid era.
The continent of Africa looks different depending on which calculations you choose to make a three dimensional reality into a two dimensional representation, and the choice is largely determined by who is in charge and what narrative they wish to portray. The African Union has decided it is time to take charge and give the world a better perception of the African continent. Jim Olang hopes this will help lift African confidence in the wider world.
Consider the bees and how they work together to ensure that they thrive. So it is with our Christian life. We need one another in order to thrive in our walk with Jesus. In an era of increasing individualism and correlated loneliness we do well to remember that we are all part of one body, never meant to be living, working, or ministering alone. Without others clustering close to us and us to them in supportive mutuality, the world can be a cold and threatening place.
Muslims burned down a church building in the early hours of Saturday (Aug. 10) in central Nigeria’s Niger state, sources said.
It has been one month since the Gambian Parliament upheld the ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) on July 15, 2024 – a practice that experts warn can cause severe short-term and long-term physical and psychological harm, including infections, future reproductive complications, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The ban is a significant milestone, especially given the country’s high FGM prevalence rates.
Nigeria’s government at federal and state levels continues to tolerate attacks by non-state assailants who justify violence on religious grounds, according to a report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
Europeans are least likely to say that religion is very important in their lives, compared to other parts of the world, and only 42 percent of Americans claim that religion is personally crucial to them. Other parts of the world responded more affirmingly on the importance of religion, specifically within sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The picture was less clear in South and Southeast Asia, compared to the polarized views in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.
The imposition of curfews in some states in Northern Nigeria has adversely affected Sunday worship and mid-week services, Christian leaders say. State authorities imposed curfews in major cities such as Jos, Kaduna, Zaria, Gusau, Dutse, Kano, Minna, and Damaturu, following the week-long cost of living nationwide protests that had been called by the civil society from August 1.
Fulani herdsmen teamed up with a criminal gang to attack a village in central Nigeria on Thursday (Aug. 8), killing about 50 Christians, sources said.
The Episcopal Church continued to see declines in baptisms and the number of parishes in 2024, but did not release an overall membership tally when unveiling its annual figures this month.
