Joseph Francis, Pakistani veteran minority rights advocate, dies at 81
Joseph Francis, a distinguished Pakistani minorities rights defender, passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 11, after a prolonged illness. He was 81.
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Practicing your faith when your culture no longer tolerates it
The anti-Christian realities in India provide ample evidence that a culture can quickly turn against freedom of religion. Sadly, in India, some Christian leaders claim that if there is one place you can go to remain unaware of what is happening, it is in established churches on a Sunday morning! Thankfully the Holy Spirit is not so constrained and Christians continue to multiply in the midst of heightening persecution.
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Four million Christians are facing death and persecution in Myanmar
In Myanmar, the Church is often the strongest surviving institution in an isolated community, destroying it weakens not only worship but the community’s capacity to resist the oppressive control of Myanmar's military junta. Christians are often thought of as collateral damage in Myanmar’s civil war, but they are also being targeted.
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Viral West Papua documentary forces Indonesia to confront what it tried to hide
A documentary about indigenous land dispossession and military violence in West Papua has been watched more than 13.6 million times on YouTube within days, after Indonesian authorities failed to suppress organized screenings in cities throughout the country. More than 107,000 people in April 2026 have been displaced and most of them Christian.
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When it comes to Christian leader training, measurement must not replace formation
Pastors in small churches in India and around the world may lack formal theological education but responsibility shapes them, failure shapes them, suffering shapes them, prayer shapes them. Sometimes persecution shapes them. Character formation while walking faithfully with Jesus, guided by the Bible and trustworthy mentors, cannot be replicated by a program, and does not result in a diploma, but it is highly valuable education nonetheless.
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China exporting repression of religion worldwide, Brownback says
By Edward RossChina is helping totalitarian regimes to repress religion around the world, even as the U.S. administration has cut or stalled programs vital for religious freedom globally, officials told a hearing of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.
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Two Christian nurses in Pakistan acquitted of blasphemy
A court in Pakistan has acquitted two Catholic nurses who have been in hiding for nearly four years after they were charged with blasphemy in 2021, rights advocates said.
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Muslim kidnapper of Christian girl in Pakistan given custody, sources say
A federal court in Pakistan on Tuesday (Feb. 3) gave custody of a 13-year-old Christian girl to a Muslim who kidnapped and forcibly converted and married her, sources said.
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Daughter of imprisoned pastor in China hopeful at International Religious Freedom Summit
By Edward RossThe daughter of a pastor imprisoned in China told the sixth annual International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. on Monday (Feb. 2) that she may never see her father again but maintains hope and faith in God.
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Persecution high in India despite slight shift on World Watch List
India’s move from 11th to 12th place on an annual ranking of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian may appear to signal marginal improvement, but church leaders and rights advocates say it masks historic highs of persecution in the country.
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Pastor in South Sudan refugee camp jailed after Muslim converts
A Sudanese family that expelled an 18-year-old relative from their home in a refugee camp in South Sudan for accepting Christ has dragged a pastor to jail on accusations of kidnapping, sources said.
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Eric Metaxas on faith, freedom and the restoration of the West
Eric Metaxas is a Christian conservative commentator and author of several books, including the bestselling Bonhoeffer.
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